Tag Archives: pamela ng

Community Service Proposal

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For my community service story, I would like to focus on the local senior center, which provides dollar lunches, bingo, parties, and other fun activities for seniors in the surrounding area. The center is a great space for seniors who need a place to spend their days. It is also a great place to meet new people and chat with friends. However, the senior center is in danger of closing because of lack of funding, so I might use this for my conflict story instead.

Other ideas I have for my community service story include two after school programs, which offer free tutoring for local students from kindergarten to the twelfth grade at the local library. Another community service organization I located, called El Puente, offers activities, which are meant to empower local teens through the arts.

Because of my experience writing my small business story (where I had interviewees back out last minute), I thought it would be a good idea to have a wide range of ideas. The senior center and youth-focused organizations both offer great services to the community for little to no cost, which is why I think all of them would make great stories.

Response to Joseph Mitchell

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Joseph Mitchell is the author of Joe Gould’s Secret, one of our required readings for this course. Like other readings given to us in class, Mitchell’s writing style is very admirable. As in many books of this style, Mitchell uses very descriptive language, which helps paint a picture for readers. Though descriptive, Mitchell is able to write in a way that is not overly flowery. He has a great sense of words.

He describes his character Joe Gould as one of the last Bohemians in Greenwich Village. “All the others fell by the wayside. Some are in the grave, some are in the loony bin, and some are in the advertising business.” Gould also lives a very difficult life. He is affected by homelessness, hunger, and hangovers, and sleeps wherever he can, whether it be in the subway or at a friend’s home. Such circumstances make Joe Gould’s Secret a very interesting read. His life, in combination with Mitchell’s writing style, makes the book definitely recommendable to anybody interested in feature writing.

Charlotte Patisserie by Pamela Ng

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Charlotte Patisserie is more than just any ordinary café – it is the saying “hard work pays off” brought to life. Described as “a really huge investment,” sibling duo Michael and Magdalena Lechowicz built the small French bakery and café from the ground up.

Michael Lechowicz studied at the French Culinary Institute in Manhattan and interned in France soon afterwards. Coming back to America after he completed his studies meant one of two things.

“He either had to go work for someone else or work for himself,” said co-owner and sister, Magdalena.  “That’s why we did it.”

Inspired by his culinary experience, Michael partnered with his sister to make their bakery and café, which is currently located along Manhattan Avenue – on the borderline of Williamsburg and Greenpoint in Brooklyn.

Knowing they wanted to specialize in French pastries, the two came up with the name Charlotte Patisserie, which also translates to Charlotte Bake Shop in English.

“Charlotte is a French girl’s name,” said Magdalena. “Charlotte Royale is also the name of a cake. It sounds nice.”

Previously All State Insurance Company, the Lechowiczs’ spent an extensive time planning every detail of their new business. In a year, the two owners made decisions on issues ranging from the menu to finances. Over time, they were able to transform the former insurance office into a quaint and cozy space to grab a pastry and a cup of coffee.

The café has a brick wall interior and is adorned with modern artwork. It is also furnished with wooden counters and fixtures. Workers standing behind the counter greet everybody that walks in as soon as they enter and the smell of baked goods and fresh brewing coffee fill the space. Charlotte Patisserie provides a comforting spot for customers to just sit down and enjoy a book, as many of them do. It is no wonder why so many of them, especially residents of the neighborhood, come back.

“We have a lot of regulars,” said Magdalena. “A lot of them come all the time and whoever is coming for the first time usually comes back, too”

Living in the area is also an advantage for the two owners. Not only is it convenient for them, it also gives them a chance to serve the community better. Charlotte Patisserie has a corkboard by the window with listings from local businesses, as well as information for art shows and performances. In fact, the café hosts performances by local musicians from time to time in their backyard. Such promotion and support for locals contributes to the café’s home-away-from-home character.

The taste of their products is also up to par with the kind of environment Charlotte Patisserie provides for its patrons. They serve tarts, croissants, brioches, and macaroons, among other classic French treats. Made fresh daily from original recipes, Michael starts baking as early as five in the morning to get ready for the day.

In spite of the variety of pastries Charlotte Patisserie offers, croissants are a particularly popular item in the café.

“The croissants are the best in the city,” said Magdalena.

Even with such a well-liked product, many of their other pastries are also gone by the end of each business day.

“I absolutely love the mini tarts they have,” said Natalia Rusinek, a loyal customer to the café. “They are delicious and are always topped with my favorite fruit – blueberries.”

Despite having many competitors in the surrounding area, including Awakening, a café that also offers spa services across the street and Uro Café, which is located around the corner, the Lechowiczs’ continue to trek forward with bigger plans for their small business.

“We’re planning to open new locations,” said Magdalena. “In five years, I would hope for three or more locations in the city.”

For a business that is turning only one-year-old on October 26th, Charlotte Patisserie has surpassed the expectations of Michael and Magdalena.

Barbara Kazimierczuk, who met the owners through a local Polish Folk Dance group, has witnessed the café’s transformation from just a new business to a gem on Manhattan Avenue.

“Eventually they stopped coming to dance because they began focusing their efforts completely on their café,” said Kazimierczuk.

“It’s amazing how far they have come with their café because they moved here from Poland like many others who live in and around the neighborhood,” said Kazimierczuk.

“It’s hard enough to transition as immigrants, but to begin your own business and have it flourish within the course of a year is quite an accomplishment.”

Magdalena attributes Charlotte Patisserie’s success to hard work and dedication, but also believes the French-style café stands out from its competitors for several reasons.

“We bake everything here on site and our products are delicious,” said Magdalena. “And we have a gorgeous backyard.”

Response: Katherine Vaz’s Our Lady of the Artichokes

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Katherine Vaz’s Our Lady of the Artichokes contains very well-written stories. Vaz’s stories are very intriguing to me because of her writing style. The way she strings together words to create a vibrant picture of her surroundings is an important skill to have in writing.

For example, in “Taking a Stitch in a Dead Man’s Arms,” Vaz writes “His wound was violet, and blood pulsed through. I never looked away from it. I swallowed my vomit when it struck the back of my clenched teeth; I was ready to swallow my insides as often as necessary — it was important to gaze at his flesh exactly as it was because I would not have it with me for much longer.”

In three sentences, Vaz is able to accomplish more than many other writers could ever do. She not only describes what her father’s wound looks like; she also describes how she is feeling and she does it in a very descriptive manner. When she says “I swallowed my vomit,” I could feel what she was talking about. I was able to understand what she was feeling and I wanted to read more.

Shortly afterwards, Vaz writes “A brain lesion gave him double vision. Everything wore a register of itself, a crown of haze.” Such descriptive language immediately drew me in from the beginning. I love how she described the brain lesion as a “crown of haze” because it is easily imaginable.

Our Lady of the Artichokes is a beautifully written book. Readers can feel Vaz’s words and I think that is important in any piece of writing.

Response: AJ Liebling

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After reading the writing selections by Liebling, I have the say the one that spoke to me most was “Back Where I came From.” Not only was the piece well-crafted, it was also eloquently written. Liebling uses language in a way that draws in readers. He paints the picture of Harlem without sounding overly flowery and disingenuous.

My favorite line is at the very beginning of the reading, when he says

“With the exception of a couple of white women who have married colored men and of three Chinese laundrymen who sleep behind their shops, all the 3,824 residents in the block are Negroes.”

This line thoroughly describes Harlem in a nutshell. The integration of statistics (3,824 residents) adds credibility to the piece and shows readers that Liebling knows exactly what he is talking about. He is not just a passerby. He is much more than that.

Liebling also describes Harlem in various angles, which makes him even more of an intriguing writer. For example, he mentions both the poorest and richest areas of Harlem. He describes the discrepancy, which shows that Harlem is more than meets the eye.

Liebling is a very inspirational writer. His use of language and words is incredibly intriguing and makes readers want more.

Backgrounder: Williamsburg

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Williamsburg, Brooklyn is home to 49.61% males and 50.39% females.  There are more white collar employees than blue collar employees (20584 to 5664).  Out of 30217 housholds, 18137 are family households, 12080 are non-family households, 10469 are households with children and 19748 are households without children.  In terms of marital status, 26867 have never been married, 27036 are married, 5781 are separated, 3800 are widowed and 4596 are divorced.  The average household income is $40,491.
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Response: Amanda Burden Wants to Remake New York

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The New York Times article “Amanda Burden Wants to Remake New York. She has 19 Months Left,” by Julie Satow was very well-written. What I enjoyed most about the article was the different points of view Satow highlighted. She mentioned not only Burden’s propositions for New York City, but also those of her opponents, which made for a good article. For example, the opinions of Miguel Acevedo, president of the tenants’ association at the Robert Fulton Houses, added more dimension to the story. It showed that Burden does not only have time against her, she also has representatives from different organizations against her too. It lets the readers of the article know that Burden’s job is a very ambitious one.

I also enjoyed how the article was written in terms of style. Satow did a good job introducing Amanda Burden. Listing Burden’s accomplishments in the beginning of the story allowed Satow to transition to Burden’s roadblocks smoothly.