Author Archives: Jenna Bagcal

Hard Time Along Gasoline Alley Questions

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  1. How does the writer document hard times?
    The writer of this article, James Angelos, documents hard times by giving specific examples and scenarios which the subjects are faced with in their daily lives. He also uses a lot of descriptive language and dialogue. He quotes subjects when they say things such as “…I got to eat” and “If they get in my way, I’m going to cut somebody,” which shows the competitive nature of “hustling” and  the lengths at which people in this business go to earn their living.Angelos also mentions drug problems that some of these men battle as well as their living conditions which include “$10 a night rooms” and another man who works at AutoZone who sleeps in a makeshift cot in his garage.
  2. How and where does the writer bring money into his story?
    The writer brings money into this story on a few occasions to highlight exactly how profitable the “hustling” is for these people who do it. In one of the grafs in the story, Angelos writes that an eight-hour workday can earn gas pumpers about $50, and “more if you’re energetic.” The man who works at AutoZone fixing auto problems makes $150 a day, which helps him to pay his monthly rent on his apartment. These dollar amounts that Angelos mentions in his article display how much money these men make daily, but also show a contrast in amounts of money made depending on the particular job being done.
  3. Do you think the lead is effective? If so, why?
    I think that the lead is extremely effective in its employment of descriptive language and almost “poetic” nature without being too long-winded. Angelos describes the men along Atlantic Avenue as “urban foragers” which evokes the image of these city dwellers who are not only earning their keep, but are on a daily hunt for their money. The lead is also very short, but readers are able to glean what the article is about from the two lines that comprise it.

 

Pelham Bay’s Resident “Wallflower” Works Toward a Better Community

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BY JENNA BAGCAL

Annie Boller is a self-proclaimed “wallflower”; but you would never know that from hearing her hefty list of community activities. Some might call her a “community activist,” something that she would never label herself as. “When I first heard that, I thought, ‘no, that’s not me’… activist is kinda ‘hipstery’ and I don’t feel like I’m that. I’m just trying to wake people up.”

Annie

Annie Boller. Resident of Pelham Bay and board member of Community Board 10.

A native New Yorker and longtime resident of the Bronx, Boller moved to the Pelham Bay section of the Bronx in 2002 after living in Pelham Parkway for 22 years. Although Pelham Parkway is one of the safer neighborhoods in the Bronx, with crime reportedly decreasing over 81 percent from 1990 to 2013 according to nyc.gov statistics, Boller said her reasons for moving had to do with increasing crime in her building. So in February of 2002, Boller moved from Pelham Parkway to Pelham Bay. But after living in the neighborhood for 12 years, she has seen some negative changes affecting her current neighborhood as well.

“It has gone down, it’s not like it was 12 years ago. You speak to neighbors and they say it’s not like it was 30 years ago. That’s just the natural progression of things, but we’re trying anything to bring it back.”

Improving her neighborhood for herself and others in her community is exactly what Boller does on an almost daily basis. When she is not working her regular job as a receptionist for a structural engineering firm or selling real estate in the Pelham Bay area, Boller dedicates her time to the betterment of her community, a journey that began with the former Pompeii Nightclub/Lounge that shut down in 2013. She recounts the great number of violent crimes that were happening around her neighborhood following the opening of Pompeii.

“To be woken up in the middle of the night hearing gunshots… that was basically the catalyst, and that’s when we were finally able to round up all the neighbors and put our claws into him [Jose Torres, owner of Pompeii].”

After three years of fighting to shut down the infamous locale, it finally closed its doors May of 2013 after the owner agreed to sell his business, which was a personal victory for Boller and other community members. “We actually had a little party [on] his last day,” Boller recalls fondly with a laugh.

Working toward a common goal with her fellow community members quickly lead Boller to become involved in the world of community activism. She had seen a sign in her neighborhood about having community meeting ‘on a corner’ to talk about the issues going on in their neighborhood.

“After the first meeting, I was able to get [Councilman James] Vacca and [Senator Jeff] Klein to go to the meetings. We had like, 50 people on a corner. Basically it was to discuss car break ins, home invasions, and the request for more police presence.”

These “meetings on the corner” is what she cites as the predecessor to her other involvements in community meetings. After these meetings, she and a neighbor began the Mayflower Block Association, an informal community board that deals with issues on Mayflower Avenue where she lives, while also attending “[almost] every meeting for Community Board 10” which includes Pelham Bay Park. It was not until June of this year that she finally got appointed to be an official member of the board.

“I was a pain in their ass,” she says, “I kept applying, and the first two years I got turned down. The second year I got turned down, I’m not gonna lie, I threw a fit. ” She promised herself that she would not apply for a third time, until she was approached by Thomas Lucania, the Director of Community Boards for Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz.

“He [Lucania] came up to me and knew who I was. He said “Annie, I just want to let you know that you don’t have to fill out another application, we have yours on file”. And then come June, I get a letter that says that I’m on [the board.]”

Yet, despite her active presence in the community, Boller still labels herself as “shy” and a “wallflower.” But she has advice for those who, like her, are not as outspoken but want to see change enacted. “Sometimes just being a presence is effective. At some point, there will be a chance to grab hold and do something.”

Profile Questions

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1. Have you noticed a shifting demographic in the patrons of the library throughout your time working here?

2. How has the circulation of books changed since the Pelham Bay Library opened it’s doors in 1976? How does this affect you and your staff at the library?

3. What are the responsibilities of a library manager and how does one work their way through the library hierarchy to become manager?

4. Some may argue that with the dawn of technology upon us, libraries may become obsolete. What is your opinion on that?

5. What kinds of programs do you offer at the library, and are they widely attended by the Pelham Bay residents?

E.B. White – The New Yorker

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The pieces that E.B White wrote for The New Yorker gives insight into the nuances of the city. Each piece gives a different perspective into the people, places, things, and even animals that coexist in this one microcosm. His love for the city is also very apparent in many of the pieces, but especially in the last one that is entitled “New York” where in the last line he says “Yet we somehow tasted New York on our tongue in a great, overpowering draught, and felt that to sail away from so intoxicating a place would be unbearable, even for a brief spell.” (White).

His prose is filled with observations about New York that are both humorous and truthful at the same time. For example, in “The Lure of New York” when a Daily News photographer asked people why they loved New York, he got typical answers from some of the people that he asked. However, the most humorous answer came from a Greek man who said “In New York you can buy things so late at night.” This is still true today, with 24 hour Duane Reades and McDonald’s drive-throughs. However, this has become true for people in other parts of the country and worldwide with the introduction of the internet and websites like Amazon where a wide array of things can be bought at any hour of the day or night.

Conversely, some of the observations that White makes are more serious in tone. In “New York’s Cocktail” he comments on the smog problem that New York is experiencing due to the combination of fog and smoke from exhaust and various other forms of pollution. He calls this combination “the city’s cocktail” with one ‘ingredient’ (fog) coming from nature, while the other, the smoke, is a man made phenomenon. White’s observation and analysis of the smog is very ahead of its time because people were not yet aware of the dangers of pollution. Later in the essay White goes on to say “Certainly no other animal fouls its nest so cheerfully and persistently as Man, or acts so surprised or sore about it afterwards” about the self imposed consequences of the pollution. White would probably be pleased to see all the environmental activism and preservation that is happening in the present day.

“Here Is New York” – E.B. White: New York Then and Now

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Although written in 1948, E.B. White’s “Here is New York” paints a modern picture of New York City. Aside from the references to things that no longer exist, including the book elevator in the New York Public Library, haberdasheries, and the Queen Anne, White captured how ahead of its time the city was, even during the time at which he wrote this particular piece.

There are parallels to the New York City of the past and of the present in White’s prose. He captures the essence of modern New York in 1948 by describing the fast-paced living, the various blend of cultural groups, as well as the wide array of opportunities available to residents and visitors alike. White also speaks of a particular incident during lunch when he was “eighteen inches” from Fred Stone although White never took the opportunity to speak to him. White uses this story as a metaphor for both the closeness and the isolation that New Yorkers feel on a daily basis. In 1948, New York was comprised of about 8 million people. Despite the millions of people contained in one city, people in the city do not take the time to interact with each other, much like it is today on the streets or in the subway. This is and was the nature of New York, as people are presented with various opportunities that they can chose to be part of or not. This is what White meant when he said that people can “choose their spectacle.” Everything in New York is optional unless someone voluntarily chooses to participate in it. The “city of opportunity” is available to anyone who wants to take advantage of it.

If this book were written in the present-day, there would not have to be many changes to White’s prose other than minor details. Speakeasies would become the trendy bar in the East Village and the “Consolidated Edison Company” would be shortened simply to “Con Ed.” However, the picture that White paints of New York City still rings true today in both attitude and spirit.