Author Archives: Anita Bissoon

About Anita Bissoon

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American Girl

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What is the theme of Ta Nehisi-Coates’s profile?

The theme of the profile circulates around the idea that Michelle Obama embodies true American values and goals. The writer touches on Obama’s history and childhood to show that she has American culture deeply rooted in her from her humble beginnings.

Is there an overarching narrative?

The article starts with Obama’s beginnings in order to show the reader that she comes from a humble background, just like most of us. The writer includes information on the black population in Chicago as well as information on blue collar working families.

What surprises Coates about Michelle Obama?

Coates is surprised by how open Michelle Obama is about her past and how real she is in her speaking. She does not try to smooth over anything, and states exactly how she feels.

How does Coates conceptualize Michelle in the context of his own background growing up in Baltimore?

Coates notes in his piece that Michelle has not been negatively affected by racial and economic issues around her area. He sees that Michelle Obama’s family was able to remain stability even through hard times and is admirable of how unaffected she is of negative happenings. Coates believes that Michelle Obama is very fortunate, and has prospered even though hard times, making her the embodiment of American goals and values.

 

Battle in Black and White

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Both Fox’s and Bagli’s pieces tell how Stuyvesant town housing is inaccessible to different groups of people.

Bagli’s piece explains that the pricing situation of the apartments is the main factor that is driving out minority groups because they cannot afford to stay in the area. This is interesting in that Stuyvesant town was specifically oriented towards housing minorities, but is instead pushing them out of it. Fox’s piece discusses the way that Stuyvesant town was meant for low income families and veterans, but did not include black families. Black families were even excluded even if they were war veterans.

Both articles touch upon the problems faced in the housing industry in which raising rent prices makes it hard for families to maintain stable homes and forces them to move out. What separates the two writers is that Bagli’s focus lies mainly on present issues, while Fox chooses to look back into the past to remind readers that this has been going on for some time.

Invisible Child

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  1. Criticism that her last name was omitted.
    1. I feel that Andrea Elliot omitted Dasani’s last name with good intentions of keeping her anonymous since her story is one that is hard hitting and touches on many private aspects of her life. However, it might have been useful to use a fake name to further conceal her identity since Dasani is not a common name.
  2. Story ran too long.
    1. I do feel that the story ran too long. Even though there were a lot of details to cover about the daily aspects of Dasani’s life, it would have improved the piece if it was shorter in length to keep it interesting for readers. Some readers may not have enough time to read all five sections of the story, even if it is extremely well written.
  3. Times did not disclose the extent to which it was involved–months of following her every move.
    1. I think it would have been a good idea to disclose just how long it took to get information on and to construct the piece. It would allow other writers to see the dedication that it takes to truly uncover a story and give it justice through writing. It definitely seems like Andrea Elliot took a long time of shadowing Dasani to get the full story, but we will never be able to assume just how long.
  4. Not enough attention to the polices and politics of how homeless people are treated in New York City.
    1. I do not feel that this was a large issue in the story since it was a profile of the personal life experiences of a single girl, Dasani. Polices and politics are great information to include to strengthen the story. However, since this was not a conflict piece based on homelessness in general, it does not affect the quality of the profile that there was not a large focus on polices and politics.
  5. Risk of relying on a single story. Did it become a caricature of larger and more complex issues.
    1. I don’t believe that this story creates a caricature out of larger and more complex issues. It is a story meant to be a profile of a single homeless girl and the aspects of her daily life. Elliot did make sure to include both sides of the story to avoid any biases in her story. She showed Dasani in a light that shows that Dasani is actively trying to bring herself to a better living situation by trying to do better in school and not accepting her situation.

A.J. Liebling

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Critic Philip Hamburger has described Back Where I Came From as a “love letter to the City of New York.” Do you agree or disagree? If so, how and why does Liebling express his views? What techniques does he use as a reporter/writer?

Philip Hamburger is correct when he describes “Back Where I Came From” as a “love letter to the City of New York” since he goes into precise detail about all aspects of New York. He clearly has paid a great deal of attention to the tiniest things that make up the city, making it easy to infer that he has a great passion for the city. Liebling goes into detail with the description of buildings, daily tasks of New Yorkers, as well as using street numbers and landmarks to give his readers a precise location of the place he’s bringing to life with his words. From the details Liebling provides, he definitely uses techniques of imagery and scene in order to bring life to his “love letter to the City of New York.”

Minorities Forced to Move as Rent Prices Raise Over Night

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The train slowly crawls out of the tunnel, finally seeing the light of day for the first time since it’s entered Manhattan. Out of the window, the Manhattan city skyline becomes visible and the train moves farther away from the skyscrapers and closer to the plateaus of the apartment buildings of Astoria, Queens. The deeper the train dives into Astoria, the more homogeneous the riders become, losing its diversity with the riders that get off the train every stop along the route before meeting the heart of Astoria.

“I really used to enjoy living there.” high school student, Debbie Santiago states. Debbie and her family recently moved out of Astoria due to increases in their monthly rent that soon became a payment that was too costly to live by.

Santiago and her family, a family of five, lived in Astoria for about ten years before they had no choice but to move out. There was no limit to the rent price Santiago’s landlord could put on her family’s apartment rent ever since the removal of the rent price ceiling by Governor George Pataki.

The removal of the rent ceiling pricing policy allows landlords who previously owned apartment buildings with a rent ceiling to apply to have the it removed. When removed, landlords were given the freedom to raise rent as frequently as they wish, and by as much as they want. This is something that jeopardizes diversity and pushes out poorer tenants who cannot keep up with increasing prices.

Astoria was recognized for it’s diverse demographics, and has even been named one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the world. 54% of Astoria’s demographics consist of minority races, diverse demographic in Astoria is at risk as rising rent prices push out minorities of lower income (2010 Census). Astoria seems to be progressively becoming a neighborhood for upper-middle class and upper middle class residents.

“I usually set up my tenant’s payments so that a majority of them pay at the first of every month,” Peter Blidy, the landlord of an apartment building on Newtown Ave states. “I do have a rent ceiling on my building, so my rental prices never really leave the $1500-$1600 monthly rate.”

Peter Blidy has owned his apartment building for about twenty years and faces less tenant turnover because of the rent ceiling. The stabilization of rent pricing meaning that his tenants can afford to live in his building for longer periods of time due to very little changes in rent. Blidy notes that he has a diverse range of tenants living in his building, something that he takes pride in.

“In the building next to me, I see more people move out than actually move in.” Blidy comments when asked about his knowledge of rentals and tenants in nearby apartment buildings. The building that he is referring to is one that does not have a rent ceiling pricing policy.

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Blidy’s building (left) and the building with no rent control policy (right)

When comparing the two buildings visually, there appears to be no difference between Blidy’s apartment building and his neighbor’s. However, there appears to be a stark difference in pricing. According to a local real estate agency, apartments in the neighboring building have an average monthly rent price of $2300, an amount that is almost $1000 greater than that of a rent controlled apartment. The real estate agency also confirmed that most of the apartments that are rented in Astoria have decontrolled rents.

For landlords, rent ceilings allows for more freedom in the leasing and governing of their apartments and who lives in them. Rent ceilings do allow landlords to quickly evict tenants who are consistently behind on rent, so that they do not lose out on rent money they were supposed to receive.

Nick Gayle, the landlord of the apartment building in which there is no rent control comments, “Not having a ceiling on my rent allows me to adjust the rent I need in order to fund the buildings maintenance costs, which do increase from time to time.”

However, it’s interesting to see that there are such large price differences between neighboring apartment buildings, buildings surrounded by exactly the same resources as each other in the neighborhood.

The after affects of the rent ceiling removal is actively affecting families like that of Debbie Santiago, in that more minorities are being driven out of their homes due to uncontrollable increasing rent.

 

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Conflict Story Pitch–Astoria

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Dear Editor,

This semester, I’ve chosen to focus on Astoria, Queens and have been able to conduct a background study of it, as well as profiles of an Astoria resident and a local business. Astoria is known for it’s diversity and it’s busy avenues packed with an eclectic sort of stores and restaurants. However, Astoria’s diversity seems to be in jeopardy as rent prices raise, pushing out minorities, and enforcing a more predominantly white neighborhood.

The removal of the rent ceiling policy is to blame, as apartment complex owners are now free to charge their tenants as high a rent as they would like, with no repercussions. In order to get better prospective of this, I plan to get a closer look at the situation through an interview with an apartment complex owner. Peter Blidy has owned an apartment complex in Astoria on Newtown avenue for about twenty years, and would serve as an excellent primary source to see just how the renting in Astoria has changed over the years. He would be able to provide first-hand insight on the issue and possibly provide a reason for why some owners chose to raise their rent. Tenants of Astoria may also be a voice that I can include in my story since it will gain insight to how much of an inconvenience higher rent can be and whether or not it will drive them to move.

It’s important to find out why rent seems to be rapidly increasing and what this means for Astoria and it’s residents.

 

Sincerely,

Anita Bissoon

Bacon, Egg, and Cheese at The Crescent Street Deli & Grocery

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The smell of freshly made bacon, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwiches wafts through the air and mingles with the rich scent of coffee that has been brewing since the crack of dawn. While waiting in line to place your order, you are blasted by a rush of cool air as the door opens every two minutes for customers rushing in to get their daily fix.

“I’ll have a bacon, egg, and cheese.” That is the phrase that cook, Javier Gomez, hears about 50 times daily while working the grill. Jorge Domingo, his partner behind the counter, works with him brewing fresh coffee to be paired off with the breakfast sandwiches.

Crescent Deli & Grocery, located at the intersection of Newtown Avenue and Crescent Street is the ideal stop to get your morning started in Astoria, Queens. The Deli & Grocery store hours are the same for every day of the week, opening at 5:00AM and closing at 11:00PM.

Basher “Tommy” Hassan co-owns the Crescent Street Deli & Grocery with his brother, Mohammed “Mo” Hassan. The brothers have lived in Astoria for an average of 20 years and have owned the deli for about ten years. They decided that opening up a Deli & Grocery business would be a great way to build something together and spend time together.

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Bashar “Tommy” Hassan

“We wanted to be our own bosses” Tommy said, naming it as one of the driving factors for opening the deli & grocery. Tommy, being the more social brother out of the pair, mostly handles customer relations behind the counter while Mo handles the behind-the-scenes processes such as restocking and employee management.

The Hassan brother’s Crescent Deli & Grocery happens to be very popular even though it is not located on a main road in the neighborhood. It is, however, right across the street from an all girls Catholic high school, a Catholic church, and many neighboring apartment buildings. Teachers and students from the school and many of nearby residents are the primary customers for the Hassan brothers. The Hassan brothers have so recently become merchants on Grubhub and Seamless, allowing for customers to have their orders delivered to them–an advancement that has been greatly helping their business.

“I always order a bacon, egg, and cheese,” comments high school teacher, Lauren Fromberg as she waits to place her order with Javier. “It never gets old. And the service here is always great!”

Lauren Fromberg is one of many that starts her morning with a stop at Crescent Deli & Grocery before heading across the street to start her day as an English teacher. It is also impossible for her to avoid running into students, since many of the girls like to stop by to buy chips and other snacks before class. Tommy also mentioned that he and Mo sometimes provide catering for early morning teacher’s meetings as well, making the Catholic school one of their biggest customers.

“It’s always the busiest in the morning, from about 7AM up until late 10AM. Everyone’s rushing in and we’ve all got to keep up.” Mo says as he restocks bottles of orange juice into the refrigerator shelf. “It’s always an adrenaline rush every morning, working to keep up with our customers.”

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Competition lurks just up the block in the form of a C-Town supermarket where sales and discounts are never rare. The grocery prices at C-Town are definitely lower than the prices at the Crescent Deli and Grocery and the Hassan brothers simply cannot compete with prices that low. However, the Hassan brothers do have an advantage over C-Town with Grubhub and Seamless. While C-Town does not deliver groceries or food, the Hassan brother’s have an advantage in being the one vendor in the residential area that can serve their clients by bringing the products and food they desire right to their door.

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Tommy explains that he and Hassan try to offer more than just food in order to keep up with their competition, the C-Town supermarket on the next block. Aside from having an aisle dedicated to potato chips, hostess pastries, and other packaged foods, the deli also offers a selection of personal items such as toothpaste, soap, and even laundry detergents. In some ways, they have become a “one stop” destination by offering a wide assortment of items so that customers can get everything they need from their store.

“You’d be surprised about what some people buy.” Tommy smiles, commenting on his customers buying patterns. “Some would order breakfast, and then also purchase a bottle of shampoo or bottle of cleaning product.”

The C-Town located just up the block does have much more foot traffic than the Crescent Street Deli & Grocery, however, there does not seem to be as much of connection between customers and cashiers. Customers pace the aisles of the store, grabbing what they need and not interacting much with store employees as they move beside them.

Cashier Sarah Ali has worked at C-Town for a couple of months while attending classes part time at LaGuardia Community College in the neighboring town of Long Island City. She comments that when working at C-Town, she “just tries to have each customer checked out as fast as possible.”

It’s clear that even though C-Town does drive more traffic, Crescent Street Deli & Grocery has been able to stay alive through their connections to their customers. It is their faithful, everyday customers that help their business to stay grounded.

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Although the location of the Deli & Grocery definitely does not get nearly as much foot track as it would if it was located just two blocks over on 30th Avenue, it is strategic enough in that it attracts many customers from the nearby high school, and residents from the apartment buildings before they rush over to the train station on 30th Avenue.

When asked about the competition at hand, Tommy simply shrugs and says, “Competition will always be there, it’s just something to keep you motivated to work harder each day.”

They strongly believe that they are able to keep up with the competition by offering deli and grocery items as well as a heaping side of very personalized service for their daily customers.

“I see these guys everyday,” says construction worker Bill Lombardi. “They know my order so well–they always ask me if I want ‘the usual’”

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What keeps the Hassan brother’s business stays alive through the strong friendships and ties built with their frequent customers.

Neighborhood Profile Draft

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An average day for Kyle Blidy consists of rising early at 5:00 A.M. and thrusting himself into the hustle and bustle that is New York. Kyle’s first task of the day is his commute from his neighborhood in Astoria to the the LoMA academy in lower manhattan.

Kyle’s primary occupation is as a teacher at the LoMA academy from 8AM-12PM daily, and additionally works as a teacher’s assistant and after-school tutor at the St. John’s Preparatory High School (which is only a few blocks from his apartment) every other afternoon.

“Teaching is something that I always had a passion for, ever since I had my first chemistry class in High School, and saw my first laboratory explosion. This explosion metaphorically sparked a revolution in my intellectual interests. I have taken on the career of education so that I can share my passion for chemistry with others Kyle is certified to teach chemistry and mathematics at any school in the state of New York, since his graduation from NYU Steinhardt’s prestigious teaching program (ranked third in the nation for pedagogy, according to the Princeton Review). “As much as I’ve made it my goal to try to help every student get an equal education, I must admit that it is easier to teach students at the elite St. John’s Preparatory High School versus the students at the under-served, predominantly-minority student, LoMA academy. It really just has to do with available resources, funding, and student motivation for success. Unfortunately, the school system in New York is greatly disparate in regards to the above, and the struggle I endure at LoMA is enough to drive me out of there. I plan on working to secure a tenured position at St. John’s Preparatory High School in the near future.”

In addition to Kyle’s all around superior experience at St. John’s Preparatory High School, it moreover takes the cake in terms of convenience. Kyle’s commute to St. John’s Preparatory High School is far less than that for LoMA. St. John’s is only a few blocks away from his apartment building, in the comfort of Astoria. In order to get to the LoMA, he must commute by subway, which as Kyle appropriately argues, isn’t exactly free.

“It’s something that’s convenient for me since taking the subway beats driving any day! ” He says when asked about his commute. “ Not only is it cheaper than driving, but I don’t need to engage in that crazy hassle of finding a parking, which by the way is virtually impossible. It really isn’t so bad managing without a car, since the subway is just a block from my house and the trains come like every five minutes. Commuting by trains, believe it or not, may even benefit me at times, since it gives me extra time to look over my notes for my lessons before I begin my day teaching.”

As positive as Kyle’s commuting story seems to be, he does admit that there are some drawbacks to living in Astoria. One of the challenging experiences he has faced is having to deal with large crowds during the prime-time of day. He explains that sometimes rush hour makes it hard for him to even score a tiny corner of space in the train for his travel to the city. Kyle also comments that due to Astoria being quite densely populated, you often smell unwanted scents from people around you, and this includes not only ethnic cuisines, but even lingering marijuana. Kyle complains that the marijuana problem in his building is so bad, that the smell seeps through the walls and ceilings. Fortunately, this is a problem Kyle explains will end soon, as those few tenants who break the illegal-substance laws are currently undergoing an eviction from premises.

Kyle Blidy has lived in Astoria for his entire life with his father, Peter Blidy. More recently, they expanded their nuclear family, and got a cat, Catherine “Cat” Blidy. Peter Blidy has owned his apartment building for roughly 25 years, and has been working to modernize and improve the estate since the day he inherited it. Peter and Kyle’s home is located conveniently off of Astoria’s very busy 30th Avenue, where the many bus lines, parks, bodegas, hair salons, and of course, the N and Q subway lines are located.

“I walk outside my door, and there’s all these different types of people, it’s almost as diverse as Manhattan. And food? I can eat a different type of food every day of the week. Mexican, Italian, Greek, Egyptian. . . you name it!” He adds that he’s grateful for the 24-hr Queenie’s Fried Chicken that’s on the same block as his apartment building. “This place is convenient for those late night ‘snack attacks’,” as he phrases it.

 

When asked if he would ever consider moving elsewhere, Kyle shakes his head and answers with a simple, “Never.”

Backgrounder: Astoria, Queens

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Demographics

National Geographic states that Astoria, Queens is the most diverse neighborhood present in the world. According to the 2010 U.S. Bureau Census, the total population of Astoria is 191,105, and of that population more than half (54.7%) consists of people of diverse backgrounds. These diverse populations are made up of: 27.6% Hispanic; 14.1% Asian or Pacific Islander; 9.8% Black/African American; and a total of around 2% of mixed races. Of the population of 191,105 people residing in Astoria, 161,284 people are adults, making up the majority of the population.

 

Location

Astoria is located in Queens Community District 1, which is in the northwest corner of the borough of Queens. The neighborhoods included in this district are: Astoria Heights, Queensbridge, Dutch Kills, Ravenswood, Rikers Island, Steinway, and Long Island City (which is also included in District 2). Astoria is also bordered by the East River. It is a neighbor to District 2, which consists of Long Island City, Sunnyside, and Woodside.

 

Community Board

The chairperson of the community board for Astoria is Vinicio Donato and the District Manager is currently Lucille Hartmann. The community board office is located in Astoria at 45-02 Ditmars Blvd and the office can be contacted at 718-626-1021

 

Schools

In Astoria, there are three public high schools: the Young Women’s Leadership School, William Cullen Bryant High School, and Frank Sinatra High School. There are also two private schools: St. John’s Preparatory School and St Demetrios School. In addition to this, there is also one middle school and four elementary schools (the majority of which are private schools). In addition to these schools, there are also a handful of daycares located around the neighborhood.

 

Local Businesses

The majority of Astoria’s local businesses cluster around the heavily trafficked 30th Avenue, 31st Street, Steinway Street, Ditmars Blvd, and Broadway. These local businesses consist of restaurants, beauty supply stores, hair salons, drugstores, vegetable stalls and convenience stories.

 

Real Estate and Housing

According to the 2010 Census, Astoria possesses 39,030 total family households and 37,603 nonfamily households, creating a grand total of 76,633 households. AddressReport names Astoria as the best neighborhood for young professionals because of its proximity to the city and reasonable housing prices.

 

Commuting

Astoria is easily accessible by the N and Q subway lines as well as with the Q18, Q19, Q102 and Q103 bus lines. Astoria is also only about a half hour drive from Manhattan.

 

Hot Topics

The Kaufman Arts District located in Astoria will soon see an installation of new condos. The Kaufman Astoria Studio is an active studio that currently filming the Netflix series “Orange is the New Black.” The president of the studio claims that with the improvement of the Museum of the Moving Image (also located in this district), and the popularity of Frank Sinatra High School, improving the residential area “seemed like the next step” for attracting talent to the area.

 

 

Resources

National Geographic: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/big-idea/02/queens-genes

2010 Census for District 1: http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/pdf/neigh_info/socio_demo/qn01_socio_demo.pdf

Queens Community Portal: http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/neigh_info/qn01_info.shtml

Queens Community Board: http://www.nyc.gov/html/cau/html/cb/queens.shtml

AddressReport of Astoria: https://www.addressreport.com/blog/best-neighborhood-in-queens/

New Condos in the Kaufman Arts District: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/23/realestate/new-condos-in-astoriaskaufman-arts-district.html?_r=0

2 Jobs at Sugar Factory, and a Lump in the Throat

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In the article, “Two Jobs at Sugar Factor, and a Lump in the Throat,” the writer does give us a little more than Robert Shelton’s personal history. She tells us a little about the history of the sugar factory and its status before proceeding to summarize Robert Shelton’s work history and his addition to the factory. The writer starts the narrative of Robert Shelton’s life by starting with where he grew up, and then going on to describe the evolution of his work history. The writer works primarily around Robert Shelton’s career as opposed to his personal life and experiences since those tie in more directly to the factory and its current events.

The nut graf of the article is the seventh paragraph at the bottom of the first page of the article. I feel that the writer feels that even though a job at the sugar factor was not glamourous, since she notes the “clumps [of sugar] at least a decade old” on one of the metal beams, she feels that the workers there had a rich experience in that people such as Robert Shelton still have fond memories of working there and have built relationships with their supervisors and coworkers.