Author Archives: Alicea Ulmer
Protected: Profile draft
Protected: Updated Neighborhood Faces (New Brighton)
Invisible Child
I think omitting the last named served to protect the innocence of a young girl and also give some privacy. While the story is very detailed and does give pictures that kind of contradicts it. But the last name was not really necessary to convey the message the author was relaying to the reader.
While the story could have included more facts and statistics about the homeless, I think what it touched on was sufficient. It was a profile and its statistics supported the story.
The story did run long, but because it was an interesting piece it doesn’t feel like that while you’re reading. I was really intrigued by the details and how deep the story was. I felt like I was experiencing this situation with Dasani.
New Brighton Backgrounder
Demographics:
(Most recent census 2008-2012)
- Total population: 40529
Population By Gender:
- Male population: 19917 (40.1%)
- Female Population: 20612 (50.9%)
Population By Race:
- Caucasian population: 24304 (60%)
- African American Population: 10192 (25.1%)
- Native American Population: 47 (0.1%)
- Other: 2261 (5.6%)
- Person of two or more race: 1252 (3.1%)
Schools:
- PS. 31
- PS. 16
- IS. 61
- Saint Peters Boys High School
- Saint Peters Elementary
- Curtis High School
- Ralph R. Mckee High Scchool
Transportation:
Local train: Staten Island Railway
Buses: S42, S52, S44, S40, S46, S48, S61, S62, S66
Staten Island Ferry
Local Businesses:
National Action Network
Famous NY Pizza
D&B Chinese Restaurant
5 Bodegas
Laundromat
Conflicts/hot issues:
New Courthouse getting sued over interview room cameras (http://www.silive.com/northshore/index.ssf/2015/09/new_courthouse_flap_legal_aid.html#incart_2box_silive-homepage-featured )
Homicide Victim (http://www.silive.com/northshore/index.ssf/2015/11/man_found_shot_to_death_in_new.html)
Murder Statistics this year for Staten Island (http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2015/12/despite_citywide_trends_murder.html)
2 jobs at sugar factory
Does the writer give us more than Robert Shelton’s personal history?
The author gave just enough history, it sort of sets up what the story is about and how Shelton came about working at the factory.
Describe the narrative of this profile, the arc of the story.
The narrative is of Shelton’s history and the history behind the sugar factory. Talks of his experience working there and how he feels with its closing.
What do you think of the lead? Where is the nut graf?
I thought the lead was an anecdotal lead, giving us a brief story of what is was like working there. It described the conditions in which Shelton worked.
I think the nut is about four paragraphs down, where it starts “in a borough convulsed by change…”
What about the author’s point-of-view?
The author didn’t really put too much of her views into this, it was more looking at it through the eyes of Shelton.
Neighborhood Faces
An ideal person to profile in my neighborhood would be a Department of Transportation (DOT) employee. They are responsible for operating the Staten Island Ferry and it’s terminals in which it operates from. An employee who has been working there for a while has certainly witnessed the many changes the ferry and terminal itself has undergone, and the changes that are currently in progress today. The ferry is vital for commuters in my neighborhood which lacks express bus stops that some of the other neighborhoods are provided with. Many people depend on it to get to and from work or school, or as leisure time as it is a tourist attraction. Ferry workers have seen lots of different faces and personalities come through those doors. To complement my piece about the Staten Island Ferry, I can do a video of the terminal surroundings as well as actual footage while on the boat. I can also provide pictures of the different style of boats, and workers operating the ferry.
250 words on New Brighton
The neighborhood that I would like to focus on is the New Brighton section of Staten island. Some of the main areas that make up this section are, Richmond Terrace, St. George and Jersey Street. I am interested in this neighborhood because I grew up here and currently still reside here.
I live on Jersey Street, and have for 13years. I have seen a lot of faces come and go. As well as plenty of successful business or those that failed. I have witnessed the evolution of the youth as well as the transformation of the neighborhood. For example, the rebuilding of the park down the block from my house.
The St. George area, home to the Staten Island Yankee Stadium as well as the Staten Island Ferry, is constantly transforming. Inside the ferry terminal itself, many new restaurant’s and stores have opened. There are currently many changes still in the process of being made that will be finished within the next year or two. Since the ferry is a major tourist attraction, the city is trying to revamp the area. Tourist take the ferry into Staten island and go right back in the city, with the new construction plans, they are hoping visitors will come and enjoy Staten island. They are working on a giant ferris wheel as well as opening a shopping outlet.
I think I can find some interesting stories about the transformation of this neighborhood.
Queens Tourist
I thought it was an interesting style, with a slight comparisons as well as highlighting some positives and negatives about tourist destinations. The main focus is Queens, but I constantly found it being compared to that of Manhattan. Kirk Semple did a good job giving the people a voice by providing several quotes. Most of the report boasts about the the up and coming Queens as tourist destination providing facts from NYC & Company. It also shows the negative with a quote from Jack Friedman, the former executive director of the Queens Chamber of Commerce. He basically called out NYC & Company as not giving Queens credit previously. Kemp did a good job of showing us both perspectives of how Queens became this main attraction for tourist and its lack of appreciation before.