Category Archives: Profiles

Neighborhood Faces: Dave Carlson

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In the many times we walk around our specific neighborhoods, no matter how big the size of our luxurious and filthy metropolis is, we may continue to see the same familiar faces. Each face a life, and each life a story. Local “homeless” man Dave Carlson resides on the street corner of Third Avenue between Twenty-Sixth and Twenty-Seventh Street, right next to the Subway restaurant.

In his fifth year as a street resident, and that is meant to be taken literally, Dave is the face that everyone sees on their way to and from work, just as long as you’re a Kips Bay resident.

Starting his life as a soldier fighting wars overseas, he is greeted with cold shrugs of New York. “I had no more family and no more friends when I came back home,” Dave says as he is sitting down on his milk crate he carries with him, looking down at his hands. However, he has found friends from continuously living in his non-literal street address. He is greeted with warm hellos and offers of blankets, shirts, socks, scarves, mostly everything that the residents can give him.

“The winters are harsh, so I try to get as many clothes as I can. I have this suitcase with me, so i can store my clothes. I’ve been to all the homeless shelters, but my clothes and belongings always get stolen from me, so it’s better if I stay on the street.”

Regardless of fact or opinion, Dave Carlson has not even been threatened to move out of his residence, unlike many unfortunate New Yorkers in the past.

 

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

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“2 Jobs at the Sugar Factory, and a Lump in the Throat,” by Vivian Yee is a well-written and descriptive piece that touches the reader emotionally. As an author, Yee writes the article in a way that provides readers with good knowledge of her subject and manages to keep her opinions objective. She profiles Robert Shelton, a worker at the Domino Sugar refinery, providing the reader with personal insight into Shelton’s life, experiences, and feelings towards the changes that are occurring in his world. The narrative includes descriptive language, facts, and anecdotes that detail this man’s career and hours of devotion in a sugar factory in Brooklyn. The lead begins in a dramatic way with its powerful visual description of Shelton having never seen the floor of the sugarhouse in all the 20 years he’s worked there. The nut graf is then found when the author describes the closing of the installation and states, “In a borough convulsed by change, perhaps no set of buildings carries as much symbolic freight as the Domino complex…” The Sugar Factory was more than a job to Shelton it was his life. This piece incorporates important quotes from Shelton that describe his sorrow, appreciation, and memories, as he mourns its closing and ultimate destruction of its legacy. This article achieves to connect with the reader because it’s not just an article about Shelton’s life and career, but it provides information on the sculpture’s success, purpose, process of sugar formation, and mention of future plans for the space. The author also provides a detailed account of how the heat from the kilns affected Shelton and his everyday life. The profile sums up Shelton’s background, what his parents were like, his daily schedule working 3 jobs, and what his life is like today.

Neighborhood Faces

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For over 30 years, Gil Dominguez has served as owner and lead pharmacist at Buckley’s Drug Store and Compounding Center, found in Englewood’s downtown district. Buckley’s has been around for over 80 years, successfully helping Englewood residents as well as people from near towns. Dominguez has become a key figure in the community and that’s why I decided to profile him. His job is a family run business where he works with his wife and son. Dominguez was heavily influenced by his aunt who was a pharmacist and his father-in-law who owned a pharmacy in Cuba. He works everyday to help the welfare of society with their basic needs and prescriptions. I would like to know more about his business, what a day at the job consists of, and what problems he faces in his industry. Something unique about Dominguez is that he is able to get to know his customers on a personal level, recognizing each person by name. This personal relationship is only possible because of Englewood’s tight knit community and his small local business.

Dominguez has seen the city change and knows what issues it faces. On a business level, he finds the traffic and insufficient amount of parking on Palisades Avenue to be an issue for his customers. From our conversation, he told me he grew up in Manhattan, however after being in Englewood for so many years he can say that he likes the suburbs better. He enjoys the small town feel and the diversity it brings. For my media component, I thought it would be nice to have audio clips as well as pictures of him and the pharmacy.

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.

Neighborhood Person Profile – Catherine Ochoa

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The person I’ve chosen to spotlight from my neighborhood- Washington Heights- is Jose Valdez. He is the owner of a prominent multiservices business agency in the heart of the Washington Heights. Located at 161st street and Broadway, he is a great person to interview to know just how much the neighborhood has changed. Since I have decided to focus on Hispanic business owners and what they have to say about the changing demographics in the area, I would love to talk to him about how he started his business, what has changed since then, and how he has had to adapt because of the nearing gentrification process that will eventually occur. He is also involved in the community and is an advocator to more Hispanic local leaders. I am extremely interested in investigating this further, because it seems like the once Hispanic-American population that was so prominent in Washington Heights is constantly dwindling. There have been rent hikes in the area, business closings for more “hipster” places to reopen in those once family owned restaurants, as well as a new population of different races moving into the neighborhood. As a Hispanic-American, I want to investigate this further in order to get down to the real reason this is happening. I would like to get Jose Valdez’s take on this,as he has seen many changes in Washington Heights throughout the years. Some of the multimedia I plan on including will have video footage of our interview as well as the neighborhood,and a podcast/voice over about how Washington Heights is changing and how this is affecting the Hispanic population in this area.

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

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Does the writer give us more than Robert Shelton’s personal history?

The writer definitely gives insight as to what being a worker at the Domino Plant was like in this article. The writer uses Mr. Shelton’s perspective and own life experiences to create a compelling story about what many people are feeling now that the famous sculpture will be taken down, and the plant itself is changing. I feel like there was a nice balance between Mr. Shelton’s perspective and the history of the Domino Plant as well as how it’s changing.

Describe the narrative of this profile, the arc of the story.

The narrative of this profile is found in Robert Shelton’s story working at the Domino Plant. This article is written so that we can see his experiences at the plant through his eyes. It gives a great timeline and shows the developments that have occurred at the plant. The arc of the story can be found when he begins to talk about the sculpture and how he remembers it, as well as what it means to him that it will now be removed along with the plant that will eventually close as many of the others have done.

What do you think of the lead?

I felt that the lead really set the scene for what we were about to read about the sugar factory. It was interesting to start off with Robert Shelton’s experience working at the plant many years ago, to show just how much has changed. It definitely caught my attention and I was very interested throughout the entire article.

Where is the nut graf?

I believe the nut graf begins in the paragraph with “in a borough convulsed by change…”

What about the author’s point-of-view?

I felt like the author lets this article showcase Robert Shelton’s experience at the Domino Plant, and she agrees with how he feels. Yee understands how Shelton feels since she decides to include the hardships he faced, as well as the positive situations. The author writes about the sugar factory for what it is, something that is changing due to the time that has passed.

Neighborhood Faces: Robert Pozarycki

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The person that I would like to profile is Robert Pozarycki, the editor-in-chief for the Queens Courier and the Courier Sun, two community newspapers which have their offices in Bayside. While I was an intern at the Queens Courier this summer, I worked for Robert—or Rob, as he’s known in the office—and I developed a professional and friendly relationship with him.

One thing that interested me about Rob is something he mentioned a few times during our chats, and that is the fact that he had gone to school to become a history teacher. I also recall him mentioning that he taught or worked in education for some time prior to becoming a reporter. The research I’ve done on him reveals that he’s been a journalist for more than a decade, and was promoted to editor-in-chief just earlier this year.

I think that Rob can provide interesting insight into the field of journalism. As someone who didn’t study for it in college and who originally had other career plans, I think Rob would be a good person to talk to in order to get an idea of what the challenges are of pursuing a career not related to one’s degree, and of what the challenges and rewards were for him when it came to journalism. What’s more, I believe he would be able to discuss how he’s seen Bayside evolve over the years, as he works in Bayside and has certainly been involved in reporting on it.

For a multimedia component, I can include clips of my interview with him, as I think that would give readers a better sense of what he’s like.

 

Neighborhood Faces

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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.

 

 

Neighborhood Profile Proposal

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Salvatore Feola has been a resident of Astoria, NY since the 1950s when he immigrated to Astoria from Naples, Italy at the age of 16. The oldest of thirteen children, he had dropped out of school eight years old to begin working, providing for his growing family. He left Italy for America in hopes of attaining the American Dream. Throughout his hometown, rumors swirled of the wonders New York City holds for immigrants. The streets were paved with gold. Salvatore was disappointed when New York was nothing like he had heard. He moved to Astoria where he lived with other Italian immigrants who taught him English and found employment.

He worked at pizzeria for a while and eventually opened his own pizzeria in the 1970s. His business was a booming success, and the neighborhood families recall his pizza being the best they’d ever had. He didn’t let the success of his business thwart his work ethic. Every day, he opened the store at 5am and closed at 10pm, even on holidays. After the death of his wife to breast cancer and a heart attack, Salvatore decided to close his business and retire in 1993.

I chose Salvatore for this article because his experiences tell the story of most immigrants from the 1950s who came to America for success. I would love to learn how he overcame the challenges he faced and how he became as successful as he was. I would also love to learn how Astoria has changed in the past 60 years from the perspective of someone who came here with a visions of gold and fortune.

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

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Dear Feature Writers,

  1. Your Neighborhood Faces Query (describing the person you wish to profile is due on Thursday, September 24th. Please post it online (category: Profiles Drafts).  What can this person tell us about your neighborhood? Why have you chosen him/her? 250 words. What multi-media would you add to complement your story?
  2. Reading: “2 Jobs at the Sugar Factory, and a Lump in the Throat”:  Does the writer give us more than Robert Shelton’s personal history? Describe the narrative of this profile, the arc of the story. What do you think of the lead? Where is the nut graf? What about the author’s point-of-view? Do look at online images of Kara Walker’s sculptural installation, “A Subtlety” before you answer these questions. Category: Robert Shelton for your blog post.