NUR 1030

Bensonhurst, also called Brooklyn’s “Little Italy”, is a neighborhood located in Brooklyn. It is a mixed ethnicity family neighborhood where the most dominant are Italians. Bensonhurst is a middle-class neighborhood, but the rents are high. Most of the houses are reconstructed, brick structured with iron fences on the front and vegetable gardens in the rear. It is a good neighborhood to consider, because there are a lot of train and bus stations in a short difference of length. According to “11204 demographics”, the median age of people varies from 35 to 39 years old, mostly white females. Nowadays there are several other cultures that have been moving in as well. Bensonhurst is pretty quiet neighborhood during the day, but it is not safe for a woman who walks alone in the dark. She would be a victim of gangs.

The community health nurse should adress the problem of pollution, in order to promote the spread of infection. The major problem of Bensonhurst, is sanitation. The streets have an noxious odor, especially during the summer and the garbage cans “stay” overfilled for a long time. This happens because of a massive increase of population, during the last few years. Another problem that people are concerned about, is the presence of numerous gas-stations and dry cleaning facilities. These hazard may cause an increase of a toxic air. This is a result of an increase in population as well. The community health nurse should speak to the residents, convincing them to keep the neighborhood clean. She should teach them how infection spreads out. This is in the interest of everyone, for living a healthy life in a clean neighborhood.

         My community project is based upon Crown Heights Brooklyn, NY 11225. Over the many years i have witness a lot of industrialization take place. Many apartment building have become condominiums; while, public landmarks have been modified such as the Brooklyn public library and The Brooklyn Museum.  Crown Heights has also become very diverse in the past few years.  One can find people who speak many different languages and attend different places of worship. There is a high accessibility to public transportation in Crown Heights. This area of Brooklyn is on the rise and is definitely a sight to see.

         Crown Heights has a lot of great aspects; however, it also has a lot of issues that take place within the community.  Violence is one of the main problems that take place in Crown Heights. Just this month at the West Indian day parade of 2011 five people were shot. According to The New York Times “three were fatally shot and two cops were wounded”.  This was a day for the community to gather and show pride for their native counties; whereas, it ended with mortalities. Another Problem with in the community is illegal drugs.  According to eyewitness news also known as WABC police busted stores for selling over the counter marijuana. There should be statistics online showing the rate of violence as well as drug abuse not only in all of the boroughs of New York, but the communities within those boroughs.

         The violence and drug abuse in Crown Heights can be improved and easily addressed.  A community health nurse can help with both tribulations, for she or he can help educate individuals on alternatives to not only drugs but violence too. One facility that helps with drug abuse is Operation Survival A Div. Crown Heights Youth Collective is a facility that keeps youth off the street and out of violent situations.  Both of these services could benefit Crown Heights, for safety and health of all citizens could change for the better. Crown Height’s is a great place to live despite the problems in the community. Every community has its faults and these just so happen to be that for Crown Heights, so I am proud to say I was born and raised in a little place Known as Crown Heights Brooklyn.

I am M. Gong. After I do a survey to my community, Brighton Beach, it surprises me because some of the conditions I did not expect attracts my attention. It is strange to see that majority of people are elderly on the street and unemployed rate is high. The housing condition and living environment are poor if comparing the communities that next to it. However, the transportation such as trains and buses are easy to be taken. The community has developed variously. People can communicate in other language such as Russian instead of English. The government provides public service such as Russian instead of English. The government provides public service such as safety, health and education adequately. In fact, the ratio of population of aging people on Brighton Beach community (11235) is high than the average of the United States and the average of family income is low than the nation’s. Even though most the people belong to low class, the crime ration has decreased gradually these years. A big number of aging people increases the health burden of the local government, but it creates more job opportunities for local residents. Without doubt, the cultural and racial diversity will be more serve when more immigrants move into the community. And more local residents will move out the community which is possible to raise the rent and improve the housing condition and living improvement. More people only know foreign language rather than English and keep their tradition in the community; it causes many problems when these people get the health service. It is better for public health facilities in this region to hire more nurses who know their languages in order to avoid making problems of communication. Meanwhile, hospitals and clinical should provide more opportunities for nurses to teach patients some common hygiene. If elderly or children know how to protect themselves, it is effective to decrease the burden of health of government. After observing the neighborhood, there are many advanced public service are found in the community, it is still valuable for me to live here.

My neighborhood is Rosedale, Queens. For the most part, today, it is a quiet residential middle-class neighborhood in Southeastern Queens. Historically, it has been a family-oriented, racially mixed neighborhood with African-American, Caribbean, Jewish, Italian, Asian and Hispanic residents. It is bordered to the north by the Belt Parkway/North/South Conduit, to the east and south by Nassau County and JFK Airport, and to the west by Springfield Gardens.

In the 60s and 70s it was an mostly white neighborhood. But in the mid-70s, early 80s, there was an influx of African-American families. That was the beginning of racial tension in Rosedale. Officials and residents worked really hard to resolve the racial issues. In recent years, many white families moved and Rosedale has become about 75% African America and Caribbean with about 50% occupied by married couples with children. 65% of the Homes are owner occupied.

The major issue today is the increase of drug crimes and sexual offenses. The drug activity takes place along the commercial strip of 243^rd Street. Young men from the neighborhood loiter in by grocery stores and sell drugs (specifically marijuana). This has also attracted some violence, including shootings and sexual assaults against women on quiet streets, although home invasions and burglaries are very low. There is also a problem with sexually transmitted diseases among the younger African-American population in the neighborhood.

A community health nurse can help this neighborhood in addressing the issue of marijuana use. This can be combined with a STD awareness program where sex education and information about sexually transmitted diseases is disseminated. In recent years the police at the 105^th precinct have stepped up their efforts to address crime in the neighborhood. A community health nurse may also partner with the police and houses of worship to spread awareness.

Some say that as the racial mix changed, crime has gone up. Statistically this is true. However, Rosedale still remains relatively safe. I do love this neighborhood and the quiet environment. I do however try to avoid the strip on 243^rd Street that tends to attract all the negative elements of the neighborhood.

Howard Beach is a quiet suburban, established community. It consists of mostly two family houses and condos. The neighborhood I live in is a section of Howard Beach called Lindenwood. Houses in this area are fairly new with wide open two lain streets. Every house has a front and back yard and is separated on one side. Most residents of the neighborhood have lived in the same house for three generations. Although the community is old the housing is mostly all renovated.

Howard Beach consists mostly of housing and has no type of industrial buildings in site. Instead of like most condensed living areas we find in New York City, Howard Beach is more open and less polluted. Although the area is an excellent living space I does contain many flaws. Most people who do not have access to cars are given only one option of transportation which is by bus. The Q41 and he Q21 are both within walking distance from me. There is no train service close by and can only be acquired by taking either of the two buses. The ride toward the train is about 20 minutes which makes it very difficult for people who need to get to work. Another dilemma within in the transportation is that the buses come ever thirty minutes. When it comes to receiving health care, Jamaica hospital is the closest one to Lindenwood which is about a 20 minute drive and 40 minutes by bus. However there are many other health care services closer in the community such as a chiropractor, dentist and podiatrist.

There isn’t much gang violence in my neighborhood but living conditions worsen further down in East New York Brooklyn which is about three blocks away from my home. There is more violence and drug abuse seen coming from that area. The average monthly income in this area is about $24,163. This can be compared with the average income seen in Howard Beach which is $51,175. The difference in income reflects both the poverty level and living conditions seen in the two areas. While Howard Beach is more open and clean, East New York is more condensed and polluted. The population of East New York requires more education on the negative affects of drug abuse and gang violence. Agencies can help families become more aware of positive health beliefs and disease control to create a safer community.

After I had spent the day walking around and exploring my neighborhood of Bay Ridge, I had realized what a nice neighborhood Bay Ridge is. It is a very calm and quiet area where I’m pretty sure people enjoy living. Although Bay Ridge is a very tranquil area, there are also many things that can be done to improve it. What I think is a main problem in Bay Ridge is the local traffic. Fifth Avenue is one of the major commuting routes and I must say it is a hassle to drive in. Not only is driving in Bay Ridge a bother, but parking is also another problem. If you decide to drive anywhere in Bay Ridge, be prepared to spend at least 20 minutes looking for parking. You will end up having to park blocks and blocks away from where your destination is actually located. The subject of driving and cars also leads to the subject of pollution. One of the main ways of commuting around Bay Ridge is driving. The amount of cars and buses being driven contributes to the increase of pollution in this area which happens to make living in Bay Ridge a bit unpleasant.

Bay Ridge is a very diverse area. There are people from ethnicities all over the world. There are people of Irish, Polish, Greek, Middle Eastern, Hispanic descent who either do not know any English or very little English. If a nurse decides to work in Bay Ridge and only speaks English, this composes a small problem because the nurse will not be able to communicate with the client as well as could be.

My journey and exploration of Midwood, where I moved about two years ago, was mostly virtual. I was trying to gather some data using the Internet, as the most readily available source, and combine it with my personal observations of the neighborhood. I have to admit that both sources are not quite complete and reliable. The former contains the information that can be outdated, and some information is not provided by the professionals at all. The latter source is limited by the duration of my residency in this neighborhood, Midwood, and the fact that I don’t spend much time directly in the neighborhood: when I am employed, I spend most of the day time at the place of my employment, and in college; when unemployed, I send out my resume, and find consolation with my studies. Considering the visible disarray of Midwood, I cannot say it is a perfect neighborhood, but it would be quite an unfair exaggeration to call it a poor one. The garbage is collected, most roads are paved, enough place for pedestrians, plenty of shopping places, medical offices, cafes and restaurants. As per employment status of Midwood residents, I would assume that it is the same average across the city – about 8-9% of population is unemployed, the rest are working lower middle class. The population of Midwood, as per 2010 census, is 86,408. There are 1,984 registered businesses, providing 17,424 employment positions. There were no further data if those positions were filled with the locals. As I could find out, the most massive construction activity occurred in Midwood around 1920, and then in 60’s and 80’s. Most of the buildings look well attended, with varying degree of attractiveness, and very few abandoned old houses can be found. Hopefully, they are awaiting new owners who will sparkle a new life into these lots.

If I were a community nurse, and were assessing the neighborhood for potential hazards and disadvantages for the people living there, especially children, I would address directly the structures responsible for different aspects of city life: police precinct to find out about the crime rate; fire department to learn if most of the buildings are in compliance with fire safety regulations; medical institutions to find if there is a high level of infectious diseases, or disease caused by polluted environment, or many traffic accidents because of non-functioning street lights or poorly planned traffic flow, and so on. It would be good to make connections at some local Real Estate office to find out the price range and availability of apartments, especially affordable housing, how do real estate agents assess the condition of buildings, etc. I need to admit that hasty conclusions based on incomplete data, or worse, on superficial brief observations or stereotypes, can be misleading, and take the investigators in the wrong direction. Even if someone is acting out of the most noble and humane desire to help, the facts should be precise and true. This way the evidence can serve as a solid base for action, especially if the action to be taken by city or other officials could be costly and resource-consuming.

Out of the possible problems of the neighborhood listed – like gangs or teenage pregnancies, I personally, haven’t seen a single pregnant teenager or a gang member walking with the gun or knife down the street. Midwood is a predominantly Jewish neighborhood, with mostly Orthodox Jews, and recently some Sephardic new settlers, and the crime rate is very low here, as in other neighborhoods with Jewish population, like Boro Park or Williamsburg. Jewish mindset and life philosophy are traditionally very family orientated, children, especially girls, are raised very strictly, separate schools for boys and girls, no co-eds, education – both religious and secular – is highly valued. I am not idealizing, nor stereotyping, just based on my personal experiences: whenever late I return home from college, or after attending some event, I am never afraid to walk through my neighborhood, have very friendly neighbors (of different races and nationalities) in the apartment building, and rather than occasional noise or cooking odors, I  experience no hazards. The issue that I would decidedly like to address concerning the development of the infrastructure of this neighborhood – is the lack of recreational places and playgrounds for children. Yes, there are playgrounds at the school properties – but they are mostly closed after school hours, or just inaccessible for public. There is a good court on Brooklyn college campus, but, again, it’s just for students, not for neighborhood children. There is Bally Sport Club and Lucille Roberts Club for Women on Kings Highway, but those facilities are for adults, and require membership, both factors excluding children participation in activities. To reach Prospect Park which is technically outside the official borders of Midwood, one has to drive at least 20-30 minutes depending on starting point, and public transportation would take at least twice this time. One cannot overestimate the importance of physical activity for children, especially nowadays, when child obesity and diabetes II have reached the scale of national epidemic. When I pass along the streets on weekends or in the evenings, and I see those children and adolescents playing or simply aimlessly wandering in front of the buildings, inhaling street dust and automobile exhaust, I feel very upset with these scenes. What is proudly called “Kolbert Park” and “Rachel Cohen Playground” are no more than just a few fenced trees and some game structures at the intersection of the animated roads permeated by automobile exhaust. They are safe at least, but not adequate for the recreation of the children or a quiet rest of senior adults. I strongly believe that a few more playgrounds with swings, ladders, and alike, would be no less valuable than a new café or a local council office.