Rawat_Anjali_2017_01_Library Report

The film, My Brooklyn, by Kelly Anderson is such an interesting documentary. I believe that all New Yorkers should watch it, yet alone the entire nation. Some parts of the film made me feel very angry because not only does gentrification pushes people out of their neighborhoods, it also pushes away the culture too. Different areas of Brooklyn are abundant with a melting pot of cultures such as Jamaican, Dominican, African and more. Bloomberg mentioned that these changes were “needed” due to our so-called competition with Los Angeles in development and office space. I understand that he wants the best for the city but, he has to consider the lives and well being of the residents in these spaces, as well as the small businesses there. When a place is being gentrified, it’s not the same place is it was before. It loses its’ character. It loses its’ flavor and it’s uniqueness. It will turn into those typical luxury condos and other spots that only the wealthy can afford.

From the film, I learned that “gentry” means “elite” and “upper class”. So that dictates that Downtown Brooklyn (other places too) is inevitably going to be only for the elite. It infuriates me. I can empathize with the locals there, because I definitely wouldn’t want to live in a place only for the elite while my family and friends are being forced to move out. I would want culture and character in my neighborhood. I wish these powerful councilman, government, developers and other powerful people would stop focusing on money because they already have more than necessary. Why can’t they be satisfied with what they have? I wish they would spend their wealth on creating affordable houses so that the citizens can live a fairly comfortable life. If I was wealthy, powerful and influential, I would give back to communities and help the less fortunate.   

Another fact I’ve learned from the film is that these new developments will only cause more segregation within New York. The wealthy, privileged white people will live their lavish and extremely comfortable lives, without a care in the world. Meanwhile, the minorities will lose their sense of culture, friends, family and continue the struggle to survive having the bare minimum. A part of history will also be destroyed and can never be revived again. Significant buildings will be demolished, replaced by luxury apartments and condos.   

I really applaud FUREE’s work in organizing the community and fighting back for their rights and their land. I’m also glad that it’s a grassroots organization so it’s comprised of the locals who are for the-people-by-the-people. The locals shows in the video were just average people, who have a great heart, and an awe-inspiring attitude. This gives me some hope for the future of New York City and the preservation of what’s rightfully the peoples’ choice, not the elite. There probably are more organizations that participates in this issue around New York. I surely hope that justice prevails so that gentrification doesn’t spread throughout the state and eventually, the nation.

The guest lecturer who spoke last Thursday, Joseph Alexiou, was very informative in sharing his extensive knowledge in the history of the Gowanus Canal. I felt that he spoke with great passion and enthusiasm as he ventured through the timeline. He spoke about the different ethnicities that had immigrated there and more. One particular topic that had peaked my interest was the conservation and the cleanup of the pollution in the Gowanus Canal and the area that surrounds it. The other topics were interesting as well such as the industrialization and gentrification, however conserving a safe and clean environment strikes the most interest from me. I believe in conservation and creating an environment to make the world a safer and cleaner place.

During the lecture, Joseph spoke about how the earliest residents in the area would pollute the canal with all sorts of garbage. In addition, the sewer system was also created so that all of the waste from each home would go straight to the canal. I can see from their perspective how it would be acceptable back then to pollute the area as they didn’t have the knowledge about how harmful it really is unlike the knowledge we have today. It truly is repulsive thinking about living around a place like that and not taking action. If I lived in those conditions I would probably move or if I’m unable to, I would take action such as writing a letter to the mayor as well as research what I can do, as a resident to further improve the area.

There should also be more vegetation in that area to help provide more oxygen and more fresh air to the life that surrounds it such as more plants aiding to the benefit to the environment. This would be excluding anything deemed eatable because there are still toxins in the water, soil and possibly in the air. Joseph mentioned a wide list of contaminants in the Gowanus that had accumulated over the years. There’s lead, hydrocarbons, mercury, copper, and more. It evens ranks as one of the top contaminates waterways in the nation. It’s really intriguing and gross at the same time. The sewage waste is heavily affecting the canal. Add the rainwater into the mix and there’s overflow. I can only imagine what it’s like living under the harsh conditions they experience with all that filth running in their neighborhood especially from back then.

I am very optimistic about the future of the Gowanus Canal. I believe that it will improve now that the city’s been taking action with Superfund to clean up the area as much as possible. I know it will take a couple of decades of cleaning, millions of dollars, and a lot of manpower but I’m looking forward to seeing the positive changes towards the rejuvenation of the Gowanus Canal.

My name is Anjali and I live in Woodside, Queens. It’s a predominantly Irish neighborhood but, it’s also a diverse place with other ethnicities as well. The street I live on is called 50th street, Fitting street. The Fitting name had just been added a few years ago. The area is a working, middle class neighborhood. I live in a two story home, along with a basement, that’s part of a landmark so the houses are all connected. Behind the houses on my block, are parking spaces. Each house owns four parking spaces: two outside and two garage spaces inside under the houses that are connected to the basement. The outside garage space can also be utilized as a place where teens and kids can play and ride their bikes, skateboards, and walk their dogs. Some people have parties or barbeques. There are also trees, plants and other naturally occurring vegetation.

The residents living on the second floor have balconies with ladders so they have easy access to the roof. The residents living on the 1st floor would have to access the roof by using the 2nd floor ladder. People use the balcony to suntan, read, get some fresh air and grow their plants. To access the space there are two public entrances for the vehicles to enter and exit. One entrance is located near the beginning of the block and one near the ending of the block. Each of them are a couple houses away from the corner of the street.

Skillman avenue is the avenue I live on. There’s a Keyfood store, a Martial arts dojo, a cafe, a salon, a laundromat, some pubs, a few deli stores, a Chinese take out store and a Japanese restaurant. The area is slowly getting gentrified . Some of the delis were replaced by snazzy, trendy cafes.

Some residents have attics in their houses. It’s visible from the outside where the top of the house, where the attics is, would have a window. Some of the houses would appear to have an attic with the extra roof, but without a window.

There’s a small porch in front of every home. The trash buckets are placed in a corner. Some people use the space to plant their gardens. Some people use the space to have barbeques, lounge around, and engage in various activities. Some people have a combination of both garden and lounge area. A majority of people on my street have pets such as dogs and cats. Some people have unusual pets like chickens and other farm animals. There are some apartments located at the end of the block and the rest of my block contain two story houses. Some houses have more rooms than others and are designed a bit differently interior wise. There’s at least one large tree in front of every house that gives my block a homey and fresh feeling from the beautiful oxygen. The neighborhood looks beautiful when there’s sunlight shining upon my block. The road is currently being fixed because the workers were fixing the potholes.