Author Archives: Claudia Bracholdt

From Mumbai to New York City

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The New York City skyline (Photo: Claudia Bracholdt)

The amount of international students in the US is rising again: After a decline in growth following the 2001 9/11 attacks, 723,277 students were enrolled at U.S. colleges and universities during the 2010-2011 academic year, which means an annual growth of 4,7 percent, according to a report form USA Today. As the newspaper reports, international students and their dependents contributed  $20 billion to the US economy last year.

Although it has become easier to get a visa for studying within the US, many students still face challenges when going through the process: They have to show that they have gathered enough funds to pay for university tuition and living expenses. Moreover, they have to prove that they are not planning to settle in the United States.

Aditya Bir, 27, is from Mumbai, India. Together with his sister, he planned to come to the US in summer 2010. He said that coming to the US is a dream for many students in India. Below you find an interview with Aditya, as he describes the things he observed during his own visa application process.

[audio:http://cdn.journalism.cuny.edu/blogs.dir/383/files/2011/12/aditya.mp3|titles=aditya]

Protestors march against police violence

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Harassment, violent behaviour, racism – the Occupy the Bronx protesters’ list of accusations against the NYPD in the Bronx is long. Because they feel ignored in community meetings, protestors go to speak-outs, where they share their stories and get tips on how to deal with the police.

About 30 protesters met at Southern Boulevard in Hunts Point in the end of November. Many of them said they have been harassed by police officers, who treated them like criminals.

“This is an event to unoccupy the Bronx from the NYPD. We are here to put an end to police violence,” said Divad Durant, 24, member of the Direct Action Team of the Bronx General Assembly. He organized the speak-out.

Every month, community residents can address their problems in front of NYPD representatives at council meetings. Durant said, the police would ignore the criticism residents present.

To demonstrate their frustration, the Hunts Point protesters marched from Southern Boulevard to the 41st Police Precinct, shouting chants against the NYPD.

New opportunities for libraries

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In my survey, I tried to find out whether people still need libraries. Furthermore, I wanted to analyze what options or programs libraries could introduce to ensure their surviving while being pressured by new media and the struggling economy. As a result, there seem to be new ways for libraries, if they decide to use new media to their advantage.

The survey was filled in 22 times. Firstly, the majority of the people taking part in the survey still go to libraries quite regularly, about once a month. That is usually the general period in which a book can be borrowed.

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A tradition to change

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For over 60 years, Valencia Bakery in the Bronx has been producing cakes for the Mott Haven neighborhood. In its history, the bakery faced many changes. Serving a Puerto-Rican community for many years, the bakery started to sell products for immigrants from the Dominican Republic, Mexico and other Latin-American countries. They came to Mott Haven about 20 years ago, bringing their tastes with them.

“People were looking for different types of cakes,” said Mike Eberle, affiliated with Valencia Bakery since the 1990ties. However, the change not only happened with the new flavors the bakery introduced. More and more people in Mott Haven had to face lower salaries in their jobs or even unemployment. Therefore, they could not afford the big cakes for their kid’s birthday anymore.

“Instead of buying a 16-inch cake and having neighbors over, they bought a 10-inch cake, as small as they could go,” said Eberle.

In the last few years, Eberle noticed another change, which did not arise due to economic problems, but due to the immigrants’ kids themselves.

The PA president and the liquor store

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Agustin Rosa in his office at Public School 63. (Photo: Claudia Bracholdt)

While his office is stuffed with orange mini-pumpkins, ghost puppets and artificial spider webs to celebrate the upcoming Halloween holiday, the Parents Association President of Public School 63, Agustin Rosa, has to deal with another spook.

He said he is concerned about a liquor store that wants to open on Franklin Avenue in the Bronx, across from Public School 63 and Public School 2.  The space used to be a Laundromat, which was closed for many years. There have been a lot of problems in the community such as violence and drug dealing, Rosa said. Especially the building, in which the store shall be opened, has caused trouble in the past years.

“We had a lot of teenagers in there drinking every single night,” Rosa said. “We know that they are not only drinking, they are smoking and doing drugs.” A lot of people support his cause, he said.

According to the Daily News, a man has been shot on Franklin Avenue last Saturday. He was shot in the building next to the Laundromat, Rosa said. The victim now is in critical condition. Rosa said there has been enough violence.

Argenis Jabier said he wants to open his store for the community. (Photo: Claudia Bracholdt)

Argenis Jabier, 30, is the owner of the space, in which he wants to open his store. He doesn’t think that the new business will have a bad effect on the area. “It’s a liquor store, not a bar. The people get their alcohol and go home.” He said. “I wanted to be in the area for the community.” Some residents in the area encouraged him to keep fighting, he said.

 

 

Agustin Rosa is still concerned. Below he describes the current situation and how he came to knew about the store.

[audio:http://cdn.journalism.cuny.edu/blogs.dir/383/files/2011/10/liquor-store_normalized.mp3|titles=liquor store_normalized]

Ambient sound in front of the liquor store:

[audio:http://cdn.journalism.cuny.edu/blogs.dir/383/files/2011/10/ambient1.mp3|titles=ambient1]

Fresh food for the Bronx

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The availability of fresh food in the Bronx has been a major concern of the residents for a long time. Projects like “GrowNYC” or the “Green Bronx Machine”  try to provide people with fresh food grown in upstate New York and the Bronx.

“Our food is grown by students in hub houses or green houses,” said project manager Steven Ritz on an education conference on Saturday. The city introduced food stamps to support underprivileged people eating fresh food. New Yorkers can get online help for their food stamp application.

The Harvest Home Mt. Eden Farmers Market is one of 18 farmer markets in the Bronx. Every Thursday from May to November, people from the neighborhood come to the market to get fruits, vegetables and – the most popular product – corn. The corn is grown by farmers from upstate New York and the seeds they are using turn into very sweet corn costumers don’t find in the rest of the city, said market manager Rob Lahr. “But now the corn season has ended,” he said.

David Frye, 47, and his colleague Raymond Hare, 53 came all the way from West Virginia, to sell their apples to the Bronxites. It’s their second year at the market. “We did not want to come this year,  but the market owner she kept calling us asking if we could come, because there was no fresh food.”


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Do you still need a library?

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For the past three years, staff and budget from the New York Public Library have been cut, said NYPL spokeswoman Gale Snible in an email. Last summer, the library was facing $ 40 million cuts.

Fearing that their branch might be closed, employees from the Mott Haven Library Branch started a petition to save the library. “I signed mine and my daughters name,” said 43-year-old Colen Moore, who often visits the library together with daughter Keisha, 8. “I don’t want it to close,” she said.

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