Author Archives: Emma Thorne

Risky Business: Being Muslim in NYC

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On November 18, an estimated 2,000 people turned out in downtown’s Foley Square to protest the rising trend of Islamophobia in New York City – from police harassment and surveillance, all the way down to smaller, everyday incidents, bigoted comments or strange looks on the street.

The latest survey put out by the mayor’s office suggests that a full 80 percent of NYC’s 600,000 Muslims have experienced some sort of discrimination and harassment in the city. Four-fifths of those who said they’d faced prejudice didn’t report the incidents to the authorities, out of fear – fear that they wouldn’t be heard, or worse, that they would be further discriminated against.

Hate crimes against Muslims, too, are on the rise: After falling steadily since their peak in 2001, in 2010 the number jumped by nearly half from the year before.

As New York City’s Muslim community struggles to stop the hate and the bias, hear from two women who’ve experienced the harassment themselves. The video below spotlights the stories of Khadeejah Bari and Sundus Arain, both students at New York University and active members of the college’s large, involved Islamic Center.

On Brighton Beach: Here’s what we learned

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The goal: To find out what both native Brighton Beachers and visitors feel about the area’s increasing commercialization. The result: A mixed bag.

Brighton Beach Avenue, the neighborhood's main shopping center. Photo courtesy of Flickr user Violette79.

I asked a few pointed questions about the changing economy in Brighton: What’s your favorite local business? What’s your reason for visiting Brighton Beach (i.e., beach, Russian culture and food, etc.)? Would you still want to visit the area if it lost its unique “flavor”? In the end, ten people participated. Publicizing the post on Facebook – on both my wall and the walls of groups dedicated to Brighton – garnered me the most responses, though I also put it up on Twitter. Unfortunately, I don’t think I got any Brighton natives, and only three respondents had ever actually visited there before. So the information I got from this survey were more theoretical than practical, though still useful because they all pointed to one definite feeling: That Brighton Beach completely loses its appeal if it’s all chain stores and no more Russian mom-and-pop shops.

My favorite comment – which really sums up the general mood of the respondents – was from the person who said, “Why visit a place that’s lost its character?”

Going forward, if I were to do another survey like this, I’d obviously have to change my methods somewhat, though I’m not sure how. More aggressive marketing, maybe? I noticed that there was a spike in the number of responses for the hour or two after I re-posted the survey link on Facebook or Twitter – and then they’d drop off completely. An interesting commentary on how fast life moves online!

 

 

Amazing Grace: A flute player’s journey from Juilliard to Ground Zero

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Emi Ferguson at the 9/11 10th anniversary memorial, 9/11/11. Photo courtesy of Emi Ferguson.

Emi Ferguson is only 24, but she’s been playing the flute for more than three-quarters of her life.

After starting her training at the tender age of six, Ferguson moved on to the prestigious Juilliard School, where she earned her Bachelor’s degree and is currently working towards her second Master’s as a Paul and Daisy Soros Fellow. Over the span of her career to date, she’s played in more than a dozen countries, including China, Japan, and Switzerland. Though she grew up in Boston, Ferguson now resides in New York, where she plays in a variety of local groups. There, she also co-founded an ensemble, the PUFF! Quintet.

In September 2011, Ferguson was invited to play “Amazing Grace” at the 9/11 10th anniversary memorial, which aired around the world. She was one of just four musicians selected for this honor, alongside Paul Simon, James Taylor, and Yo-Yo Ma.

Below, hear about her path in music, and how she reached the national stage at such a young age.

Emi Ferguson, flute player by ewthor

“In It To End It”: Avon Walk for Breast Cancer 2011

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Step into Central Park on any regular Sunday, and you’ll see the usual assortment of power walkers, bicyclists, and families. The scene in the park this past Sunday, however – October 16 – was a riot of pink: pink balloons, pink sweatshirts, pink wigs. An estimated 3,500 people in pink gathered to kick off the annual Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, a two-day, 39.3-mile event aimed at raising funds for breast cancer research and awareness.

The Walk began in New York in 2003, and has now spread to nine major U.S. cities, including Boston, San Francisco, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. In the nine years since the event’s inception, it has raised more than $380 million for breast cancer research. This year’s New York walk alone raised an estimated $8.4 million.

The Avon Walk is held as part of October’s National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, now in its 27th year. Though more effective treatments for the disease have become available in the last 20 years, breast cancer is still the leading cause of cancer deaths among females of all races, affecting about one in eight women, according to the American Cancer Society. “That’s why we still do this,” said Sara Shaw, a volunteer coordinator for the Avon Walk. “People think that because it’s gotten easier to treat breast cancer, it’s not an issue anymore. But almost a quarter of a million new cases are diagnosed each year. How is that not an issue?”

WALKERS ENTER CENTRAL PARK
GATHERING FOR THE WALK
REGISTERING TO WALK
FAMILY SUPPORT
WAITING...
DOING IT FOR THEIR LOVED ONES
AT THE WALL OF HOPE
A RIOT OF PINK
VOLUNTEERING AT THE WALL OF HOPE
WALL OF HOPE, UP CLOSE

[Show slideshow]

Attack of the Big Bad Businesses

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Brighton Beach, Brooklyn is equally renowned for its boardwalk and its borscht. But now, one of those claims to fame is in jeopardy.

Shoppers on Brighton Beach Avenue. Photo courtesy of Flickr member Axel Drainville.

Small, family-run operations – like the dozens of beachfront restaurants specializing in Russian and Ukrainian cuisine – have dominated the Brighton Beach economy for over 50 years. In fact, according to a report released in July by the state comptroller’s office, an astounding 88 percent of the Greater Coney Island area’s businesses have fewer than 10 employees. But in the last few years, residents have seen a marked increase in the number of national chains moving into the neighborhood. Walk down Brighton Beach Avenue, the fifteen-block heart of Brighton’s retail scene, and you’ll see half a dozen wireless stores, and nearly twice as many large banks. (And if those numbers sound excessive to you, check out the “All Shops” listing on the Brighton Beach BID website for proof.)

The takeover by AT&T and Bank of America has come at the expense of the independent shops that give Brighton Beach its unique flavor. “Every month, you see one big company come in, and three or four little guys close down,” said one staffer in the comptroller’s office – himself a longtime Brighton Beach resident. Some Brighton Beachers suspect that the forcing out of local businesses is a form of spillover gentrification from neighboring Coney Island, which has been battling its own redevelopment issues for some time.

If the big bad businesses continue to take over in Brighton Beach, pushing out the family-owned Russian bookstores, markets, and cafes, will the neighborhood lose its appeal as a tourist destination? Take the survey, and let us know what you think.

Charlie Sheen = winning. Me = not so much.

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Two words for this week’s assignment: Epic fail.

I tried. I really did. I put up posts on Facebook and Twitter promoting my question blog post…

…and I got exactly one comment, which can’t be reprinted here. (It was a joke from a friend of mine.) Looking at the posts as they’re laid out here, I wonder if the issue was partially visual. I don’t know how to insert a thumbnail pic into a link posted on Facebook, but I clearly need to figure that out, because the posts look kind of hideous and unappealing without images. I don’t know that I’d click on them, either!

For my survey blog post, I’m focusing on the connection between the crime rate and the economy in Brighton Beach. Most crimes are actually down in the neighborhood, but burglaries have jumped 17% in the last year – which I think makes sense, in a difficult financial time.

I tried to think outside of the box and post on Facebook groups devoted to Brighton Beach. Unfortunately, the only such groups focus mostly on the TV show “Russian Dolls,” or on comparisons to “Jersey Shore.” So the handful of replies I received were irrelevant and spammy. But, for the sake of transparency, here are the original posts, just from my own Facebook and Twitter pages:

So after this assignment, here’s what I know about social media promotion: Just putting the post up – no matter how many times you do it – isn’t gonna get you automatic audience engagement. Like so many of my classmates have commented, much to learn…

New York City: Looking for job answers in odd places

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Are textbooks and squeegees the key to NYC’s economic future?

As New York City’s unemployment rate holds steady at nearly 9 percent, the city is making a grab for any project that could bring jobs to its increasingly hopeless residents – no matter how niche or obscure.

That’s the driving force for a new deal between the city and Pearson PLC, the British education and publishing giant that also – in a small twist of ironic fate – owns the Financial Times. Pearson will be putting down roots on Hudson Street, bringing an estimated 628 jobs to NYC. (Never mind that the building renovation alone will cost almost $135 million before those jobs ever even materialize.)

See Mayor Michael Bloomberg announce the Pearson deal here.

But some New Yorkers aren’t waiting around for the city’s fancy plans to come to fruition. The Daily News recently reported on the reappearance of so-called “squeegee men” in the city – guys who wander through traffic with a bucket of water and a squeegee, offering to clean car windows for a buck or two. It’s a job that had virtually disappeared since the early ‘90s – the last time city unemployment was as high as it is now.

Another city jobs plan that may not pan out so well: The upcoming “Wal-Martization” of NYC. New numbers show that if Wal-Mart reaches the same market share – 21 percent – in New York City that it has in the rest of the country, the city will lose nearly 4,000 jobs and more than 100 smaller local businesses. Maybe Wal-Mart doesn’t really have everything New Yorkers need.

But what, then, do New Yorkers need? What industry (or industries) holds the answer to the city’s unemployment crisis?

SEO headline rewrite

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Original headline: Coney Island’s Economic Roller Coaster Ride

New headline: In New York Beach Town, An Economic Roller Coaster Ride

Link: http://linthuinteractive.journalism.cuny.edu/2011/09/08/coney-islands-economic-roller-coaster-ride/

New York’s Fashion Week Economic Stimulus Plan

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For the past week, New York City’s streets have been crammed – even more than usual – with turned-out girls navigating subway grates on skinny stiletto heels and young fashion students smoking self-consciously outside of Parsons. Fashion Week seems like a la-la land of $1,000-a-yard fabrics and supermodels who won’t get out of bed for less than a hundred grand, but it has a surprisingly concrete and important effect on the city’s economy.

NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg and fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg christen "The Fashion Line" - a.k.a. the 66th Street subway station - in honor of Fashion Week 2011

Here’s how:

  • ŸFashion is the second biggest industry in New York City. There are over 900 “fashion-related” businesses in NYC, from design houses to fabric stores to tailoring shops, adding up to a staggering $10 billion that funnels into the greater U.S. economy. And the annual Fashion’s Night Out shopping extravaganza – now in its fourth year – provides both a financial and a morale boost.
  • ŸRestaurants in Lincoln Square – where most of the runway shows are held – get a cash infusion to the tune of nearly $10 million during Fashion Week, according to a Fordham University Graduate School of Business study.
  • High-end brands have started creating lines at lower price points – like the recent Missoni for Target collaboration – to win back the consumers they’ve lost in these difficult economic times. The result: “Black Friday”-like mobs at stores and a crashed website. Guess that encouraged people to start shopping again!
  • In this video from Reuters, designers – including former “Project Runway” winner Christian Siriano, who has created several sellout accessory lines for Payless – explain how they’ve adjusted to the current economy. 

 

Coney Island’s Economic Roller Coaster Ride

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Something strange is happening in Coney Island – and for once, it doesn’t involve a sideshow.

Photo courtesy of nycgo.com

While many New Yorkers are struggling to find work, Coney Island and neighboring Brighton Beach are adding jobs at a freakishly (pardon the pun) fast rate.

A state report released at the end of July found that the Coney/Brighton area added more than 27,000 retail, healthcare, and education jobs in 2010 – a monstrous 7.1% leap, compared to the .9% increase found elsewhere in NYC.

But the gains may not be as stellar as they appear. City Limits points out that the ambitious plans for pricey new condos and retail buildings in Coney Island have yet to actually materialize, and the confusion over Coney’s new zoning makes it harder to interpret the state economic data.

And small, family-owned businesses – once the heart of this oceanfront town’s economy – are barely keeping afloat. Local institutions like Coney Island Bialys and Bagels may not make it through 2011.

Suffice it to say, the economy of greater Coney Island may be in for one bumpy ride.

Just for fun: Here’s a cool time-lapse video of the construction of Coney’s new Scream Zone amusement park.