Ambush Neighborhood

I’ve lived in Chicago almost all my life. There’s a lot of neighborhoods in Chicago; Good and bad. Living on the south side of Chicago most of my life would make you think there’s nothing but violence in the city. Even though Its bad, I enjoy the neighborhood I live in now. The neighborhood I live in is Roseland, but I grew up in Englewood. Both neighborhoods are similar, but they have their differences.

When a neighborhood is gentrified it will not only change the image of it, but also the services available there (Al-Kodmany 2011, 62-63). In other words, gentrification does not only have an impact on the physical aspect of the land, but also the resources that lie there. During the 90s, the Near West Side neighborhood located near Loop, an up-scale neighborhood, sought drastic changes within the area. The changes in racial demographics in the Near West Side indicated that the health risks that affected minorities dropped in the past decade (1992-2002) (Al-Kodmany 2011,

As I sat in class to watch Spike Lee's "Do the Right Thing", I noticed that a 20 year old film could convey such overwhelmingly real, modern social viewpoints. Many of the themes portrayed in "Do the Right Thing" which pave the way to the inescapable disarray of the movie that are issues which we confront today. Bedford–Stuyvesant or better known as Bed-Stuy, this Brooklyn neighborhood has gradually been the objective of gentrification since the mid 90s. Hip hop fans realize that Bed-Stuy is home to some of the most illustrious and well known artists like Jay Z, Notorious B.I.G., Mos Def, Lil' Kim, actor-comedian Tracy Morgan, thus some more.

Over the years, Bensonhurst has diversified and experienced a remarkable amount of change, especially in terms of the population. Bensonhurst’s diversity is not limited to just those particular ethnic groups mentioned above, there are also a lot of Albanians, Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, and more.  According to the statistics of the residents in Bensonhurst & Bath Beach Puma, NY, the most common country of origins is China, Ukraine, and Italy (“BENSONHURST & BATH BEACH PUMA, NY,” n.d.). While, there is a high relative number of people born in Belarus, Azerbaijan, and Uzbekistan. Whereas the most common race or ethnicity is white, Asian, and then Hispanic (“BENSONHURST & BATH BEACH PUMA, NY,” n.d.). This once again reinforces the idea that the authenticity of Bensonhurst is changing, considering the Italian population is no longer as prominent and predominant over other ethnic groups. New residents are replacing former residents and thus, causing a lot of diversity and modification. Currently, Bensonhurst, for the most part, is divided based on ethnicity. The 18th Avenue section is highly populated with Asians, whereas the “northern blocks, adjacent to Borough Park” are popular with Orthodox Jews (Mooney, 2011). The southern blocks, near the ocean as well as the Bath Beach part are popular with Russians. The division based on ethnic groups suggests a restrictive kind of mentality in which people would rather stick with their own ethnicity rather than engage and reside with those

Washington Heights is a unique and ever changing neighborhood at the mezzo-level, but affects the macro and micro. It located in upper Manhattan that is north of Harlem and south of Inwood. Begins on 115th street, it is typically thought to end around Hillside Avenue. This neighborhood has the Hudson River on the west and the Harlem River to the east. New York City’s Community Planning has designated Washington Heights and Inwood as Manhattan Community District 12. These two communities are similar in their ethnic populations, make up the tip of the borough of Manhattan, and are often assessed by the government as one district. The 2003 New York City Community Health Profile reported that 270,677 people living in District 12 and “one in two

Before the 1880s, the are of eastern Brooklyn that was to become Brownsville was known as New Lots. This territory was primarily farmland, but it was also the location of the city’s largest waste dump, as well as the site of several facilities that supplied stone and other building materials. In its early history, New Lots had a diverse population. English and Irish settlers, Jewish immigrants, and a small number of African-Americans farmed the land. Others were attracted to the area by the open space and relatively fresh fresh air it provided. Brownsville at one time was a place for waste-disposal, a tenement slum, a haven for Jews before they were accepted, the cradle of a major crime origination, a testing-ground for public-housing and

First and foremost, South-Central Brooklyn is one of the most overpopulated community within Brooklyn, it is extremely diverse with many rich cultures and traditions. Within it, lies seven neighborhoods which are Flatbush, Borough Park, Ditmas Park, Midwood, Kensington, Manhattan Terrance, and Prospect Park South. It serves Community Districts 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 17. It mostly consists of densely populated African American, Hispanic and West Indian neighborhoods. According to the 2015 U.S census bureau, the population of Brooklyn stands at 2,504,700 out of which South-Central Brooklyn has approximately 804,982 residents and it is expected to have grown gradually through the one year-period that has elapsed (United States Census Bureau, 2014). This is more than double the amount of the total number of people that was living in South- Central Brooklyn in 2000, which was only 317, 300. Presently there are 37% Caucasians, 36% African American, 16% Hispanic, 10% Asian, and 2% other (Indian) living in South-Central Brooklyn. The female population is 54.6%, and the male population is 45.4% (United States Census Bureau, 2014).

Prospect Park is a 585-acre park located In Brooklyn, a borough in New York City. This borough in particular was in great need for an open space for activities and relaxation, which is exactly what this park provided. Parks are a very important piece of land to a town because it gives people the opportunity to improve their physical health and parks also help strengthen communities because it gives people more opportunities to interact with one another. Public parks are especially very important to have in a big city like New York City because a park gives people a chance to get out of the hustle and bustle, and relax and unwind. The two creators of Prospect Park named Frederick Law Olmstead and Calvert Bowyer Vaux also designed and created a park in Manhattan called Central Park. Central park is eight hundred-forty acres of city-owned land and is a piece of land that was much needed in 1857 when it was officially opened. Vaux and Olmstead became two well-known architects by building Central Park that soon became a big success, but didn’t equally benefit both the rich and the poor. Calvert Vaux and Frederick Law Olmstead worked in a partnership to build Prospect Park.

For example, many cities that are rich in culture, diversity, and vitality are beacons for white people interested in the “upcoming scene.” This brings more and more whites who displace and marginalize the original residents through increasing prices. Cities such as New York, Boston, and San Francisco all have neighborhoods that originally had mostly poor, uneducated African Americans, and now are swelling with young, educated whites that have greatly increased the price of living. In Boston, Charlestown, Jamaica Plains, and Beacon Hill have all experienced intense characteristics of gentrification from the 1970s up until the present, showcasing an increase in the population with at least a bachelor’s degree, as well as a large increase in new and renovated buildings. In New York, the most famous example of gentrification is in Harlem, has undergone a process of gentrification after becoming known as the national, and even international symbol for black culture with a vibrancy that is not seen in the suburbs. Finally, in San Francisco, in the bay area, there has been a massive influx of affluent companies that have completely devastated the middle class due to a high rise in wealthy, educated, employees. These employees have taken residence up in the bay area, causing the entirety of the already previously gentrified neighborhood to skyrocket to unobtainable prices, even for the

The other 30 percent said that “I do not really think about how dangerous the Bronx is since I have lived here for so long that I do not really mind” others said that “I have three jobs, I work all day long and when I am not at work I like to stay home resting. I do not really be in the street looking for trouble.”. When asked the same question to people that did not live in the bronx they all said “The Bronx is the most dangerous borough in New York City, it would be the last place I would ever move to.” Most of the people interviewed feel unsafe in the

Interviewee 3, Mrs. Homemaker, another native of Guyana, is a mother of four, and has happily relocated to South Ozone Park three years ago. Now that she’s been living there she says she doesn’t have any major complaints. She loves the neighborhood and so does her family. All of the neighbors look out for one another, and that’s one of the things she says she looks for in a neighborhood. Mrs. Homemaker tells me she sees no change in the crime in the area. The most she sees are fights and arguments among teenagers and young adults. She says this is only likely to occur when the weather’s nice, because that’s when everyone heads to the park so there’s a lot of people walking to and from passing by in front of her house. She has never seen any gangs or any type of criminal related activity in the neighborhood neither. There was another news story

he East Flatbush community can be described as one big melting pot. With roughly more than half the population foreign-born, about 53%, immigrants have had a huge effect on Flatbush culture and development. Due to the heavy flow of foreigners the percentage of people that speak English not well or not at all is around 8.2%, higher than city average. The school is located near numerous institutions and resources for the children. There are various libraries and places of worship around the community. Just a few blocks from the school there is a park near by that the children can visit. Near the school there are many non-profit organizations and hospitals available for the community.

Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson today proclaimed that a Flatbush teenager has been prosecuted for murder and affiliated charges coming from the lethal shooting of a 38 year old father who was trying to retrieve his son's baseball cap supposedly stolen a few days prior to the shooting.

Brooklyn is a “melted pot” in terms of its diversity in population and culture. In many different areas of Brooklyn there are Public Housing set-up for those who are considered “low-income families”. Public Housing in brief was originally set up for people who would temporarily live there until they could eventually afford something better. In this day and age now Public Housing have become a “safe haven” for families who are low income as well as receive benefits such as food assistance (food stamps), Section 8 ( program set up to help pay rent to families who may not be able to afford

The neighborhood I will be exploring is the Bronx, NY more specifically, Morris Heights. Morris Heights is an area that is very populous. It contains an extensive shopping area and it is also close to the esteemed Yankee Stadium and the Bronx criminal court house. I’m excited to being studying this zone because it is heavily populated with many businesses and upon my research it appears to be an area rich with culture and experiences worth recording.