brewsta brewsta activity #9

http://urbanlifelab.wordpress.com/2008/10/13/astoria-park/#comment-20
for this blog.. the main theme was about gentrification in astoria and even though i didn't none of my blogs were based on gentrification or astoria.. we did talk about gentrification in class and since i believe that community boards (although not one hundred percent effect) can help play a role in delaying the process i suggested that charles (the author) should Read my blog to see how that can help him
http://foundinbrooklyn.blogspot.com/2008/03/astor-place-soothed-my-soul-today.html
the theme of this blog was based on "foundinbrooklyn's" reminiscent of the old Astor place (the area in which the blogger was raised)..and about how its changed into a trendy area for the collegians near by..based on what i have posted (in blog#3 based on public and private spaces.. were my location for my map was st.marks astor place)the only similarities between our work is the area that we chose..
http://thisurbanlife.blogspot.com/2010/02/chance-meeting.html
even though this post was based on pictures ..the theme was of a young couple making out, in an open area while the woman (assumably waiting for something) is just standing there..my activity#6 (gendered space) has absolutely nothing in common with this persons work.. i decided to use it because it reminded me of the gendered spaces topic.. but more specifically about how people can turn public spaces into private spaces.. and i just felt that it was the perfect example of what we touched on in class.
http://bringitonlondon.blogspot.com/
i had to choose this one since.. i read the first one on the page and really like his humor.. then the "mobile accessibility" post caught my eye..and then i thought wow..another one.. even though my blogs thus far don't seem to have very much in common with the ones that Ive picked.. they all pertain to the class because this one deals with the issues of maps that we spoke about 2 classes ago..well except this one was slightly off.. because he was talking about cell phones and upgrades.. but according to his picture.. they seem to use maps on their smart phones like we discussed

8.2 Danielle Nicolosi

ON THE AGENDA: (Union Square)

1. Fifth Avenue


2. North Side of Union Square


3. South Side of Union Square

When Benji had the idea to go around Union Square, i was excited to hear because Ive only been there a few times, even though i pass it up on my way home EVERY day from school.

The first thing we did was go to Fifth Ave. The stores there are pretty nice, nothing that i usually shop in, but very nice. We went into a couple of them : Daffy's, The Gap, Infinity, etc. There were a lot of people shopping around, which is what i expected considering 5th ave is a pretty famous shop spot.

We spent a lot of time in Union Square and took notice to see how many people were sitting on the steps on the south side of union square. We decided to follow society and sit on these 'socially comfortable' steps as well. We also took notice to how food played a major role in where people wanted to be just as Whyte's theory stated. We saw a guy dressed as a bowling pin to promote Bowlmor Bowling Lanes, which we all found pretty funny. What i really enjoyed was watching the Breakers perform they're hip hop dancing. They were doing head spins, freezes, and some awesome popping. The people walking around really enjoyed these performers as well.

As we walked to the North Side of Union Square, we noticed how much emptier it was. We came to the realization that there were no seats therefore people didn't really want to be there as much as the other side where the steps are. Ive been to this part of Union Square once before, however there were some more people around because when i went there was a market going on, but not today. People were mainly walking through this side of union square, rather than walking to it. The only thing semi-exciting going on was some teenagers doing some skateboarding but personally I've seen much better.

The other thing we noticed about the South Side of Union Square was how unnecessary some of the designing was. Urban planning is suppose to entice people to an area, make it attractive to be and be as NOT confusing as possible. We noticed a few sidewalks and crossing methods that were unnecessary since they weren't even being used.

8.1 Danielle Nicolosi

ON THE ITINERARY FOR GROUP 5 IS:

1. Jamba Juice (Lexington between 86th and 87th)
2. St. Ignacious Church (Park Ave between 83rd and 84th)
3. Marymount High School (5th Ave between 83rd and 84th)
4. The Metropolitan Museum of Art (5th Ave between 82nd 83rd)
5. Central Park (The Great Lawn)
6. The Reservoir

The Day we met with group 5 was a beautiful day, so it was their idea to get some Jamba Juice. I pass this franchise up all the time but have never actually tried it so i was excited about that. The thing i wasn't excited about was waiting on such a LONG line, but it was pretty worth it. I tried the Mango Mantra and it was delicious.

The other thing i was excited about was being on the upper side of Hunter College. I've really never gone past about 71st.

Our next stop was St. Ignacius Church. It was beautiful. This is where our "tour guide" went to church with her school from Kindergarten through 12th grade. The architectural artwork and statues in the church was amazing. It was pretty empty, but we def got to see all the details of the church that way.

After the church our tour guide showed us her high school. When we arrived at Marymount High School, i was a little confused. It appeared to be an apartment building but the she told us it was her school. It was 3 mansions that were connected and donated as a school in the 1900s. It was very gendered, being it's an all girls school.

Our tour guide thought it would be a good idea to go to the Met since it was such a nice day. She figured we would see some of the plaza activity patterns we spoke about in class. When we arrived it was PACKED. I seemed familiar, I'm pretty sure i went there with my family but not that i remember so well. Everyone was sitting on the steps because, "...“people tend to sit most where there are places to sit” (Whyte, 28). Also the sun was mainly where the steps were as oppose to the chairs along the side of the building. As we were leaving the area, there was a group of performers singing songs from the Lion King which cause even more people to flee in this direction since they were great singers.

Since “...sun and grass in the middle of the city make for an enjoyable lunchtime break,” (Whyte, 42) our tour guide suggested us to be flanuer's and go to The Great Lawn in Central Park. There were SO many people jogging, playing sports, and just sitting and relaxing. The weather was ideal for people to want to be outside.

For our final destination we checked out the Reservoir. I love the view of this. Its simply breath-taking. There were many people jogging around it, but we couldn't even imagine jogging on such a hot day.

This was a really cool trip. I went to a lot of places I've never seen before. I also went to places but saw them in a different way because of our tour guide sharing her experiences in these same places I've been as well. It was also interesting to see all the things we've talked about in class come together at the same time in different places. i really enjoyed this activity.

brewstabrewsta#8

iternary:suggested by group 5



*Jamba Juice on Lexington between 86th and 87th


*Marymount High School on 5th Avenue between 84th and 83rd


*Saint Ignatius Church on Park Avenue between 84th and 83rd


*The Metropolitan Museum of Art on 5th Avenue between 83rd and 82nd


*Central Park- The Great Lawn


*The Reservoir


for activity number 8, group five suggested that we go to the places listed above..on our way to kc's school we got a little tour of the schools surrounding areas and the first stop was jamba juice, which was pretty much like all the others except this one had a longer line since it was so warm that day...after that kc pointed out a few of her "food spots" ..like Hot N Crusty (bagel shop) and a pizza place she often ate lunch at..after that she showed us a few more places that were close to Marymount ..which was her old high school on 5th ave..around lunch time we went to saint ignatius church.( a place she had to attend while going to marymount) .however some church's like : ." St.peter's Catholic church...where the main entrance was sealed with concrete...and was the church's way of saying that the town's main thoroughfare had become to abominable to connect with."(kunstler,pg139).. (in other words some areas are so bad that not only do they not let you in when church isn't in session it decided to close down instead) but in this case..


we were allowed to go inside.. which i really appreciated since inside the was a lot cooler and the statutes there were way more interesting compared to the bagel and pizza shops that were pointed out earlier... after making our rounds at the church we finally made it to marymount only to find out that we couldn't go inside .. and had to settle with looking at the out side structure of the school.. which was actually 3 donated mansions.. (which is pretty awesome)..


after some time we headed out to the metro. museum.. going there reminded me of whytes video.. where he explained why people gather where they do... there i was able to see first hand that when he said "Sight lines are important. If people do not see a space,they will not use it." (whyte,p.129)... it really was true.. i mean even though there were chairs provided by the museum' people still gathered on the stairs... because by just one look there seem to be more space on the stairs.. v.s the limited space for the chairs... in addition to that a group was there singing songs from the Lion King.. after that we moved on to central parks great lawn..there we briefly spoke about shared and gendered space like how the majority of the lawn is shared but when it comes to places pertaining to sports like the baseball field .. it would be male dominated.. (however, i have noticed in the summer women would usually be seperated from men when they sun bathe).


"the best way to handle undesirables is to make it attractive for everyone else"(whyte..)


to me this pretty much describes how i felt about our final destination on this trip which was the reservoir.. since it was my first time there i was really impressed when i saw the water.. and i guess that's what drew the crowd in that day because there were a lot of people there too..some were jogging along what kc explained to be the bridal path, while others were walking around the water which unfortunately wasn't to be touched .... after doing all of this we decided to wrap up part one of our group trip..






itenary:suggested by group6




*Union Square-




*Fifth Avenue




*South Side of Union Square




*North Side of Union Square


the second half of the trip was suggested by benji.. from our group and i was pretty stoked about it because i love union square... which just happens to be one of the few places that i know off the back off my hand .. since its one of stops on the L train.. being there with the group brought a new feel to the familiar for me.. because even though i tend to hang out at union square its usually to shop or to walk by as im heading out to st.marks..none the less we started out at 5th ave and our group took note of some of the neighborhood stores... and even went in a few like Levi's, David z's and Daffy's... after window shopping we eventually made it back to union square and started "people watching"... ."what attracts people most, would appear is other people." (whyte,114)...with so much to do and see at union square the majority of the public both young and old ... would usually resort to sitting on the stairs just looking at other people go by.. and i really cant blame them because some of the most eccentric people tend to flock to union square..


while hanging around the square we also noticed street vendors selling their goods ..whyte once stated:"Food. "If you want to seed a place with activity, put out
food." Well designed food places can help give life to a space."..
but for a place such as this i think it was the other way around.. in which the crowd drew the vender's to the area .. mainly because union square is already such a populated area.. I'm sure the vendors were drawn here in hopes of more profit.. and today the square was filled with a lot of life and activity. from where we were we were able to see hip hop dancers on one side entertaining the crowd while people selling their art,books and jewelry were trying to draw a crowd..after that we began making moves towards the north side (which was the hectic part) which is a bit confusing to figure out but apparently there's a triangle in the middle so pedestrians can cross over.. i suppose its meant to break up traffic but i think it just adds to the confusion...finally when we got to the north side we because there wasn't really any where to sit..and lack of activity (besides the kids who were skating and the people who were walking by)... after that we decided to end this trip..
even though we didn't explore that much compare to the first trip .. i really enjoyed this one better.. because it was familiar to me.. and compared to the first trip we didn't have to walk around as much..in search of interesting things.. because at union square it was all around us.. though the first trip did have its perks like the reservoir .. which i would definitely visit again.. even if I'm not allowed to touch the walk ..its still a pretty nice spot..for flaneuring especially in the summer..

Assignment 8 Benjamin Hom

For the field trips, both groups decided to take a few hours and explore two very different parts of New York City. KC from Group 5 and I both went to high school in different parts of the city so we decided to each give a tour about that area. KC went first and this was her itinerary:

Jamba Juice on Lexington between 86th and 87th
Saint Ignatius Church on Park Avenue between 84th and 83rd
Marymount High School on 5th Avenue between 84th and 83rd
The Metropolitan Museum of Art on 5th Avenue between 83rd and 82nd
Central Park- The Great Lawn
The Reservoir

We were supposed to make a quick stop at Jamba Juice, but we ended up staying there for longer than we had expected. I'm not a big fan of Jamba Juice, but it's always an experience going into one. To me, they're like the Starbucks of smoothies. They're almost everywhere now and have become an integral part of our generation's culture. If you're not part of the Starbucks cult, you're definitely part of the Jamba Juice cult.

We glanced around the area a bit, which had a lot of stuff for a four block radius. There was a barnes & nobles, a game stop, a hot and crusty, a wall greens AND a gym. We then walked over to Park Avenue and visited Saint Ignatius Church. It's always so strange to look at Churches in the city because if you don't give them a second glance as you walk by, you wouldn't even be able to tell it was a church. We walked inside and it was like you see one church, you've seen them all. KC told us more about the statues, which her and I both knew very well since we've both been going to Catholic schools for basically our entire lives.

We then actually visited her school. Marymount High School was the most interesting Catholic school I've ever seen. Like my high school, Marymount was technically private but it wasn't secular. The thing that blew my mind about Marymount was that it was an all girls school that went from kindergarten to the 12th grade. There's no place that's more blatantly gendered than a same-sex school, but a school that's same-sex from kindergarten up? KC told us a little bit of the history of her school. The buildings that made up Marymount were all privately donated for the sole purpose of being a school nearly a century ago, which explained why they were so nice.

Then she took us to the Met. I've only actually been inside the Met once in my life, but I've past by it a bunch of times. I've never actually just sat on the steps and people watched before, but that's what we did. We weren't the only ones, either. There was a bunch of people gathered outside the Met just hanging out. I doubt many of them even went inside the Met, so I guess it's safe to say that the Met is a gathering space.

Next stop was the Great Lawn. Calling Central Park the biggest gathering place in New York City would be an understatement. People of all ages were everywhere from the park benches to the grass. The Great Lawn is one of the only places in New York were you feel somewhat disconnected from the hustle and bustle of living in a city, which is probably why a lot of people enjoy going there during their breaks and what not.

We moved on over to the reservoir, which I was excited about since the last time I was even near the reservoir was when I was in the 8th grade. It was beautiful and serene; the perfect place to just relax. Even though there were people running all around the place, it didn't take away from the peacefulness and the calm of the area. In fact, those people were our own personal source of free entertainment.

My itinerary was a little less specific:

Fifth Avenue
South Side of Union Square
North Side of Union Square

I went to school on 16th street between 5th and 6th avenues so Union Square was a part of my daily life. I wanted to take the group around that area because it's very interesting. Union Square is known for being the trendy place where all the indie and hipster people go to discuss how anti-establishment they are, but it is surrounded by all these name-brand, commercial chains.

We started off on 5th avenue with a little window shopping. Downtown 5th avenue isn't as bawdy as midtown 5th avenue so there is some modesty in regards to the stores. There's an H&M, a Daffy's, a Victoria's Secret, and the Gap. From 5th avenue and 16th street, I pointed out my high school, which you could only distinguish as a school by the big maroon awning and the banner hanging down the side that said "Xavier High School."

We walked down to 14th street and headed east towards Union Square. I pointed out the Wendy's and the Taco Bell/Pizza Hut which basically made up my diet for my first two years of high school. There were always homeless people standing outside either place that would hold the doors open for change and sure enough there was a homeless man standing outside of Wendy's.

We got to Union Square, and I pointed out all the big stores in the area. I also pointed out the site of the old Virgin Megastore which was boarded up for the most part. It was a big eyesore. We went to sit on top of the stairs and just people watched. I told a few stories about my experiences with the Silent Rave and the Pillow Fight. There is always someone either showing of their skills, preaching something, or advertising something, and on this particular day there was someone advertising something. There was a man in a huge bowling pin suit that was advertising the Bowlmar Bowling lanes. Anyone who comes to Union Square with an agenda knows that most of the people there on any given day appreciate big, eye-grabbing gestures. A guy dressed up as a bowling pin is not only normal, but expected from Union Square.

We walked uptown and I was a bit disappointed because I had really expected that the people with their kiosks would be there. Union Square is usually has an open, outdoor farmer's market but on this particular day there was nothing. I pointed out all the grandiose statuses in the area, the little children's park and the big patch of grass that people like to take naps on during the spring and summer. At the very top of Union Square, there is this small part of the street that is closed off to cars where there are these cool designs permanently drawn into the ground. That area is usually filled with skateboarders and so it was on this day. I pointed out the huge Barnes and Nobles were many people gathered to browse around but failed to buy anything.

When comparing Group 5's tour and our tour, the major differences became quite apparent. There were many more private spaces to see along Group 5's tour. Since we visited both places at around the same time, I saw that KC's part of Manhattan was a lot quieter than Union Square. While we encountered just as many crowds in both places, they each had different agendas. The goal of the people uptown was to relax while the goal of the people in Union Square was to congregate. Union Square was much more consumer driven. Even though you could lounge about in Union Square for as long as you'd like for free, there are so many different places that could tempt you to spend money. You'd have to travel all the way to the West Side by the River to escape all this commercial pressure. Having Central Park so close to them, the people in the area uptown could easily make an excursion to get away from all the disadvantages of living in the city.

Assignment 6 Benjamin Hom

I live on on E 184th street, right off of Fordham Road. If a "good" neighborhood is defined in terms of conventional shopping, schools and, public transit, then I live in a fantastic neighborhood.

Fordham Road is literally described as an "outdoor mall experience." There are over 300 speciality shops and chains in my neighborhood. There are several elementary schools in my area, two major train lines (the D and the 4), and a decent bus system. When it comes to resources for the working parent, however, my neighborhood is a bit lacking. I found one day care in my neighborhood and it was very inconspicuous. If you weren't paying attention, you wouldn't even know it was there. it is the J.A.D.S Children Center and only goes from children three months old to four years old. There is another daycare way uptown on Jerome Avenue, but that is a substantial walk from where I live. It is certainly out of a working parent's way.

The Bronx is full of the typical gendered spaces. For males, there is the barbershop that I, myself, attend:



This is easily distinguished as a male space because of its definition alone. It is a barber shop. Walking into this barber shop, you would be hard-pressed to find anyone who specializes in dealing with female hair. In fact, you wouldn't even expect it. Just one block over, we have a unisex hair salon.

Although this space is technically "unisex," it is far from it. "Barber Shop" is in small, neon-blue lights on the window, while "Nuevo Look Beauty Salon" is in a big letters on the even bigger awning. In fact, there are only two barbers employed in the entire place and they alternate days that they work. Interestingly enough, this beauty salon is located right next to a training center for Avon employees, which quiets any doubt that this salon is a woman space.

There are also some gender specific blocks in my neighborhood:

I particularly don't understand why there is a need to have two separate sneaker stores right next to each other, but this is undoubtedly a male specific space. Males are by far the biggest consumers of sneakers, especially sneakers with the Nike logo plastered all over them.


Another gender specific block. Danice sells products exclusively to females, and the fact that it is located right next to Kid's World is not a coincidence. There are signs for girls, boys, infants, and baby furniture plastered in the upper windows, basically implying that once a woman is done shopping for herself, she can go shopping for her children easily and efficiently.

This is one of the two laundromats located within a 10 block radius of my apartment building. My building does not have a built in laundry room, and the majority of apartment buildings in my neighborhood (if not all of them) don't have them either. Although not always true, this laundromat is another example of a woman space.

In my neighborhood, you'd be out of luck if you were trying to find a queer space. In the city, however, this is not the case. Greenwich Village is the perfect example an area with plenty of queer spaces. On the East side, but not that far a walk from the village, there are places like Lucky Chengs (a drag queen restaurant). The Chelsea neighborhood is also packed with queer places. The areas that are usually picked as queer spaces are progressive and "trendy" areas of the cities. That's where you find the most gay bars, and queer specific retail stores. When you search for "gay map of new york" on google, you find a lot of links for gay clubs, bars, lounges and even gay saunas and hotels.

If we go back to my neighborhood in the Bronx, you can find a few "private" activities that are being performed in public. In the evenings, people from young adult to middle aged smoke weed in St. James Park. Why? The younger people because they have no other place to do it, and the middle aged people just because they don't care where they do it.

Assignment 5 Benjamin Hom

To be posted soon.

brewsterbrewster#5

On saturday the third of april .. i woke up unusually early to attendant the Canaries district 18 monthly community advisory meeting.. on avenue L's outreach center..when i arrived i was officially 30 mins late.. but to my surprise the meeting had just started.. as i settled down and began listening ..the speaker at the time (a representative from the 2010 census).. a fairly small man in his late thirties.. began explaining the following statistics of canarsies census count..in his efforts to persuade the attendees he explained how low our census numbers are and how it causes us to lose out on billions of government dollars for the next ten years.. and since our numbers are so low(about 36 percent) in conclusion to his speech he stated that there was going to be a march the streets (with bullhorns in efforts to remind and encourage residents to fill out there forms) .. in the about the next two weeks..groups like canarsie courage and canarsie bridge are planning on attending in support of this movement.. next up was canarsie's very own Lincinda Clark..(forgot the name of her program)but she has an organization that reaches out and supports mothers..especially those with autistic children.. in hopes of helping them cope and find programs that benefit them and their children in any way.. i think her purpose for speaking was to one: try to get viewers since she was going to be on Mytimeinc. on nbc.. on sunday the 12. and two: to bring attention to parents of special needs children .. in hopes of empowering parents.. with programs like parents supporting parents that plans to walk for financial support(fund raiser)and i believe it was to be in the following month but it was stated that she is going to be honored by the senator..even though the first two speakers didn't really peak my interest the third one was able to grab my attention because he came here bringing something new to the table.. by focusing on the youht the owner of brooklyn USA basketball (appearntly its known for getting some of todays bbstars where they are today).. came to inform the attendees that they would be establishing a branch in our area.. he then goes on to explain that there plan is to take kids at a young age and keep them until college.. through sports they aim to get kids into good schools on scholarships... what really caught my interest in his presentation was when he (the rep) reached out to Lincinda and said that he would like to have a talk about a program for special needs kids.. i mean even if he wasnt being genuine i thought that it showed some sense of people willing to reach out..and becoming incorporated.. another visitor to the meeting came on behalf of Homeland safety.. which is a program that certifies construction workers ..that part take in their four week program , and is one that is approved by the department of labor..going on the motto "that they want our people to build our building" .. this programs sets out to give their participants training for life .. and after listening to this shmeal it sounds as if things are already in motion.. and i think this is what impressed me about the meeting overall .. nothing really seems to be in limbo .. at least things seem to be moving along smoothly for now.. now my favorite part of the meeting was about the fourth and final presentation that was given by an enthused tall brown skinned lady who seemed to get all this fire after attending a parks and rec program at central park.. there she learned about it and then decided to research on how the same can be done for our community.. the fresh creek project..is a project that aims to attract and involve young people in community work... to me this was the one that stood out the most mainly because i actually felt the urge to part take in the program .. the fresh creek project is a volunteer program that works with parks and recreations.. that sets out to clean our creeks ,plant and nurture our trees.. and since this is a public ...after all of this i was beginning to loose focus because i was there for about an hour now and it seems as if the meeting was about to wrap up.. but to my surprise there was still more.. this latter part of the meeting was labeled the updates.. which consisted of updates on the memorial day parade.. that is in relation to the 69th precinct.. next was the about the medical waste transfer station which they are in strong opposition against, since it shouldn't be permitted in a residential areas.. even though they (the 69th precint) are trying to say that we dont have a say in the process because it doesn't concern the community board.. but these persistent old ladies on the board.. seem to be clearly ignoring these warnings and have been taking pictures of these doings (couldn't help but think of them staking out the area.. pretending to be spies) .. the most attendee participation came when some one brought up the "zoning" which they want to stop since there has been a building of a new condo..(two blocks from my house actually) which is taller than the other houses in the neighborhood and has been labeled an eyesore .. so they seem to be fighting against more of these condos being built so tall.. a parent at one point brought up the fact that since kids have no where to skate these days.. lately they've been skating in the streets which endangers them.. and drivers ..so as a result they aim to open up a school park so these kids can have a place to skate..another big discussion was about people parking in front of condos..and the distraction that it causes .. the upset elderly woman started out Whit "probably for about four years we have community driveways with a little space .. that is now open for others to park even if its in front of your property" apparently she and a lot of other people are outraged about people parking in front of their homes .. (making as much noise as they want with either music or the slamming of car doors) even though the police said they cant do anything about it.. someone did suggest that there is a program giving cops permission to come on the property to tow or ticket these people.. finally the meeting came to a conclusion .. even though it was better than i expected ..(thought it would be an argument between speaker and participant)overall every one was on the same page and really did come out to be informed about the things of there neighborhood.. the overall population (about 40 people showed up)did seem to be an equally mix of both men and women.. mainly west indian or african american.. with a few whites and spanish attendees in the crowd... as far as this meeting went there was nothing to vote on .. so the general atmospere was one of ease i suppose.. i mean i felt comfortable where i was and they all seemed to be on friendly terms with each other from what i can tell.. especially since some people stayed back to hold conversations while drinking the provided refreshments..as a result i would say the overall meeting would be at a level 3.. just because it was based more on what would be happening instead of an open discussion of what could be happening..

brewstabrewsta#6

on page 145..Hayden writes that "a "good" neighborhood is usually defined in terms of conventional shopping, schools, and perhaps public transit, rather than additional social services for the working parent, such as day care and evening clinics.."well after taking a closer look at my neighborhood .. ive noticed that we have all of the above.. on the main street.of flatlands you can find just about anything ranging from medical to law services .. meat markets to korean shops.. junior high schools to yashivas.. what ever you think of ..we practically have it.. so when looking for resources that are there for working parents that can be viewed as one that"would support,rather than restrict, the activities of employed women and their families."(p.16).. as i search for evidence of this i passed countless daycares (some of these workers would also pick up small children from school)....a few dance schools and karete schools... and on top of that there are jewish centers and a padegete program that allow swimming lessons and other recreational activities for young children.. not only that there are a lot of after school study programs that not only help kids with there homeworks.. but invest in them enough to take them on weekend trips..(and i know this because a friend of mine works for one of them)..
2.as for the males spaces in my neighborhood.. when first looking at this question it was a little tricky to answer... because the first thing that came to mind was.. "there are none".. i with the exceptions of babershops and parks (which still are used by women).. there really is no specific space just for men.. and i believe thats because men dont need it... instead they tend to gather by crowded side walks (the way people would in the in the plaza video)..in hopes of having coincidental run-ins with friends or just so they can watch girls go by.. so with that being said .. if the streets can be labeled as a gendered area.. i would say thats it would be one for men..on the other hand there seems to be more places that cater to women ..in my neighborhood.. there are more than five hair salons and just as many nail salons.. on weekends all of them seem to be crowded with women.. who are trying to prepare for the work week ahead.. to an extent the same goes for the laundrymats that even though there is a substanial amount of men now doing their own clothes there are still more women in these areas than men..in addition to that theres the georgetown mall.. which is like a mini outlet filled with restuarnts, clothing stores, movie rentals and a walgreens.. however with all of the variety of stores in george town.. this is definetly a gendered space geared towards ladies.. just because the only areas besides the ihop, and walgreens. everything else is geared towards women.. i mean not only is there a strawberries but theres a rainbows.. in additon theres not only a dressbarn but theres a lane briant.. and then shoe stores similar to that ..the only thing that seperates these spaces as one gender or the other is the population really or as for george town mall the targeted customers.. meaning that even though barber shops these days are unisexed.. i would still perfer going to my hair salon.. just because there are more women there.. becasuse when entering a baber shop theres a strong sense of feeling like you dont belong..even if the people are extremly friendly.. i would still feel out of place being surrounded by men.. (image on the left: shows female geared areas; women are usually inside image on the Right: shows a baber shop and a sneaker store.. often times men choose the option of haning outside rather than inside of these stores )..
3. rarely do i see any gays or lesbians in my neighborhood.. ocassionly i would spot one on the bus.. but rarely do we have them living here much less haning out here.. since this is more of a residential area..and being that theres hardly anywhere else for other genders to go..it makes sense to me that there wouldnt be any queer spots in canarsie..in order to hang out and socialize its normal for me to leave canarsie and head to the city.. which leaves me to believe that gays would have a better chance of finding there own space there too.. and after doing some research i have found that .. places like the chelsae, west village, 8th ave and w.46th .. even though these locations are sparadic.. and seem a bit like you have to be one to know where to go.. it seems as if they pick these locations becasue for one they know that they would be socially accepted by heterogenous in that area since people there tend to be a bit more friendly.. or liberal persay and two because i think it has more of a trendy vibe like those.. that is more fun and upbeat..
4. after typing in "gay map of new york city" a number of links for funmaps and gay and lesbians bars popped up and according to nighttours.com.. theres an outstanding amount of gay bars that popped up..but a few lesbian ones.. plus saunas and of course places to shop
5. as for my neighborhood the only private thig that ive seen people (usually young people) do is make out or smoke blunts (assumably) in school parks or seaview park.. and i assume that the only reason why they are forced to do it in such a place is because they simply have nowhere else to go..

activity 7 Daniele Nicolosi

I visited Chase Manhattan Plaza . I was unaware it was under construction before i planned on going there. It was a beautiful plaza. Since its closed off with caution tape and danger signs, only the stairs were accessible to get in and out of the building. The only people there were the office workers who entered and departed from the building. The plaza part that was closed off had sporadically planted trees and many circular benches for people to sit. There was an interesting tall sculpture in the plaza which was in relation to a different tall interesting sculpture across the street.

Anyone could have came in. For instance, i didn't notice the stairs that lead to the plaza, so i went through the building, took the escalator upstairs, passed the security desk and went outside into the plaza. I felt slightly out of place sitting on the steps as the office workers passed through me. If it was any normal circumstance, i could imagine that plaza being filled with people socializing and enjoying each others company, especially because the weather was beautiful the day i went.

brewsta brewsta activity 7

on thursday the first of april, the weather was warm and the sun was shinning bright.. that was when my friend D.Richards and i decided to go to 77 water street on 53rd street between Madison and 5th .. when i got there i noticed that plaza such as these are usually used as a breather in the midst of all the hustle and bustle of the 5th ave. tourist and consumers..at the time that i went it wasnt very crowded and i noticed that the people that were generally older people, or families with young children who were enticed by the water.. or groups of young people looking for a photo-op..after taking getting over my awe of the water i noticed that other people were in the process of doing the same (staring at the water), taking pictures, eating their lunches,talking on the phone (some to each other),a few kids skipped up and down the stairs as their parents looked on, while others were just sitting in the provided chairs observing the scenery...from what i saw i would say that the space was being used the way that it was meant to.. even though some were gathered by the entrance closer to the stairs .. the chairs and tables provided were being used they way they were intended(vs..people sitting on the tables with their feet on the chairs) and where the waterfall was right before it was a metal chain around (obviously stating that the water shouldnt be touched) and a ledge inside of that creating more distance between me and the water.. and since no one made an attempt to step over the chain.. i would say that the articutecs did a pretty good job in getting their point across in how and how not to use the plaza.. the special thing about the water gate plaza is that its like a little niche.. or a secret spot that kind of makes you feel like your not in the city.. much less on 5th ave.. i mean not only was there a water fall but there were plants crawling up and down the walls, and birds flying around.. which totally made me forget how hassled i felt walking through the crowds on my way here .. now on the corner across the street there are hallao vender's.. im not sure if that counts since its not directly located in front of the plaza.. other than the waterfall and the plants i previously mentioned .. there are trees planted in front of the plaza entrance.. when seeing this i thought of the video we saw in class .. and even though people wernt moving and playing musical chairs.. or there werent any guys standing in front of the entrance watching "skirts" go by i did notice that when i first arrived i stopped and stared in frontof the entrance and by simply doing that, that attracted a lot of attention to other passer Byers to the point where they to would stop and stare..as far as deterring the attention of undesirables the only thing i saw that would be for that purpose would be the tall gates that were pushed against the wall during the day.. and which i assume would be locked at night..now though there were no visible signs of surveillance cameras, or security guards, there was a janitor of some sort on the site.. maybe because its in the middle of the city, and has its own gates(so they can close at night) there isnt a need to guard the area that closely..funny enough .. i expected to see a sign similar to a park plague but i dont recall seeing anything that says anything about the plaza.. but i would still assume that it is private space...but as far as being there .. i felt safe ..being that it was equally gendered especially since most people there seemed to be lost in there own worlds..

Danielle Nicolosi Community Board Meeting

I went with a friend from the class who also lives on Staten Island, Maya Jourieh. We got there about 5 minutes late, they were in the middle of the Pledge of Allegiance. After that they took attendance of the board and to people sitting at the round tables directly in front of the board. There were about 5 tables of well dressed men and women. About 1/3 were women and there was only one black lady. The age range was between 30 and 70.

After they took attendance they asked who was there from a newspaper or magazine, and there were a few who sat where Maya and i sat,in a row across the back.

First up,a member of the The Community Response Team (CERT), went up to the podium to speak about the effects of the horrific storm we had. He reassured us that they're doing everything possible to address these effects.

A member from the Dept of City Planning had a 12 slide power point explaining to us about the Comprehensive Waterfront Plan. There are 4 major foundations: the redeveloping waterfront, the natural waterfront, the working waterfront, and the public waterfront. I had no idea this was even in effect. It's a vision of 2020.

The Dentist Office Parking Problem
( the funniest and most interesting of the meeting)
Nasty white woman with blond hair was first fighting that she didn't want to go up yet. Then she finally gave in but huffed and puffed. She was having problems with the mic and kept saying, "Just bare with me." (I actually kept a tally, she said it about 6 times). She was the president of the tax payers association. She was speaking sternly and pissed off. I wasn't too sure what she was talking about but she was mad! She said something about Applications with a bunch of numbers and letters. Something about incorrect zoning of parking. Very unclear.

At first, i couldn't tell if the next guy up was challenging her or not. He had a Santa Clause- goat beard, glasses, and white hair in a low bun. I was too focused on these last 2 peoples appearances and attitudes to focus on what the issue actually was. A statement that i caught was, " a residential, 2 family house was turned into a 1 family because this guy wanted to have a dentist office...No parking on the side..." . He said this is an abnormal situation.

Next was finally a nicer, clearer old man. He said there are a lot of violations taking place, "...she can't get away with it anymore!" He wants this property to go back to land use.

While they were waiting for the next person to speak about this issue they opened the podium up to who ever has an issue with anything. The old man next to me stood up and walked over. He explained that he moved from the North Shore of Staten Island to Annadale 50 years ago. "I need help," is what he said as he looked into the people of the board. He had a big flood. He has flood insurance but it only covers for outside damage not inside damage. He lost his pool, deck, trees, and so did the rest of his block. He lives by the water. He sounded really sad and depressed. He was a sweet old man. (someone raised their hand advising he calls 311)

To continue, the dentist man, dressed in a suit, "corrected" the previous speakers. It is a 3 story building with 2 dentists. (Nasty blond lady is hiding behind the wall shaking her head walking back and forth even more pissed off). The office takes up so much space with a ramp because they specialize in handicapped children. All they have is a 300 square foot waiting room on the first floor (size of a garage) and there is an elevator for the other floors. Doesn't see the problem with all this. Doesn't feel they are taking up too much space or causing any violations.


IN CONCLUSION
The board speaks about the land use issue. A lady at a round table raises her hand saying it should go to the land use committee. A guy at another table 2Nd's. The lady gets annoyed and says, " I just said that!" The guy next to her says that's how it works, hes agreeing with you. ( Maya and I laughed). The board thanks everyone for how they voted.


The best part about this was to see how pissed off some people got. Also The old man with the flood really touched me. And i also had no idea the Vision of 2020 was taking place so it was very informative.

I feel the level on the ladder we were on at this meeting was Level 5, Placation. Because i wouldnt go as far to say there was equal power like a partnership, however, the board definitely listened and everyone voted fairly and gave good feedback.