For this assignment we were supposed to pick a neighborhood from these five, Red Hook, Harlem, Lennox Hill, Jackson Heights, Crown Heights, after watching their videos. Then we had to apply the ethnographic methods of research that we had already learned such as walking, observation, and recording/editing to explore that neighborhood. We had to plan two walks to that place with two different scenarios like early and late in the day, or during a weekday/during the weekend, etc. This assignment was to build on the observation and research skills.
I decided to go to Crown Heights because it was one community that seemed really concentrated with two ethnic cultures; Jewish and Black people. It also sounded like a very suspicious place due to its reputation and the crime stories. I took a train from union square station to Nostrand Station and then I walked to Crown Heights. I walked through union street and a few other streets. To my surprise Crown Height wasn’t very specific, it was a pretty spread out block. I definitely walked quite a few streets further from the main block just in order not to miss the surroundings.
I tried to record the route and this is what it showed:
I went there on a weekday (Monday) and weekend (Sunday) so that I could see the difference. The difference was startling because when I went on the weekend everything was extremely quiet and dull. There were hardly handful people I could see, most of them coming out from church. It was really scary for me because I could see lanes extending indefinitely but no traces of human beings except 1-2 on the pavements and it was raining. However, with that it was possible for me to really see the houses and their beautiful, old-charm architecture. I think that struck out the most for me other than fact that medical shops, food shops, literally everything was shut. There were a few cars moving around but that was pretty much all the mobility.
My visit on a weekday was much less eerie because I could see moving figures. There were a lot more adults with their kids and the learning centers were functioning too. There was actually some amount of traffic with people crossing streets and all of that. The shops were open too. Staying true to the facts, I saw majority of Black and Jewish people and hence a lot of churches. My expectations weren’t exactly the same as the reality. I thought that the place would be a lot grungier and subdivided into stalls or just very cramped up with illegal businesses happening all around. Conversely, it was much reserved, cleaner and there were real shops operating. I could consider why some people call it a melting pot because there were some other ethnic cultures present too. It did kind of feel like a community in itself excluded from the rest of New York, especially Manhattan. Manhattan is very hustling-bustling with no time to pause and look around, while there I really felt like I should stop and take a moment to grasp in the solitude.
Here are some materials to describe my tour on a weekend:
Here are some materials to describe my tour on a weekday:
