Saturday, February 28, 2009

Friday, February 27, 2009

Tara's culture hunt

Following the cultural hunt in Long Island City, Queens on an early Wednesday morning, I left feeling rather perplexed about the complex situation of the area. Much of what I saw, made me question how things had come to be, historically, socially and logistically. There seemed to be such stark contrasts in all aspects of the site.
After some reflection, I decided to research the lack of urban planning of the area and the consequent social dichotomy. First and foremost, there was a saturation of research linking poor urban planning and urban decay to an endless list of social costs, including lower living standards and crime. Much of this research is rooted in the field of environmental psychology. The United Nations reports that a global trend shows that “there is increasing evidence that poor planning, design and management of the urban environment puts citizens at risk of death, injury and loss of property.” Furthermore, “it has been estimated that 10 to 15 percent of crimes have environmental design and management components.” Thus, this brings to mind, the extent to which newly freed inmates, who are dropped off in the midst of Long Island City, stand a chance of keeping out of trouble. Not to mention, the prison environment is not exactly one in which, one can recoup comfortably.
An article that I found in the New York Times, tells the journey of the ex-inmates’ first moments of freedom at the drop-off point in Queens Plaza. The article entitled “Life on Freedom Street” tells a story, which is almost a paradox to the term freedom; at once, they are welcomed by “merchants peddling goods both legal and illegal,” “temptations,” and other features that leave them nothing but vulnerable to the possibility of re-incarceration. Furthermore, the physical environment itself is not one that suggests a clean slate in life. At first glance, the bus off-loaders find themselves in the shadows of “an iron canopy, rusting above a slick of donut shops and strip clubs,”
Ultimately, the new taste of freedom is quickly filled with risk and unkind opportunity.
Not only is this an experience associated with those more vulnerable to a life in crime. Even the average, not formally incarcerated civilians of the area have concerns. In a letter to the editor of The Queens Gazette paper, local Megan Dees advocates for a revival of the city through urban planning. She describes the area to be “blighted and dangerous” and expresses her concerns about the lack of desire of the neighborhood. “A pedestrian must have a reason to cross the plaza. There is none right now. You can get a donut and a lap dance on both the north and south sides of the plaza. This is a menacing place.”
In all, these stories and descriptions, have left me to wonder how newly freed inmates could possibly fare in such an environment where they are left to fend through all the temptations, despite a psychological vulnerability. Thus, it relates to the Fortune Society and its services because as we move forward in service design for the Fortune, we must consider that the walls within the society are isolated and contrasted to the habitat the clients will spend their daily routines in. It is essential to understand how to help them not only when they are within the walls of the Fortune Society but also as they face the persuasions of the environment outside. In conclusion, environmental psychology is both important within and outside of the walls of the Fortune society. If we do not have full control of the environment outside, what can we do to ensure that the psychology of our client’s are not vulnerable as they explore outside of Fortune’s walls?



Dees, Megan. Letter to the editor, March 21, 2007. http://www.qgazette.com/news/2007/0321/Editorial_pages/008.html.

Fifield, Adam. “Life on Freedom Street.” NYtimes.com, December 23, 2001, http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9403E4D71E3EF930A15751C1A9679C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=3.

Roleke, John. Jumble of Overhead Tracks in Queens Plaza. http://queens.about.com/od/longislandcity/ig/Long-Island-City-Photos/Queens-Plaza.htm.

United Nations Human Settlements Programme. Enhancing Urban Safety and Security: Global Report on Human Settlements 2007. Earthscan, 2007.

Fidelma's view on Fortune Society

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

What's the deal with crime in LIC?

On my culture hunt down 40th Ave near Fortune, I spoke to two different men about their opinions on the neighborhood. Their responses were such polar opposites that I wondered who was closer to the ‘truth’ about the safety of the area.

The first man I spoke to was working at an engineering/construction firm. He said the neighborhood was
“dangerous. It’s a commercial area. It’s hard to find parking. There are a lot of break-ins at night. Did I mention it’s hard to find parking?” By his tone of voice, I could tell that this neighborhood was not a place where he would be come nightfall.











Next, I spoke to an employee at the Verve Hotel down the street. His opinion of the area was quite different:

“It’s nice. It’s pretty safe. We get a lot of guests that worry because it looks kind of scary, but it’s safe here at night. I go to the restaurants in the area, we just ordered in. I do my shopping here. Sometimes I buy groceries here on the way home. I live in Astoria. I refer people to Astoria. When you work in a community, you get a good idea of the immediate area.”



So, which is it? Is 40th Ave a safe place to guide hotel-goers for a bite to eat at night, or someplace to avoid?

I consulted some outside sources to get a bigger picture on crime in Long Island City. First, I looked at a recent article from the Queens Gazette, where Police Precinct Commander Deputy Inspector Paul Vorbeck tells the Community Board 1 cabinet that there has been a decrease in crime in Long Island City in 2008. 1 Even though Vorbeck professes "I'm confident the best is yet to come" in terms of crime reduction, there are still issues in the neighborhood. For example, his detectives still haven’t located a male perpetrator of a street rape that they started looking for October 20th. Burglaries were up 17%, even though total crime occurrences declined by 10%. Grand larceny did decline by 19%, and there have been improvements in addressing domestic violence in the community as well. The Family Justice Center of Queens was established by the Mayor to combat domestic violence.

Despite those (partly) positive statistics, I was still unsure about the safety of the neighborhood. When I visited, it was very unclean, with trash and broken glass everywhere. Additionally, there were a number of open lots under construction, showing that the neighborhood is in flux.

An article from Outlook Magazine helped me make a connection between the neighborhood construction and perceptions of crime. In “Staying Alive; The Region Holds its Ground While NYC Surges Ahead”, Diane Greer gives a general overview about the rampant development in New York City. 2 She states “factors sited for fueling residential growth include strong demand, a healthy economy, and successful efforts by the city to keep crime in check and improve the quality of life.” It’s possible that some of these construction efforts were approved to go along with the Deputy Inspector’s story of crime reduction. But if crime reduction is linked to new condos and shiny hotels, what happens when the city runs out of money to complete those projects? We’re about to find out.

1.Cogan, Thomas. “Astoria-LIC Crime Declines, Vorbeck Tells Bd. 1 Cabinet.” The Queens Gazette. February 18th, 2009. Features.

2.Greer, Diane. “Staying Alive; The Region Holds its Ground While NYC Surges Ahead.” Outlook, January 1, 2008. Pg. 23 Vol. 55 No. 7

Monday, February 23, 2009

Research definitions and resources

Via the New School libraries page, you can now access the Chicago Style Guide’s online resource.

For information on research ideas to a quick citation guide, and links to guides for citing electronic sources see this page from NYU's libraries.

For a good discussion of primary and secondary sources with links to further information see this page from UCLA's Institute on Primary Resources.

Use these links for more information on how to use the New School’s library resources online and on-site (like, in the stacks).

Keep in mind, too, that we’re part of a group of downtown libraries that you have access to with your New School ID, including the NYU library system. You can find more information about this on the New School libraries page.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Encoding/Decoding video follow-up - All of Us or None



This is the second video we didn't get a chance to watch in class.

When we consider images of prisons, prisoners, former prisoners, etc. in visual culture, how might be think through the following questions and how does this impact the Next_F project?:


*How do we come to know what we know?

*What do we see in the images we encounter?
*How do these images work as texts or ideas that create knowledge, assumptions and contexts for how we understand people and social relationships and how do those understandings shape images or visual culture, in turn?
*What languages do images speak, reinforce, and reinvent?

the tipping point of crime


After our recent discussion in class of talks about 1982 in being the year crime started to decrease and more prisons started to get built, it immediately made me think of the work of Malcolm Gladwell.

As the author of some really fascinating books, The Tipping Point, Blink and Outliers, he brings some new perspectives and interesting thought to several ideas about epidemics, the power of thought, and success. In his first book I read, The Tipping Point, Gladwell uses the crime decline in New York City in 1982 as a prime example in discussions about epidemics.

Where Gladwell first gained fame was in his articles written for the New Yorker, in which most of these articles went on to shape the context of his books. Here is just one article he wrote about the crime epidemic in New York City. If you go to his archive of New Yorker articles, you can also find other writings about crime and science where Gladwell begs the question; why do some people turn into violent criminals? as well as an article he wrote on criminal profiling.

I highly suggest however everyone checking out The Tipping Point if you haven't already, where Gladwell dives further into crimes and epidemics in New York City. It's an easy read, extremely interesting and thought provoking.

Friday, February 20, 2009

Visit to Fortune 2/13









Our Visit to Fortune included a tour of the facility and the opportunity to speak with staff members from education, counseling, and health services.  Additionally we were also fortunate enough to speak with a former client of Fortune, Francisco, who vividly explained his story and experiences with Fortune services.  

We used ethnographic research methods, from photography and observation, to ad hoc interviews. 

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Fresh Start: Inmates learn business

BBC article on the Prison Entrepreneurship Program, dedicated to teach business and entrepreneurship to US inmates.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

From Prison to Freedom, and Telling Their Tales

NY Times review on the play "The Castle", "a simple, fascinating production, describes the obstacles that criminal offenders face upon their release". As Esther says, "real stuff as told by four real Fortune clients". Good stuff. At the New World Stages

Monday, February 9, 2009

GEMS girls!




Everyone should check out this incredible organization, GEMS, or Girls Educational and Mentoring Services, "the only organization in New York State specifically designed to serve girls and young women who have experienced commercial sexual exploitation and domestic trafficking."



They just started showing their movie, Very Young Girls on Showtime, so try to check that out, too!!


Sunday, February 8, 2009

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Next_F Intro Movie

What they are saying about us...

...at the Design and Management blog.

Our film is hosted there for the moment but will soon be available here as well.

Monday, February 2, 2009

Next_F Project started on January 30th...

...with a great motivated group of students!
We had the presence of Esther Kartinger, an experienced journalist who will be the liason between Parsons' team and the Fortune Society. 
The Parsons' team is led by faculty Lara Penin, together with Savitri Lopez-Negrete and Shana Agid.
Nadia Elrokhsy, IDC director was a special participation in the first class.
The students will be soon posting in this blog.