The fourth of several stories by Hunter students describing their communities and especially focusing on their methods and strategies for getting important news information that could effect their lives.
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Williamsburg, Brooklyn, is in a state of constant change. Even after living here for only three and a half years I have witnessed an evolution of the neighborhood. From restaurants to stores and apartment buildings, new construction is happening constantly and new residents are replacing old ones. While some of the most recent statistics are from several years ago, there has certainly been significant change from the following data.
According to the New York Department of Health, the neighborhoods of Williamsburg and Bushwick are predominantly populated by blacks and Hispanics, with only 8 percent being white or Asian. Almost half of the population is under 24 years old, a much greater percentage than other areas of Brooklyn or New York City as a whole.
Only 25 percent of the residents have had college experience, and the crime rate is higher than the Brooklyn or New York City averages; whether these are related is more difficult to determine. Although the crime statistics are higher in this area, according to nyc.gov, there has been a significant drop in felony crimes over the past several years.
Regarding health statistics, over a third of the residents in Williamsburg considers themselves to be in low health, which is higher than the rest of the city. Overall, much of the data available paints a bleaker picture than what I’ve experienced as a resident in this neighborhood.
I’m an avid reader of the news. Local, national, international – I find all of it to be intriguing. My sources vary, but ones that I use on a daily basis are The New York Times online, BBC News online and Huffington Post, which is an Internet based news site. Other frequent sources include CNN and MSNBC, which I watch daily in the evenings, and The New Yorker, which I subscribe to. One source for local news and events in my neighborhood is called Brooklyn Vegan, a blog that an individual started to help keep others up to date on community activities. Overall, I tend to follow national and international news on a much more frequent basis than local issues. Regarding my opinion towards mass media, I consider many news outlets to do a remarkable job at reporting news from a fair viewpoint.
While there is almost always a slight bias or slant to most news organizations, I find that reading news from multiple sources assists in gathering well rounded opinions on current events.
I live off of the Bedford L stop on North 10th Street in a loft building that was converted in the 1970s from factory space. I love this area; I have most of my friends within several blocks of my apartment as well as some of my favorite restaurants and bars. The community is extremely diverse, with young professionals intermixed with students, families and the elderly.
The Polish community has a large presence in Williamsburg, but even more so closer to Greenpoint. I live three blocks away from two different city parks, the first, McCarren Park, has a running track, baseball fields and a dog run. The other is the East River State Park located on the East River; it has amazing views of the city.
This was the site of various free concerts held all summer long every Sunday afternoon. My favorite part of neighborhood is that it’s much less hectic than Manhattan. Many streets are often very quiet and there is a strong sense of community, as I regularly see the same people on a daily basis, whether it is at the bodega or on the street.
While I consider Williamsburg to be my home, another important aspect of my life in New York is my involvement in the gay community. Growing up in an extremely conservative area of South Carolina, I now know how lucky I am as a gay man to live in such an accepting and supportive city. Having had first hand experience of how hard it was to live, much less come out in such a close-minded part of the country, only emphasizes the importance for the young gay population to have a supportive network and community of friends and loved ones to turn to as they begin their journey into adulthood.
I believe New York does this in an amazing way; it has one of the largest gay populations in the world and it’s wonderful to be able to experience the strong sense of brotherhood that it provides.
The most important issues to me at this point in my life are human rights and the environment. Gay rights fall under the former’s umbrella, and the latter is what I hope to work towards improving through a career in environmental law. These issues have a huge effect on the daily lives of millions of Americans as well as countless other people across the globe. The welfare of our most overlooked populations is something that doesn’t get nearly enough attention, in my opinion.
From the homeless here in the United States to those people starving across the African continent, there is so much more that could be done to aid in the improvement of their situations. The environment, on the other hand, will be an issue that will no doubt move to the forefront of the political realm as we continue to see the effects of global warming and climate change in the coming decades.
Another important issue today is health care and has been covered almost non-stop in the news recently due to Obama’s push for national coverage. In “Health Care Sprawl,” Clark Hoyt, the New York Times Public Editor, delves into the issue of whether news media has done a good enough job informing the public of the details behind the health care debate. With the government debate being convoluted and complicated at best, the public has rightfully been confused, and Hoyt believes that all news outlets, including his own, need to try harder to help Americans understand what is going so they know which government plan to support.
While he believe that the Times has attempted to bring better understanding through a blog called Prescriptions and a forum called Health Care Converstaions, Hoyt acknowledges that it is indeed very difficult for newspapers to provide comprehensive background information on health care on a daily basis in their print editions.
He summarizes that while newspapers may be attempting to further educate the public concerning the government’s plan for health care, there is always more that can be done and better ways to do it.