F Train Stop: Jackson Heights- Roosevelt Avenue ($53,574)

This train stop revolves around a big train station where there are a ton of buses sitting around waiting for passengers. According the New Yorker Interactive "Inequality and New York's Subway", the median household income is around $53,574. For a place where the median income is pretty much in the middle, I'm pretty disappointed. For one thing, I've noticed the vast amount of trash (not very noticeable, but you can see paper, plastic and cardboard scraps on the ground) lying around despite there being at least 1-2 trash cans at each corner. I would think this would be a place that didn't look disorganized and dirty.

Despite the trash lying around, one can easily see why: there is a huge abundance of stores ranging from food shops (like McDonalds) to cheap clothing stores. There's also an abundance of halal food carts,  at least 1 Halal food cart on each block around in this area. In terms of people interacting with each other, there didn't seem to be any: everyone was in a rush to get somewhere.

There are almost no empty parking spaces around as well, there is a bunch of a cars around that mostly are brands like Nissan, Toyota and Ford. Very large variety of stores, it looks mostly like a shopping district rather than a place to live. There were no police officers on duty patrolling around when I did my observations, although I know there is a police precinct in Jackson Heights. I looked a bit farther, and I’ve observed that there are more shops than there is housing. There probably would be more housing if I looked a bit farther, but I don't know how far is too far from this area. There are no clear-cut boundaries that mark Jackson Heights- Roosevelt Avenue.

If you're not careful, you can definitely get run in these crossroads nearby. However, the shopping district is still stretched to this section as well. However, there are 3 sections in Jackson Heights- Roosevelt Avenue that seem to be racially segregated: there are not clear cut, but you can see a pattern of certain stores cropping up in a certain area. These areas have stores that are geared either for Hispanics, Asians or Indians. It would make sense since the people waking around this area seemed to be mostly Hispanic or Indian, with a few Asians walking around (Filipinos counted as Hispanics). In short, the neighborhood overall didn’t seem to match with the median income.

Posted by Jacqueline Quiroga

E Line- World Trade Center/Church Street- $205,192

People: The neighborhood around the World Trade Center (WTC) largely consisted of government buildings, federal and state, as well as banking/financial -centered businesses, thus providing many professionals that made up the population. It appeared as if the most common resident was someone with a white-collar job with the median age being in the thirties. The second most popular group were tourist families, American and foreign.  Since the largest representation of the neighborhood demographic is professionals, it seemed as if the only children were tourists with their family, and even then minors were very scarce. After people in their thirties the next most common age was 40-60 years of age, and then those in their twenties. When it came to race, the most abundant was white (around 35-40% of the population), with black and Asian subsequent. Concerning gender, I would estimate that the district was divided between 60% men and 40% women. For class, I would infer upper-middle class was most prevalent, while lower class was the least, with the rest of the population being hard to identify by class and being generally mixed. Even in the large radius I focused on, there was only one homeless person, and she was sitting next to the subway entrance steps.

Actions and Interactions: Of the many people observed, groups of two or more people were the most common, while those by themselves were usually in suits and kept to themselves. There were big groups consisting of guided tours, many groups of friends, as well as small groups of professionals, I infer colleagues, who from simply passing by could be heard talking business.

Police Presence: There was understandably a lot of police standing along the perimeter of the WTC site, but there were also many alongside government buildings in the neighborhood. The police presence included many cop cars parked along the street, police in the streets, and security in front of City Hall and guarding the parking lot of the Manhattan Municipal Building.

Food: There were not many places to eat in the neighborhood, as the majority of space was used for banks and government agencies. I could not find one grocery store my entire time, but I did come across a fresh fruit stand on the sidewalk. The prevalent places to eat were small cafes and Starbucks, while restaurants were more of a rare occurrence.

Public Spaces: This neighborhood is highly dependent upon its public spaces, and I have never seen another area in Manhattan with more of these city-run areas. There was City Hall, the Manhattan Municipal Building, numerous courts, including the New York Supreme Court, to name some of the areas of government. Though these structures are not meant as places of public leisure, it does emphasize how the New York state government heavily influences the neighborhood, rather than private businesses. Community parks included the heavily used City Hall Park and the cemetery of St. Paul’s Chapel that functioned as a place where people were resting or having guided tours. Moreover, at City Hall Park there were street performers that entertained and attracted a crowd.

Goods and Services: There were numerous banks, with many streets being lined with more than two.Again, business and government buildings dominated the neighborhood so places like clothing stores and restaurants were less common.

Maintenance: The entire WTC area was well maintained, especially for such a crowded area. There was no noticeable litter and the parks were kept very clean, while there were many trees and gardens that provided a nice atmosphere. The roads and sidewalks were additionally maintained with care and kept clean.

Transportation: Many vehicles of transportation in the neighborhood were in fact tour buses and coach buses meant for sightseeing tourists. The vehicles along the street and in parking lots were not luxury cars , but average-priced cars that were relatively new, some being government vehicles that tended to be found near state and federal government buildings. Within the neighborhood there were various other subway lines provided besides the E-line.

Overall, it is fairly obvious that the neighborhood around the WTC has one of the highest median household incomes in all of New York City simply by observing the area.  

F Train- Jay Street/MetroTech- $63,023

Jay Street/MetroTech, a station located along the F train subway line, has a median income of $63,023. This is neither the lowest medium income area along the F train line, nor is it the highest. From what I observed of the area, I could see how it would be geared towards the middle of the income spectrum.

Jay Street is located along Fulton Mall, therefore is made up of many shopping stores. The shopping center seemed to be geared toward lower class pedestrians. I noticed that there was only one natural foods market (pictured below) in the area. There was one Subway fast food restaurant in the area. The rest were non chain pizza places, delis, taco place etc. I noticed a large amount of Starbucks scattered around the area.

From my observations of the people in the area, a majority of the pedestrians seemed to be african american and hispanic. According to the census tract map, (provided by the professor) this seems to be true of the area I observed, in reagards to residential demographics.  I also think, however, that many of the people in the highly populated area were there for the shopping.

There was a large amount of young adults and middle aged adults. A reason for the large amount of young adults in the area could be the colleges located in the area. Brooklyn Law School (pictured below), New York City College of Technology, and St. Francis College are a few I spotted.

There were a lot of police officers in the area, most likely due to the large amount of shopping stores in the area. There were also many different public buses making stops around the area.

The area consisted of both new and old building, especially in regards to architecture. There was an old landmark building, the Brooklyn Borough Hall (pictured below), in the area. There were many government buildings as well, such as the New York City Building Department, New York City Records, and Kings County Family Court.

There were also new apartment complexes, that were on the process of being built.

Some of the store building weren't very well kept-- dirt, grim, and cracks sporadically covered the fronts of them.  There were, however, many trees in the area. The sidewalks and were clean and in good condition. As I got further away from the shopping center, there were little boutiques outside near a park.

Most of the people I observed were shopping. The majority of the public spaces seemed to be used for that specific goal. The only interaction I noticed were the ones between the boutique owner and the customers. The rest were just walking to their desired destinations, wherever they may be.

I was surprised by my finding because I was expecting the area to be more white collar business orientated due to the amount of government building in the area. I was expecting more business attire. The people I observed were casually dressed, though that could be because of the time of day I chose to do this field study.

It was a very interesting experience that I really enjoyed.

F Train 63rd Street and Lexington Avenue- $152,353

            The neighborhood surrounding Lexington Avenue and 63^rd street station lies on the border of Midtown and Upper East Side Manhattan. The median income for this upper-class neighborhood according to the New York Times’, “Inequality and New York’s Subway” map of 2011 is $152,353.  Once you step outside the train station, the surroundings appear to be seemingly consistent with the income for the area.

        

When you walk along the streets of Lexington Avenue, you encounter an array of shopping stores to choose from. One surprising aspect is the mix of what one would consider “middle-class” and “upper-class” stores. While on one side you see the ever popular Bloomingdales for the rich and wealthy covering a large amount of square footage, there’s also stores such H&M, Aldo, Steve Madden and Zara-fashion for more reasonable prices. 

 

 

            The food choices are also considerably mixed. There are small Asian-inspired places such as Ginza and Lili and Loo which are about $10-$20 a plate for a good serving size of food. However, there are also locations such as the Brazilian-inspired Circus Restaurant and the French bistro Opia ranging from $25-$40 a plate for smaller portions. There are also expensive supermarkets such as Food Emporium and D’ Agostino, but there are also more affordable locations such as Pioneer and Associated.

 

            As you walk along the sidewalks there’s a mix of men and women in suits, along with your trendy fashionista’s wearing the latest Celine or Prada. During rush hour, the streets and sidewalks are usually jam-packed with people bustling to get to work or school (Hunter College merely a few blocks away). No one seems to be aware of those around them, and people tend to bump into you without an apology. 

           When you observe the streets you notice an array of expensive cars such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW’s, Audi’s, etc- all common amongst individuals who populate the area. There are police present in the area, but mainly traffic police. It doesn’t seem to be much of a crime-ridden neighborhood.

           The majority of people present in the area are white, along with your occasional wealthy looking minorities. I also noticed a few notably Jewish people: men donned their yarmulkes with slacks and long-sleeved shirts and women wore ¾ sleeve blouses and skirts that covered their knees.

           The area is comprised of a majority of sky-rise buildings- little to no trees or grass are present. The sidewalks and streets are clean and in good condition. Transportation is readily available: yellow cabs, city buses and trains such as the 4,5,6, E, F and R trains.

          Although a distance away from the train station, one can walk to Central Park to sit on the massive rocks and breathe some fresh air, or take a cultural trip to the Guggenheim Museum for a dose of modern and contemporary art- both locations usually heavily populated by tourists.

59th street / A train

I saw lots of people and many of them were tourists.

Type more here.

More test.

ACBD1: 59th Street, Columbus Circle

    59St, Columbus Circle

 Fresh produce is easily found around Columbus circle. Healthy breakfast and lunch places are accessible within a 5 block radius. Abundance of high quality and 4star restaurants are present in this neighborhood along with 5 star hotels within two blocks. Standard mobile food service(hot dog, halal food, bagel+coffee etc) is available as well as fresh-pressed beverages and fresh made food on the street.  Starbucks, juice/tea shops and various cuisines can be found without an effort. Whole foods is located in Columbus circle and it attracts a lot of residents surrounding this area and many families can be seen despite the tourists' appeal to Time  Warner center. 

On an initial glimpse, one can surely observe racial and ethic diversity due to the location(in the middle of NYC).  However  if closely paid attention to, residents of buildings around this area, racial diversity is only superficial. It's not skewed in one race per se, but the "melting pot" is not the case when you actually look at people who live in the neighborhood. 

Despite the heavy rain this morning, the street cleaner was cleaning the sidewalks and most streets are kept neat. Along with subways, lots of town cars and taxis were present and used by people. Police vans were located near Columbus circle but not actual police officers were on the street.

Central park is spatially  large and appealing to a large population including residents around the park, as well as visitors, tourist, and athletes etc. It shows a well kept appearance, especially with new bikes available all over the city. Surprisingly, the median income was $ 131,250 for high priced rental, real estate area. It can be explained  by several blocks of public housing a few blocks away from Columbus circle.

Avenue U F Train Stop

Avenue U has a median annual household income of around $35,000. This is one of the lowest incomes on the F train. However, while exploring the radius surrounding the Avenue U station on McDonald Avenue, I found little to no indicators of a lower class neighborhood. Upon getting off of the train the first thing I saw was a ton of cars parked along Avenue U. Some were Mercedes and others Lexus and BMW. The people were well kept and wore nice clothing, and the community seems to be very tightknit. There are many grocery stores with fresh food in the area, about 6 between West 3^rd and east 16^th. There are also many local restaurants that sell food ranging from Italian and Chinese to Mexican and Middle Eastern. There is a park a few blocks away from the station, and on a Friday afternoon when I went there were many children and parents from a variety of different ethnicities. The most prominent were Chinese, Mexican, and Jewish.  There were not many police officers, which indicates that this is not a particularly crime-driven neighborhood. Given this information, it seems to be that this neighborhood is middle to upper class. I continued searching to try to find out why that was. First off, I found a bunch of apartment buildings around the Avenue U area. It is very possible that the people in those buildings are making a lower income, which lowers the median income. I then searched social explorer to see different trends that surround the neighborhood. Social explorer allows me to see different trends surrounding a particular area according to census data. The first trend I explored was race. As I had seen in the park, Avenue U is made up of mostly Asians, Jews, and some Latinas. Then I explored unemployment and poverty. What I found was that in some areas, poverty and unemployment was extremely high (up to 75% and 15% respectively), whereas other areas had less than 1% of poverty and unemployment. This leads me to believe that there are a few areas that are extremely affluent and others that are extremely poor. I also presume that if we were to take the mean, or average, income as opposed to the median, the number would be much higher because the extremely wealthy people will skew the data.