Gentrification

The Lower East Side was declared one of 11 most endangered neighborhoods. They're planning on doing construction and building hotels and apartment towers in places where businesses that has been around for a while are. Some people are worried that it'll hurt the neighborhoods history because some say that old businesses and houses are part of what the Lower East Side use to be.

There's more house buildings being knocked down and more hotels and businesses being built. People in this neighborhood want to preserve the way the LES use to be, and it's getting harder for people to do that. They have been trying to protest against the raised rent bills, but if things are inevitable, then there's not much they can do.

The point of our film is to get this issue known throughout the rest of the LES and NYC as a whole so that we can all get together and d something to stop changes that can interfere with people's idea of the LES.

The Old Lower East Side

Our film, Fight for Survival is about the struggle of businesses in the Lower East Side adjusting to socioeconomic changes. We interviewed long-time business owners, like El Castillo Restaurant and Katz Diner. This topic is a very important issue in society because it has to do more with economic status in New York and how people are forced to deal with it in different ways.


I'm interested in this subject because I feel like this topic should go without being heard. It doesn't connect to me personally because as a teen I don't really have to deal with money problems, but I know when I get older, I'm going to have to handle the socioeconomic changes that come about.


Is Lower East Side endangered?
Who is affected by gentrification in the Lower East Side?
How has the level of clientel changed in businesses throughout time in the LES?

Film Blog

Fight for Survival is about the struggle of middle and lower class businesses in the Lower East Side to adjust to socioeconomic changes in the Lower East Side. Through interviews with long-time business owners, like El Castillo Restaurant, Katz Diner and a visit to the tenement building. We will see how people cope with and try to fight ethnic and economic changes in the neighborhood and how it affects their businesses.

Our movie is mainly going to focus on the struggles of business owners and how society and economics are changing the way things use to be. They're going to talk about how they're surviving with the way things are going. They mention all the businesses that are being closed down around this area, and they talk about how they still attract people and how they're trying to keep up with the economy.

The research I have to do is compare what the people on camera say to see if they have the same struggles in common. This quarter, we're going to visit the tenements to see how it compares to it's past looks and how it looks now. The Lower East Side is becoming more modern, and not many antique businesses are around anymore, and we want to portray this idea of gentrification through our film.

Photo Essay Blog

Gentrification in the LES became a very large issue as the years go by. The topic of our film "Fight For Survival" is about the socioeconomic changes that are causing for old businesses to close down because they aren't able to afford the rent. Some don't even want to be around no more because nothing is the way they use to be, and many people here are old fashion.

The topic of my photo essay is the surroundings of Katz Diner & El Castillo because it allows us to see the different types of people that go around this area. I'll even take pictures of the walls because it shows all the different people that has passed by there since they opened up their story. I would want to also take pics of the employees because it can help show the different race and how it changed. This diner is a very busy diner and has been in business for a long time, so the place itself has made a mark on the LES.

For me to bring our film alive, I'm planning on interviewing the workers/owners of the diners since they've been there the longest to see how it has changed around them. I'll be taking pics of the area too to show the busyness of the Lower East Side.

Cinetogrophy

Working with Ariana, I learned that in order to make a good movie, you need to know how to use the different views and angles of a camera. If you want to get personal with the protagonists, you should use the close up view because it helps the people watching it relate to them. If you want the background to have a meaning when a person is talking to the camera, you tell the person to move a little to the side, and it helps create an image of importance to the viewer. For my video, I hope to use the correct angles to get my point across to those who watch it.

iMovie

I learned a couple things from doing this iMovie workshop with Quann. I know how to add text, music, photos, voice changers, and even changes in appearance. It was very interesting, and I hope I can use these skills in our class video.

Poem

I look in the mirror I see a split personality
A girl who's strong with a weak mentality
A girl who's gullible who doesn't look at the reality
A girl who sees but doesn't judge abnormality
Then there's a girl who's sees people using brutality
A girl who wants to reduce the act of insanity
Be an FBI agent can get you killed is the generality
of the people's opinion which i could care less for
as I help open these closed doors
to help within society.