Category Archives: Embed/Annotation

Comptroller Report Clashes With Reality for Flushing Residents

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The economy of Flushing, Queens, appears to be growing. Employment has risen 3.1
percent from 2010 to 2011 in comparison to the rest of Queens, which experienced
only incremental growth and Manhattan employment grew by 0.7 percent,
according to an Office of the New York State Comptroller report released in
September. Flushing residents’ total wages grew by 16.9 percent from 2008 to 2010.

Though wages have risen, the average Flushing salary started at $40, 251 in 2007
while the average Queens resident brought home nearly $4,500 more during the
same year. Flushing residents still made $912 less than the average Queens resident
in 2010.

Flushing’s economy is influenced by many small, often family-run businesses.
Restaurants, clothing stores and beauty salons line Roosevelt Avenue, Main Street
and 34th to 35th Avenues.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, which was cited in the comptroller’s report on the effect of immigration on the economic vitality of New York City,nearly 90 percent of the Flushing’s businesses had fewer than 10 employees.

Lisa Ling, 23, helps her husband Eric Ling, run their small business, PICCHIO, a clothing and accessories store at New World Mall in Flushing. Ling said they are struggling to make ends meet. When the couple first opened the store there was an influx of shoppers but now they don’t have enough money to buy Christmas presents for their children or visit family in China.

Eric Ling, 24, co-owner of PICCHIO, said he was surprised by the 3.1 percent
increase in employment reported by the comptroller’s office. He said many Flushing
residents create small businesses but they do not stay in business for very long.
They change the owner at these (Chinese) restaurants every couple of months,”
Ling remarked. “A lot of them don’t know how to run a business. Price is too high
or quality of service isn’t good.”

The American Community Survey, which averages demographic results gathered
from 2005 to 2009, estimated that 63, 778 Flushing residents are not U.S. citizens.
When compared to ACS estimates of the entire Flushing population, it would total
25 percent of Flushing residents.

Without an accurate number of how many businesses are operating or any device to
track the success of businesses once they are created, there is not a clear picture of
how well sustained economic growth is, or whether it has created a stable quality of
life for residents.

Contemporary Artist Hyungsub Shin Continues His Work Despite Challenges

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Hyungsub Shin’s artwork has most often been described as “beautiful.” Whether his sculptures are an 8-foot-long wall hanging of entangled grass roots or a giant corn cob, the viewer is compelled to approach closely and examine every detail.

In an art culture defined by what is most shocking and politically-minded, Shin has focused on creating contemporary art that is both well crafted, conceptual and visually pleasing.

Shin’s sculptures are mostly inspired by grassroots, ivy roots, or Bonsai trees but sometimes he draws from the patterns he finds on roads and maps.

Patrick Regan, executive director of Crossing Art in Flushing, Queens, said Shin’s work is a departure from the approach of many Asian contemporary artists.

“Unfortunately contemporary art is almost a dirty word,” Regan said. “For so many years people were looking for something that is edgy or almost discordant or very jarring colors with controversial subjects, and you wonder, how can beautiful work be appreciated?”

Shin said that it is difficult for a lot of popular Korean artists to come to New York, not only because the lifestyle is more expensive but because Korean art that is appreciated in Seoul is not necessarily bought in America.

“With Americans it’s not a consideration of well-finished work, it’s more considered for its philosophical issues,” Shin explained. “It’s considered more for what it’s saying than how it looks.”

Shin said artists are struggling now more than ever and he is not an exception. Since the financial crisis began he has found that people who used to stop by the studio from time to time to shop won’t make a visit at all. Shin rents the studio space for $450 as one of three artists who share it. Now that one of the artists is moving out Shin is struggling to find an artist to take her place so that he won’t have to make up the difference.

“$50,000 after tax would be a great amount to make,” Shin said. “Then I can pay for my studio and home bills and material and maybe even an assistant.”

Shin said he does not regret the decision to become an artist. “This is what I love to do. I can’t go back now.”

 

 

Global Family Shares Thanksgiving at International House

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Many graduate students will travel home for Thanksgiving but the majority of students at International House, a graduate housing program located in Morningside Heights, will stay in New York City. Students from all over the world have celebrated the holiday with their new friends. They enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner with all of the traditional fixings, played board games by the fire and watched a holiday movie marathon.

During Fireside Fun, students explained what they have learned from their new friends since they entered International House. According to the students, Pakistanis and Indians don’t have to be “mortal enemies” and an Israeli student acknowledged that International House has taught him the similarities between Israeli and Palestinian culture.

Nintendo Launches Super Mario 3-D Land in Times Square

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Nintendo brought Super Mario Bros. 3-D Land, its newest version of the Mario Bros. game, to life at Times Square last weekend. Children and adults alike played in Mushroomland, emerging from warp pipes and jumping on trampolines to “catch coins.” Mario Bros. fan Nelson Cabachi said he has been looking forward to the game’s release.

“Well I’m really into 3-D so I’m pretty excited that this game is going to accomplish that 3-D look that everyone wants,” Cabachi said. Cabachi also appreciates the old Super Nintendo game, which he plays on “Retro night” once a week.

Fans dressed in Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach and villain costumes waited in a long line to get into Mushroomland as families waited in an even longer line to purchase the video game at Toys’R’Us before it was gone.

Matthew Becker, 9, was waiting in the Toys”R”Us line with his parents. He explained why he was excited about the release of Super Mario 3-D Land:

Low Income Americans Will Splurge But Not Break The Bank

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Photo by Casey Quinlan

In a previous post I explored the topic of consumer spending post-recession. Recent articles in The New York Times have pointed to both overall increased consumer spending and a consumer focus on non-necessities. I decided to conduct a survey to better understand the nuances of consumer choices from a variety of income levels.

Forty-eight percent of the respondents called themselves middle class and 64 percent identified their incomes as $0 to $20,000 a year. Those results tell us a lot about how subjective the definition of “middle class” is, but that is a topic for another post.

Although 48 percent of survey takers said they never shop for non-essentials and 52 percent said they only shop once or twice a week, the highest percentage of people, 40 percent, said they were willing to spend $60 to $85 on one item they badly wanted.

More tellingly, the survey results do link stress to the purchasing of luxury items. Fifty-six percent of respondents said they sometimes yield to the temptation to buy something they could not afford if they have had a stressful week.

Americans may not be Spartans but the results are not as epicurean as I would have expected after reading recent articles on consumer habits. The majority of respondents, 60 percent, said they spend more money on non-essential practical items than luxury goods and 36 percent of survey-takers said they spend an equal amount of money on necessities and wants.

Palestine’s Push For Statehood Jeopardizes Its Economy

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As Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas asked the U.N. to accept his country as full member this past Friday in New York, and even though it is doomed to failure as long as the U.S. stands in the way, Palestine is already paying economic price for its quest for recognition.

The World Bank forecasts GDP growth of 7% in the Palestinian territories in 2011, as compared with 9% in 2010. In its opinion, this slowdown is primarily due to the decline in foreign aid. But it is also due to the U.N. push, insofar as it creates uncertainty and discourages the private sector from investing. In fact, the possible consequences of the Palestinian approach are as varied as worrying: resumption of violence, establishment of Israeli military checkpoints between the West Bank cities, resignation of Abbas, and suspension of U.S.aid ($500 million a year).

“Businesses have stopped hiring and at least one bank merger and a significant investment from the United Arab Emirates have been postponed,” Jihad Wazir told the Financial Times, governor of the Palestinian Monetary Authority. “It’s not so much the vote itself, but concerns about the Israeli response,” he said. This week, Israel threatened to withhold a portion of the $1.2 billion it collects each year in taxes on behalf of the Palestinian Authority if the latter pursued statehood recognition.  As Mohammad Mustafa, head of the Palestine Investment Fund, put it in an interview with Bloomberg Television, the Palestinian economy could collapse within weeks without these funds.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas at Davos World Economic Forum in 2007

This marked economic slowdown is a real blow for a nation that has nonetheless made important strides in the field of institutions, health, services, and education.  The economic growth reached 9.3% in 2010, ahead of Israel’s 4%. While 55% of economic activity is based on the public sector, imports of cars rose by 77% between 2009 and 2011. During this period, 389 new companies have emerged in the West Bank. Even Gaza, which undergoes a partial blockade, has an exceptional level of 15% growth.  But unemployment remains extremely high in both Palestinian territories: 16.9% in the West Bank and 37.4% in Gaza, which is still facing the extensive damage caused by Israeli military operations during Operation Cast Lead in late 2008.

According to World Politics Review, which refers to an IMF report, the biggest drag on Palestinian economic development has actually been the occupation itself:

“In short, the current economics of the Palestinian territories should not be seen as a reliable omen of a Palestinian state’s economic prospects after independence, but rather as a particularly anomalous and dysfunctional set of conditions that exist in large part because of the absence of Palestinian sovereignty. Earlier this year, the IMF estimated that, were it not for the effects of conflict and Israeli restrictions since 1994, the current GDP of the West Bank and Gaza would be 88 percent higher than its current level.”

In fact, the context of Israeli occupation has direct consequences on the Palestinian economy:

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Well, it appears that Palestinians will still have to wait a bit longer before prospering. As an aside, it is remarkable that the countries that already recognize Palestine as a state represent over than 75% of world’s population but less than 10% of the global economy.

The countries that recognize #Palestine represent over 75% of world's population but less than 10% of world's economy. 2/2 via @
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Anthems of the U.S. Economy: Then and Now

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Music and history buffs have long considered “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” to be the undisputed anthem of the Great Depression.  Written in 1931 by lyricist E.Y. “Yip” Harburg and composer Jay Gorney, it was a song featured in the 1932 musical “New Americana” that became best known for versions recorded by Al Jolson and Bing Crosby.

Pianist and composer Rob Kapilow told NPR that the song’s title itself was a symbol of the epic financial struggles Americans faced during that era and that people today can relate to it.  Not to mention, when “The Simpsons” have referenced a song, it must have cultural meaning.

But the Great Recession has some ready to borrow “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” for the current anthem of the economy.  The song’s major theme is its description of the abandonment American citizens felt from the government during the Depression, particularly veterans of World War I.  Considering the number of veterans coming home from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to find themselves unemployed, the parallel is obvious.

But maybe Americans don’t need to pick a song from the past as an anthem for today. Aloe Blacc’s “I Need A Dollar” was released just over a year ago in September 2010, but has only garnered mainstream popularity in the last few months. This may be largely due to its selection as the theme song for the new HBO series, “How to Make it in America,” another example of entertainment inspired by money trouble. The song was also featured in a commercial for Boost Mobile starring a guy working multiple jobs in order to pay his cell phone bill.

So when commenters on a site devoted to interpreting the meaning of song lyrics declared “I Need A Dollar” the current economy’s theme song, the distinction seemed to fit. With lyrics like, “I said, please mister boss man, I need this job more than you know, but he gave me my last paycheck and he sent me on out the door,” it’s hard not to see the similarity in theme and tone to “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?”