Meet Your Neighbors: Episode 2
Glad to hear everyone enjoyed the inaugural installment of “Meet Your Neighbors,” a new feature on the Bed Stuy blog that serves to make the introductions between you, our readers, and other people who live or work in Bedford Stuyvesant.
I hit the streets on a warm, sunny afternoon last week, hoping my narrative nose would point me toward someone amenable to answering the questions of a complete stranger. As luck would have it, I noticed a smiling woman waiting for the bus on Halsey Street, and she was happy to comply. Ready to meet a new neighbor?
Name: Gisele C.
Resides: Malcolm X between Macdonough and Decatur
Age: 27 years old
Born: Brooklyn, NY
Cultural or ethnic heritage: Haitian American
Lives with: Her daughter
Years lived in Bed Stuy: 20 years
Renter or home owner: Renter
Important aspects of your home and the community: My home is my comfort zone and if I don’t have peace in it, then where else could I have it? And as far as our community is concerned, I just wish we could stand up and recognize that if we don’t start pushing ourselves to strive for more then we are most definitely at a loss!
Do you participate in community events?: No. I am a full-time employee and a full-time mom!
What do you do for a living?: I work with the city’s finest!
Do you enjoy your work?: At times, yes, but there can also be a flip side to everything you do. However, what I do can be very rewarding and it keeps me grounded!
If you did not enjoy what you do for a living, what else could you see yourself doing?: It would definitely be working as a motivational speaker with young black men and women between the ages of 13 and 21!
What are some of your favorite hobbies? I love to travel, read, and swim.
What is your most dreaded household chore?: It would have to be taking the garbage out. I just feel that’s a man’s job!
Are you religious, and if yes, do you attend local worship services?: NO.
On average, how much time do you spend in Manhattan?: Oh out of a seven day week…about four to five days.
What do you like best about living in Brooklyn and Bed Stuy?: I would have to say the diversity.
What do you like least?: The crime!
Other than your own ethnic or cultural background, what other cultures, or countries do you have an affinity for and why? I’m a really sociable person so I meet and greet just about everyone with the same level of respect.
What would you change about the neighborhood if you could?: If I were able to change one thing, and it would be effective…it would be enlightening a lot of single parents who may have given up on themselves and their child/children. I’ve noticed that there is a lack of information provided for single moms and dads, and they need to be aware that there are programs out there to help them deal with a lot of gray areas.
Are there any businesses or services that your part of the neighborhood is lacking?: Yes…I’m tired of only seeing fast food restaurants, liquors stores, and check cashing places!
Do you feel like Bedford Stuyvesant is experiencing “gentrification�: Absolutely!
Based on your own definition of gentrification, what are the positive and negative benefits of gentrification?: As far as restoration within the neighborhood, it is a very positive move, however why did it have to take a realtor changing this part of the neighborhood’s name to “Stuyvesant Heights,†and a more economically-defined person/people to move within the area for it to happen? A lot of people have worked really hard, and are still doing so, to provide a roof over their and their family’s heads. A lot of hands are being forced to make decisions they probably would not have made 15 to 20 years ago. In this process, who is helping the poor?
Is there anything in particular that you would like to say to the neighbors who will
be reading about you?: If you stand for nothing…You will fall for anything!
Photography by Bed Stuy resident and photographer Rosie McCobb. To see more of Rosie’s work, click here:www.pbase.com/mccobb1969
29 April 2008, 11:33 am
I LOVE this series!!
29 April 2008, 2:22 pm
she is so cute! I love what she says about the neighborhood.
29 April 2008, 3:33 pm
This is now my favorite part of the blog. Keep them coming- perhaps weekly?
29 April 2008, 8:49 pm
This is the BEST addition to Bed-Stuy Blog!
29 April 2008, 9:11 pm
Yes keep this going it is great
29 April 2008, 10:02 pm
Oh, I love this feature and I don’t even live on the East Coast, much less in Bed-Stuy!
30 April 2008, 9:03 am
i love, love, love this feature. and what a vibrant and lovely woman she is!
30 April 2008, 10:22 am
this is really good, it seems odd to reflect that a true ‘man on the street’ profile is very rare. but then again, most people aren’t very forthcoming when a stranger approaches asking questions! keep it up!
30 April 2008, 10:23 pm
Gisele definitely compliments the community- it’s great to see a blog getting in touch with the residents of Bed-Stuy
02 May 2008, 2:58 pm
I also like this series. Please keep it going.
02 May 2008, 6:46 pm
Jimmy Legs, that’s exactly why this series is so appropriate for BedStuyblog! People are so open in this neighborhood–it’s the best part of living here and I hope it never changes! I have learned a lot about being a good neighbor here, and I meet someone interesting and new every other time I walk my dog or go to the train.
This is a great segment because it speaks to the nature of the neighborhood in a way that is sincere.
Fantastic!