Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Introduction
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Prices of houses located within the district 26, but mainly Benjamin Cardozo High School, has risen due to the high schools prestige reputation. Bayside community is known for its diversity, high education, and a safe area. Students that are zoned to Benjamin Cardozo High School attend automatically; but often students require an admission to one of the special programs offered at the school. Benjamin Cardozo High School also brings business into the community because it gives students a place to go before and after school. Because Benjamin Cardozo High School is listed one of the top public schools in Queens; it has had a positive effect on its community.
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Thesis Statement
- Many families want to live in this neighborhoods because they want their kids to attend Cardozo High School, so the house pricing are high.
-Many stores open up around this area because Cardozo's students need a place to go before and after school and students bring in a lot of income.
My interview.
1. How long have you lived in this neighborhood?
I lived in this neighborhood for 20yrs but my store has been here since 1952.
2. What do you like most about this neighborhood?
Theres always opportunity to make money. commercial and residential and theres a lot of students everywhere.
3. What attracts you to this neighborhood?
That it is a mixed community.
4. Have you seen any dramatic changes in this neighborhood?
Alot of dramatic changes. From a Jewish to a Italian and then a Korean community.
5. How much of an impact does Cardozo High School have on your store?
Alot. I'd say 30% of my customers are from Cardozo.
6. When you remodeled, did it benefit you?
Of course. New kinds a food, different variety, it brought in more customers, and it gave Joe's a different image.
7. How many stores since you been here, opened and closed in this neighborhood?
Joe's has been here since 1952, it saw lot of stores close down.
8. Do you make of a lot of business having your store at this exact location?
This is the best corner. The sidewalk is huge, you can see it from any angle. When you first come to Springfield Blvd., this is the first store you see.
9. Do you know most of your customers?
Pretty much and by their names. I almost always get the same customers. Customers are very loyal.
10. Have you franchise your store?
No, i dont plan on it.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
2nd Historical Source
The Cigar Factory
In 1857, a Cigar Factory was setup on Bell Avenue. John Straiton and Federic A. Storm came to Bayside just to build this cigar factory, where they built a three story building. The Factory used the second floor and the Bohemian cigar makers lived on the first. From 1857 to 1860, the cigar business was first known as “Straiton, Schmitt, & Strom”. The partners also owned all the land from Bell Avenue east to Tenth Street (221st Street) and from the railroad, south to Broadway (Northern Blvd.). But later Mr. Schmitt left the partnership and it became “Straiton & Storm”. Between 1860 and 1871, it was the largest cigar factory in America.
Later, the living quarters where the Bohemian cigar makers lived, were rented out as stores. This was called the “Back Row”, which still stands till this very day. At the time, the cigar manufacturing industry made such a huge impact on Bayside. Then later the cigar factory turned in “The Club House” and a bowling alley and then later the “Sacred Heart Lyceum”. Eventually the cigar factory became storage sheds for Bayside Lumber Company. In January 9, 1990, the Cigar Factory was destroyed by a fire.
Willis, Walter I. Queens Borough: The Borough of Homes and Industry. New York, 1920.*I ALSO GOT SOME OF MY INFO FROM MY FIRST HISTORICAL SOURCE.
Siclen, W. Alonzo Van. A Narrative History of Bayside. New York: Cultural Affairs, 1991.
First Historical Source
Sarah Kamboj
10/02/07
A Narrative History of Bayside
At first, the area was named “North Hempstead Turnpike” by John Lawrence meaning “Bay Side”. Then as the years went by it gradually became known as Bayside, due to the location of the Bay right beside it. The Bay has had such a huge contribution to Bayside bringing people from all over New York interested. People were emphasized to swim, sail, and fish along the Bay and were eager to own parts of the land. The Bay helped open up restaurants (mostly seafood) and help build a huge Resort for people to stay in. All the “big shots” celebrities and politicians came for the beautiful “Seaside” resort and to have its delicious food it was greatly known for.
Unfortunately, the inn burned down in 1907 but naturally people enjoyed Bayside so much that it led them to buy estates either near or on the water. In the summer, many young business people boarded with people who had permanently lived there to enjoy the cool breeze of the Bay. At first people tented near the Bay, then quickly it all started to change. Tents turned into shacks, which later became fairly comfortable summer cottages. These people weren’t at upper society but their behavior gave them a bad reputation. They had huge weekend parties that had all the neighbors complaining. These people were known as the “Squatters”. Then in 1925, the city took possession of Bayside, build a park and forced the “Squatters” to leave.
Siclen, W. Alonzo Van. A Narrative History of Bayside. New York: Cultural Affairs, 1991.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Interview Questions
1. How long have you lived in this neighborhood?
2. What do you like most about this neighborhood?
3. What attracts you to this neighborhood?
4. Have you seen any dramatic changes in this neighborhood?
5. How much of an impact does Cardozo High School have on your store?
6. When you remodeled, did it benefit you?
7. How many stores since you been here, opened and closed in this neighborhood?
8. Do you make of a lot of business having your store at this exact location?
9. Do you know most of your customers?
10. Have you franchise your store?
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Bayside
Along with these beautiful communities are hundreds of acres of parks. Alley Pond Park, Fort Totten, Cunningham Park, Little Neck Bay running path and park, John Golden and Crocheron Parks, and Alley Pond Environmental Center has gorgeous picnic areas, hiking paths, several ball fields, and golf courses. Communities have parties, games, religious practices, sports, etc. here the parks of Bayside.
Bayside Real Estate prices went down in the past year for about 10 percent. Housing mostly consists of condos, co-ops, apartments, 1-family houses (semi and non-attached), 1-family houses, and 2-family houses. For co-ops, prices range around $150k-500k that consists of a 1 bedroom to 3 bedrooms. Condos prices range around $200k-&700k that also consist of a 1 bedroom to 3 bedrooms. 1-family housed (attached) prices estimate up to $400k+ and 2-family houses estimate up to $750+.
Bayside has the best schools in Queens such as Benjamin Cardozo High School, Bayside High School, and M.S. 74. In Bayside, you can find major banks such as Flushing Savings Bank and Washington Mutual along with health clubs such as Bell Plaza Sports Club. As many can tell, Bayside is defiantly one of the most beautiful communities in Queens.
About.com. "Bayside Queens Neighborhood Profile." John Roleke. <http://queens.about.com/od/neighborhoods/p/bayside.htm>
Living In Bayside
Bayside has been trough its many transformations as well as most communities. What was once a farming village has later altered into a glamorous movie star estate at one point. As of now, Bayside is more beautiful then ever with its astounding parks and gorgeous real estate making Bayside one of the finest places to live. "Its schools are ranked among the best in New York, its violent-crime rate is one of the lowest and its community activism is ever evident" as said by John Arundel in The New York Times.
The New York Times. "If You're Thinking of Living in: Bayside". EVE C. GUILLERGAN January 1989. <http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9507E7DA1238F932A35752C0A962948260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=3>
ALLEY POND PARK

Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Benjamin Cardozo High School

Sarah Kamboj
09/11/07
Benjamin Cardozo High School
This picture shows the main part of Benjamin Cardozo High School. Established in 1966, Benjamin Cardozo High school is a public school operated by the New York City Department of Education. It is commonly referred to as just "Cardozo" or as students like to call it "dozo". Cardozo was named after Benjamin N. Cardozo who, at first was a chief judge of the New York Court of Appeal and then later served as a judge of the U.S. Supreme Court. Cardozo is located in Bayside, Queens where students come from all five boroughs to attend. The school offers the following programs; Contract Law, DaVinci Research program that focuses on math and science, and a competitive Performing Dance program which students are selected a rigorous audition process.
Statistics show that Benjamin N. Cardozo High School is one of the most victorious high schools. Wikipedia states that "Some have rated it among the best public schools in the city, in 1998 Newsweek magazines rated it one of the top 100 school in the United States". Cardozo has an enrollment of 4,200 students with class sizes around 34 students, its attendance is 91%, and its graduation rate is 88.7%. It has a 7 year graduation rate 92.7%.
At Cardozo between classes, instead of annoying bells to indicate the changing of periods, they play music. All types of music, ranging from classical to hip hop. Another interesting aspect of Cardozo is its "42 street", which is the main hall that every student passes at least two to three times a day. It is by far the busiest area at Cardozo.
Being a graduate of Cardozo High School, class of 2007, I can honestly say Cardozo High School is an extremely interesting and unique school. There are dozens of activities; clubs, volunteering possibilities to choose from and competition amongst students are very high. With such a large student body attending Cardozo High school one can only imagine the many ethnicities. In Cardozo there are 22% whites, 18% African-American, 14% Hispanics, and 47% Asians. Being exposed to different cultures and religions at Cardozo High School and its belief in tolerance and acceptance has definitely made me a better person. I know why Cardozo is also known as "A school with a heart".
http://www.insideschools.org
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki
Thursday, September 6, 2007
MY BLOCK

Benjamin Cardozo High School in Queens has over 3, 500 students attending, bringing together students from all five boroughs, Queensborough Community College (QCC) with its enormous student body, M. S. 74 having over 800 students, P.S. 203 and P.S. 46 both having over 500 students each are all located just a couple of blocks away from a huge shopping center filled with the finest restaurants that students today crave. Students call this block "Springfield" due to it's location on Springfield Blvd. Everyday before and after school, students of all ages go from one store to another, to purchase goods from the variety of products being sold. With its assortments such as Dunkin' Donuts, Mc. Donald's, two famous pizzerias, several delis', two super markets, a number of Asian restaurants, two café's, and a Subways/Nathan's, Springfield floods with people consuming all the products available. With having so many schools so close, businesses on Springfield generate an enormous amount of capital daily.
Among the many stores that occupy Springfield Blvd, the one place students hang out the most is Joe's Pizzeria, also known as "Joe's". Recently Joe's, under new management, transformed into Fried Chicken/Pizzeria making it better with more options to choose from to satisfy students' pallets. However, the pizzeria in order to add a chicken area had to sacrifice seating space. In the past Joe's was filled with hungry and tired students. Joe's was a place to sit, eat and relax. It became a habit for many students to automatically walk into Joe's everyday to talk about their day and eat. Although, the pizzeria was famous for its delicious pizza and its ideal location it is now a place where students quickly get their food and move on to the next location. Nonetheless, Joe's Pizzeria holds a great deal of memories for many students in this area. For my parents, it is where they went to eat on their first date, in 1982.
Another store which is popular amongst students on Springfield is Subways/Nathan's. This store was also a recent addition to this popular place. Students storm the doors everyday to go in and purchase their food and hangout. Even though, it is located only a couple of stores away from Joe's Pizzeria, there does not seem to be any loss of customers. They each offer different types of food. Because it's both Subways and Nathan's (hotdogs), the store offers a wide variety of foods to choose form. Although, this store is a new edition to the Springfield area, it is an area filled with students on a daily basis. As with Joe's, I am sure that Subways is also going to be a place where good memories will forever be cherished by many.
Along with these two popular eating places just mentioned, there are a number of other various eateries to choose from. Springfield is by far the meeting place for many teenagers and also those students' attending Queensborough Community College. It is where they go daily to hang out, talk about their day and problems, study, as well as make new relationships. It is also a great location to open a business geared towards students and the concept of having a good time. Springfield is easily accessible by car or public transportation. Therefore, Springfield Blvd is the number one spot in my neighborhood.
Curbed
Gothamist
Monday, September 3, 2007
Forgotten-ny.com
Sarah Kamboj
September 2, 2007
If you ever have some free time or have the desire to gain knowledge about New York's hidden fascination, sign on to the Forgotten-ny.com internet site. It is a fascinating website about New York. From alleys to the parks, from subways to the numerous cemeteries, this website is a grand tour of New York. This website incorporates everything one craves to know, notice, and gain knowledge of regarding New York. There are updates with references to recent events in New York as well as astonishing, mind-boggling, unimaginable sites, (for example: animals, waterfalls, etc).
I clicked on several links from Forgotten-ny.com, and found myself amazed with the numerous information it had to offer. The one that drew my attention first was "Queens Crap", mostly because I was born and raised in Queens. This page had blog entries updates on recent events, opinions, facts about New York. For example; the most recent blog titled "Building Wall Collapses in Jamaica" dated September 1, 2007 where a building collapsed on Thursday morning of August 30, 2007. Interestingly my mother was explaining to us about this event because this building was right across from the building my mother works. There was a video clip of the tragic event which helped me to visualize and unfold the incident.
Another blog entry I found extremely interesting was posted on Thursday August 31, 2007 titled "Riders Give 7 a 'C Minus'", because I often ride the 7 line when I go to the city, shopping with my best friend. This blog entry had a picture of a report card given to the 7 train. The report card indicated various categories and the specific grades it received. For the 7 line's availability of Metro Card machines it received a grade of B-, for its cleanliness of station it received a grade of C-, for its courtesy and helpfulness of MTA employees it received a grade of C, for its lack of graffiti it received a grade of C+, for its station announcements it received a grade of D+, and for its adequate room during rush hour it received a grade of D. Its overall grade, to my surprise was a C-.
Also, there was a picture that caught my attention on the home page, "Hunters Point, Queens on the Edge". This picture was of a store in Hunters Point and a man with a book bag standing on the side facing the store and walking towards it. Hunters Point is one of the many communities in Queens. It states that "Hunters Point is a community in Queens on the edge-in more ways than one". When clicking on this picture it gave me an entire tour of Hunters Point and all the magnificent sites and facts about this community. I learned that Hunters Point literally sits on the edge of Queens and Manhattan and sadly it is in the process of being taken over by tall buildings and development.
There were various other information and links on this site which interested me as well. This site's purpose is to teach New Yorkers and Non-New Yorkers about New York and all of its amazement. It has information regarding its history as well as the amazing events which occur on a daily basis. For anyone who is curious and interested about learning more about this wonderful place and also those who can reach out and have the desire to help the community in some way should find out more about Forgotten-ny.com. I know that I will be using this site often to learn more about New York.