Culturehunt

Long Island CityCulture Hunt- 40th Ave

Katie PriebeNext F Project2.26.09

Culture Hunt- 40th Ave

Northern Boulevard is a high traffic area running under the N W train lines:

Culture Hunt- 40th Ave

Here are some people I saw commuting:

Culture Hunt- 40th Ave

Though quieter than Northern, 40th Ave is quite dirty, with trash and broken glass everywhere:

Culture Hunt- 40th AveThis open lot on the corner is exemplary of the neighborhood going through change:

Culture Hunt- 40th Ave

Most of the buildings are old industrial buildings:

Culture Hunt- 40th Ave

Except for these new hotels and condos:

Culture Hunt- 40th Ave

At Hotel Verve, I interviewed a (white, male) staff member…

(He declined having his photo taken)…

Culture Hunt- 40th Ave

“It’s nice. It’s pretty safe. We get a lot of guests that worry because it looks kind of scary, but it’s safe here at night. I go to the restaurants in the area, we just ordered in. I do my shopping here. Sometimes I buy groceries here on the way home. I live in Astoria. I refer people to Astoria. When you work in a community, you get a good idea of the immediate area.”

Me: What do you think of the neighborhood?

Culture Hunt- 40th Ave

Down the street at Tectonic (an engineering/construction firm), I interviewed the man wearing a tie…

Culture Hunt- 40th Ave

“It’s dangerous. It’s a commercial area. It’s hard to find parking. There are a lot of break-ins at night. Did I mention it’s hard to find parking?”

What do you think of the neighborhood?

Culture Hunt- 40th Ave

I also ran into these two men, who were unloading office supplies right next to us:

Culture Hunt- 40th Ave

Aside from being a place to work, this is also a neighborhood where people live:

Culture Hunt- 40th Ave

And pray. There are three churches on the same street corner:

Culture Hunt- 40th Ave

The churches must be pretty active. Here is a flyer for a cooking class that the Seventh-Day Adventist Church is putting on:

Culture Hunt- 40th Ave

This little section of Long Island City, which seems very “off-limits” at points, may be quite lovely underneath:

(Looking through the fence to trees growing in an open lot)