CUNY Interactive Journalism

by Tuan Nguyen

It’s that time of year again, New Yorkers. The holiday season is upon us, and the city has been gradually putting up celebratory lights. Sooner or later, the mad dash to find presents and shopping deals will make Black Friday look like a joke. But shopping isn’t the only thing that should be on your mind – here is a list of things you can do to ease yourself into the holiday spirit in the city…

* If you haven’t been to Rockefeller Center yet, that’s okay – because the Rockefeller Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony will be take place this coming Tuesday.Word of advise to those who are extremely claustrophobic: wait until after Tuesday to go pay a visit! The turnout for this event can be pretty overwhelming…

* It’s finally getting chillier outside, but that shouldn’t deter you from going ice skating in either one of the rinks in Central Park! Rockefeller Center also has an ice skating rink, but you are likely to find a much longer wait to get on the ice…

* Ever wanted to drink a lot and dress like Santa for a day? Well, now you can! The annual and notorious Santacon event is coming up on December 11. Don’t be surprised if you see a mass of Santas take over the city as they move from location to location, hitting up bars on the way. You can even follow the group on Twitter.

* Get musical and join a free community sing-along event with award-winning choir Songs of Solomon. On December 1, 4 and 10, this choir will hit up Harlem, Brooklyn and the Bronx to sing and let others join in the merry-making. The sing-alongs take place until February…

* Hit up Union Square’s holiday market. It’s a great place to find an ideal holiday gift for anyone or just browse around to enjoy.

* Go to clubfreetime.com and browse around the site for numerous fun, free things you can do around the city! Events range from holiday musical performances to poetry readings to tours.

* Attend a wreath-making workshop at the Queens County Farm Museum December 4 and 5. Everything is provided for you to craft and have fun, as long as you book your place in advance: (718) 347-3276 Ext. 301.

* Take a walk down 5th Avenue starting front Central Park. Window shopping at the stores on this street will get you in a cheerful mood thanks to the unique display of lights and holiday decorations.

Fort Greene’s tiniest ghouls and ghosts showed up for the ninth annual B.A.M. Boo! event that took place on October 31, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music located on Lafayette Avenue. It was a spectacle of colorful superhero costumes, princess dresses, scary face paint, fake teeth and empty bags waiting to be stocked with sugary swag.

Kids and parents gathered in this afternoon, family-friendly event to play carnival games, listen to ghosts stories, paint their faces and indulge in candy before they embarked on a long night of trick-or-treating.

B.A.M. Boo! 2010 from An Phung on Vimeo.

Crime is on the rise in the Red Hook and Carroll Gardens neighborhoods. A string of assaults, robberies, and grand larcenies plagued the area over the past two weeks, causing cops in the 76th precinct to beef up patrols and initiate a more aggressive strategy to combat crime. Below is a map illustrating some of the problems this Brooklyn community is facing.

View Crime in the NYPD’s 76th Precinct in a larger map

By Stuart White

People say Sunset Park is changing.  Long the home of working-class immigrants—first Scandinavian, then Hispanic and now Chinese—the neighborhood has seen a serious spike in the price of homes in the last four years, leading residents to believe that gentrification is around the corner.  Some people, like bar owner Miguel Cintron, have already been forced out of apartments because of rising rent.

While the cost of multi-family homes in the neighborhood has gone up by about 12%, single-family home prices have shot up by nearly 40% according to the NYC Department of Finance, an amazing spike considering the fact that the national average has declined by about 19% over roughly the same period.  The map below shows the locations of a few homes for sale in the area and some price comparisons between 2005 and the present.

After the jump, a tour of Flushing, NY.
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Reporting a crime story with google map allows to have the big picture of it. It is easier to understand what happened where, and also helpful to circumscribe the field of research for the reporter.

With the map, we see that in this case, the shooting, the hospital where the first victim was transported and the place of the arrest are very close to each other. Thus, the field of research was not too wide for the reporter.

In order to have a better understanding of the map, view it in larger

View crime story in a larger map

In tracking this week’s crime with a map, the majority of assaults, thefts and robberies were concentrated in a densely populated section of Fort Greene, several of which targeted strap hangars emerging from the subway.

The spate of criminal activity here is nothing new to this area and comes less than a month after the 88th Precinct acknowledged the trend at its community council meeting. The precinct has pledged to disperse more cops on the ground in response.

The crime map is curated from complainant reports of the 88th Precinct’s crime blotter, which gets published each week by  The Local, a NYTimes.com hyperlocal blog covering Fort Greene and Clinton Hill. The descriptions were written by esteemed crime reporter An Phung.

There’s something in the contagious in Maspeth Creek.

Bushwick is at the center of a rising tide of punk and hardcore bands. On any given night, you can catch live acts by locals like Nomos, Pollution or Crazy Spirit in one of nearly a dozen warehouse and storefront venues dotting North Brooklyn’s industrial landscape. In a scene built by fans, the sheer volume of punk-friendly venues in one neighborhood (or a quick ride on the L train away) is a telling sign that New York punk is, once again, on the rise.

View Punk Venues in a larger map

In Brooklyn’s Community District 12, which includes the neighborhoods of Borough Park, Kensington and Midwood, the food is just as diverse as the residents who reside there. In Kensington alone, the diversity of cultures range from Bangladeshi to Mexican to Polish. If you’re feeling adventurous (and very hungry!), it might be worth exploring the different foods available in these neighborhoods. Bon apetit!

View BK Community District 12 in a larger map