Alicia McKenna
1467 STERLING PLACE
Between Utica and Rochester is where 1467 Sterling Place is located. Around the corner from Golden Nails and across the street from 1460 were my grandparents use to live. A Lexus, Acure, Q45, BMW, Honda Civic, and a station wagon is parked on Sterling Place between Utica and Rochester. Five young men between the ages of 18-25 gamble in front of a 1467 Sterling Place because there is not enough sun on the other side of the street. Sonny's Barber shop located on Sterling Place between Utica and Rochester is filled with older guys waiting to get their hair cut or just talking about who is Horning (cheating) in who, where and when they might be going back home (West Indian), and who can make the best bake and shark on the block.
Love also grows on Sterling Place between Utica and Rochester
A young girl carries her baby in her arms as she makes her way to the nail salon. When she passes by the corner store you hear big boys call her name but not one of them asking how her child is doing. Around the corner on St. Johns Place a hispanic couple walk hand in hand. They pass by the pizza shop where they both meet. In Mets grocery store a married couple shops for baby food and they argue about which brand of diapers is better. A cashier yells to the stock boy for a price check on some fish sticks that a young man plans to bring home and cook for his mother. It's $2.99 so he decides to pick up two more.
CROWN HEIGHTS
There is a little of everything in Crown Heights Brooklyn. There is also allot of nothing in Crown Heights Brooklyn. The little Asian man who runs the vegetable stand hires mexican who don't understand english but some how understands what their Asian boss is telling them. Next door to them is the african women who braid hair. They have little customers because there is allot of competition in the area. There are at least two african hair salons on each block within a 10 block ratios. Now if you don't want to go to Mets Food grocery or Associated Grocery or C-Town Grocery you have a wide variety pick of fast foods. There is Macdondals, Popeyes, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Domanios, Wendys, KFC, Crown Fired Chicken, and an assortment of Chinese food restaurants. If you are West Indian you also have a wide variety of food choices like Alies, Pattis, Golden Crust, ToTa's, and Conrads.
It seems like to best place to find transportation is in Crown Heights Brooklyn. There is the 14, 17, 45, 46, and the 35 buses all located within on block of each other. Then the 4, 3, A, and C trains take us to work on week days and downtown brooklyn on weekends. Dollar cabs and dollar vans transport us to Kings Plaza in the matter of sends for less than the MTA which takes up more then half that time.
Cops are more present in the Crown Heights as well as the drug dealers, crack heades, and gang memebers. Drug dealers sell their drugs right out in the open, crack heads buy their drugs in the open, while the gangs and their members rob people of their prize positions. Their children, homes and lives.
Work Ethics Research
What are your feelings about working?
Linda Panchon: I like working it gives me something to do through out the day. working keeps me busy.
Ameeran Aziz: I sometimes wish that I did not have to work because I just want to sleep but when I get my pay check it makes it all the worth while.
Lenox McKenna: I like to work but I rather work as my own boss. I don't like to be controled by another person.How long have you been working?
Linda Panchon: I have been working from the age of 15. So I have been working for about 25 years.
Ameeran Aziz: I have been working for almost 10 years.
Lenox McKenna: I have been working for more than 30 years. But it feels like I have been working forever.
How long do you think is to long to stay at a job?
Linda Panchon: In this day and age you should stay at a job for no longer than five years.
Ameeran Aziz: I think moving around is good for everyone so staying at one job for more then 10 years is a bad idea to me.
Lenox McKenna: I think you should stay at one job for longer than 10 years becuase you are more able to gain experience and trust.
Would you rather work with people of your own race, or would you work with all types of people?
Linda Panchon: I like working with people of many different races because it makes the job more exciting.
Ameeran Aziz: orking with different people means learning new things.
Lenox McKenna: Having many people at one job gives you a chance to open your mind up to new things.
Do you believe in working for a good salary or working for recognition?
Linda Panchon: I believe in working for a good salary because recognition is not going to pay the bills.
Ameeran Aziz: Right now working for a higher salary is more important to me since I am young.
Lenox McKenna: As you get older recognition plays a major part in your life, but a good salary always helps.
If you did not get along with your boss would you stay at your job or would you quit?
Linda Panchon: I would try to work things out with my boss if I really needed the job.
Ameeran Aziz: I would quit because I would not want to stay in a place that I didn't like. I wouldn't feel comfortable.
Lenox McKenna: I would stay because not everyone has the same views. I would just try to work things out with my boss.
Would you prefer a job were you can excel, or a job were you are only wanted in one field?
Linda Panchon: I would like a job were I can excel to a higher position. I think that kind of experience is good.
Ameeran Aziz: I want a job were I can excel, I don't want to be stuck in one position for the rest of my life.
Lenox McKenna: I would like to have a job were I can excel more experince is better for the further.
In your eyes how has the work place changed in the past 10 years?
Linda Panchon: Jobs are avaiable for just about everyone. There is less discrimination in the work place.
Ameeran Aziz: Well for the little while that I have been working I noticed that women have had a better chance at getting higher paying jobs.
Lenox McKenna : The job market has changed alot. Many people are welling to work and there are jobs out there to support them.
What was the minimum wage when you started your first job?
Linda Panchon: The minimum wage at my first job was about $3.00
Ameeran Aziz: Minimum wage at my first job was about $4.00
Lenox McKenna: The minimum wage at my first job was $3.00
If you worked in a different country either than the U.S., what are the comparsions and differences between working there and working in the U.S.?
Linda Panchon: Working in St. Maarteen is different because you are more likely to be laided back at you job, as of up here you are more stressed because you have more finacle problems than when you live in the caribbean.
Ameeran Aziz: I only worked in the U.S.
Lenox McKenna: woking in another country either than the U.S. is much easier. I worked in the caribbean and it is more layed back than the states is. Not to much pressure.
Does having children change your work ethics?
Linda Panchon: Yes it does having children means needing more money. You have to look for a job that can support youand your family finacily, emotionally, and still have time to spend with your kids.
Ameeran Aziz: Your whole life changes when you have kids and your job is the must important thing you have to factor out.
Lenox McKenna: Children change everything. You need a good job because children are expensive. You also need a job that is able to
What age do you think it is appropiate to start work and to retire from work?
Linda Panchon: I started to work when I was 16 years, and I think if you work when you are young then you will have a better chance at learning hoiw to deal with the work environment.
Ameeran Aziz: I think a good age to work is when you are about 16 and you should retire when you feel like you have done your duty as an employer.
Lenox McKenna: All young children between the ages of 16 and 18 should work. People between the ages of 60 to 65 should retire.
If your job required you to do something that you did not believein, but they were paying you allot of money would you do it or would you stand up for what you believe in?
Linda Panchon: I would stand up for what I believe in. I have thought my children to always stand up for what you believe.
Ameeran Aziz: It depends on if you need the job or not. But you should also be able to voice your opinion.
Lenox McKenna: You should let people know how you feel about something that you don't believe in but if they were paying you alot of money than you should go for it.Do you think race plays a major role in the hireing of jobs?
Linda Panchon: Yes it does. To this day many blacks abd hispanics are looked upon as being thre lower class and even though there are more opportunties for them they still have a long way to go.
Ameeran Aziz: I think it plays a major role because people of different races don't have the same chances as the white people do.
Lenox McKenna: It plays a major role because even if I have the better job skills and more work experience a white man has a better chance at getting the job.If you did not have to work for the rest of your life what would you be doing?
Linda Panchon: I would go back toSt.Maarteen to live and relax on the beach all day.
Ameeran Aziz: I would go and live in florida with my parents and do what they do, NOTHING.
Lenox McKenna: I would go back to tobago and live. I would fish and eat roti for the rest of my life.
