Freewrite #4

The author is Jeffrey Dinowitz, a State Assemblyman of New York. He represents the 81st Assembly District covering Riverdale, Van Cortlandt Village, and Norwood Communities, including Van Cortlandt Park (where the Croton Water Treatment Plant is being constructed on). He is writing the article for the NY Daily News, which is a popular newspaper in New York City. Jeffrey Dinowitz has power of the community because he is a State Assemblyman, the people voted for him so that he can help the community. Him being a State Assemblyman may have some bias because he is out to protect the people so anything that is trying to take their taxpayers money, he will critic vigorously. The article is mainly to inform the local citizens of Riverdale, Van Cortlandt Village and Norwood. The Croton Water Treatment Plant affects everyone because everyone that lives in the community pays taxes and it is their tax money that is being spent on this plant. The website’s primary purpose is news media. The source’s purpose in line was to let the community know that their tax dollars were being wasted on this project as it is being delayed because of poor planning, half truths and straight up lying. The site’s purpose is to inform the community on what is going on. I find that this information in the article is credible because he is a State Assemblyman trying to do good for his community. If something is wrong, he is going to speak up. If the Department of Environmental Protection is wasting tax money, then he is going to inform the community.

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/bronx/2007/09/04/2007-09-04_deps_croton_water_plant_is_a_monstrous_b.html

The writer is Bill Egbert and he is a NY Daily News Staff Writer. He is a writer for one of most read newspapers in New York City, the NY Daily News. He doesn’t have much information about himself on the website bit but it seems that he is writing to inform the public about the what’s going on with the current situation of the Croton Water Treatment plant. The intended audience is the people of New York City and the community where the Croton Water Treatment plant is going to be built near. The purpose of the website is to inform the public on current news. I would say that based on this information, my source is valid because he is talking about a legal situation in which the judge called off construction of the Croton Water Treatment Plant.

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/bronx/2008/07/31/2008-07-31_judge_issues_order_to_stop_work_on_croto.html

Both of these sources are pretty credible since one is an State Assemblyman, Jeffrey Dinowitz, the other is a news writer, Bill Egbert. The news writer was wrote out his story how he saw it and he put the facts out there. The State Assemblyman is a bit biased because he is for the community so anything he says is going to be against the project. Bill Egbert did put Jeffrey Dinowitz in his article though since Jeffrey Dinowitz does play a big role in the fight against the construction of the Croton Water Treatment Plant.

Interview Questions

• What is your name?
• Where do you currently reside?
• What is your occupation?
• Do you have any children?
• If so, do you children play in the local parks?
• Do you have asthma?
• Do your children have asthma?
• Have you heard about the Croton Water Plant project? If so, what do you think about it?
• Do you think our city needs a water filtration plant? If so, why?
• Have you play golf at the Mosholu Golf Course?
• If you have, please tell me about your recent experience there?
• Do you think this new project will contribute to the current air pollution and noise pollution situation in the Bronx? If so, why?
• Do you think the project will take away from the learning experiences of the kids in the nearby schools?
• What do you feel about having tons and tons of toxic waste being transported out of your neighborhood?
• How is your morning commute? Do you think this project will slow down your morning commute?
• Do you consider the construction of the plant as destroying parkland?

Primary Research Questions

•    What do I want to discover?
I want to discover if the construction of the Croton Water Treatment plant will affect the community and neighborhoods around it. If so, how will it affect those communities and neighborhoods? I want to find out what people think about it and what their viewpoints on it are.
•    How do I plan on discovering it? (This is called your research methods or methodology)
I plan on discovering much of this through interviews of people and golfers around the area. There is also an analysis of online forums where people voice their ideas and opinions. There are other methods such as research on air quality grades, asthma rates, garbage disposal and the means of it, etc.
•    Who am I going to talk to/observe/survey? (These people are called your subjects or participants)
I’m going to speak to my neighbors and other community residents. There is a local Internet forum, which I will probably ask the users about their opinions too. I will also interview local golfers, friends that live around me, and golfers at the golf course what they think about the construction of the Croton Water Treatment plant.
•    How am I going to be able gain access to these groups or individuals?
It just takes a friendly approach to get an answer of out people. I’m sure there won’t be any problems. The Internet forum is open to public. Everything that I will be getting my information from takes a little socializing of some sort.
•    What are my biases about this topic?
I also have my own opinions about this topic. I feel that the Croton Water Treatment Plant will pollute the area with noise and toxic fumes (carbon monoxide from the trucks and machines). But I am not one sided on this topic though, because I also feel that it will help NYC by treating the water. I’m not sure if the pros weight more than the cons but as I research more into this topic, I will be able to decide.
•    How can I make sure my biases are not reflected in my research methods?
Well from the get-go, I am two sided in this argument and I am interested in finding out more about it so researching and interviewing both sides is required. I will also try to find people who support this construction project (such as the city) and what their viewpoints on it are.
•    What do I expect to discover?
I expect to discover that maybe this water treatment plant might not be as bad as it seems to be or that it is actually worse than what the city proposed. I do expect to learn a lot from researching about it and it’s technology also through people’s opinion.

Freewrite #2

For my sustained research project I want to write about the Croton Water Treatment plant that is being built nearby my house. When the city first introduced it 1999, there was so much controversy. The people of the surrounding neighborhoods immediately decided to take stand. They argued about how the construction would affect the air quality and how it would also give off a lot of noise pollution. In regards to the air pollution, the asthmha rates in the Bronx are 20% higher than the national rate so by having all these machines and trucks working in the area is going to make the air quality worse for the surround neighborhoods. It would also cause traffic because of  the trucks have to move back and forth along with the worksites being extended onto the streets. The plant will be built at the Mosholu Golf Course, so a big section of the golf course will be destroyed along with trees and other plants. People did not want the city to break down more park land. Many people play at the Mosholu Gold Course and having a big chunk of it destroyed will affect people’s weekly hobbies and it might affect people’s overall experience of golf. I am one of the people that play at this golf course and the construction on the golf course is terrible, although everything is covered by tall wood walls I can still hear the jackhammers and the metal clanging and everything. I, for one, can say that it ruins my overall experience. I will be going into detail about how this construction of the plant will affect the surrounding residents because it is their community, and the noise and air pollution will definitely affect their living conditions. One argument is that once the plant is finished, all the waste that the plant filters from the water will be removed daily. That is 13,000 pounds of waste per day being transported out and 2,372 tons of waste per year. New York City is already in a waste disposal crisis. Another argument is the destruction of parkland. The Mosholu Golf Course is part of the Van Cortlandt Park which is one the biggest parks in New York City. 3 major highways have been built on top of the park and now they want to destroy more parkland for a filtration plant. Even thought the park isn’t as famous as other parks, it is a very beautiful park that is adored by many people. If somebody were to say to build a filtration plant in Central Park, you think it would actually go through? Definitely not. More people would definitely step up and try to stop it.

Blog Post #4

The picture above is of barbed wire. Around my house is the Jerome Reservoir; it supplys some parts of NYC. Around the reservoir is a gated path and then theres another huge gate that has barbed wire over it. The barb wire is too keep trespassers out of the area. According to Flusty it is ‘Crusty Space’. If one were to climb the fence, they would definitely get caught by the barb wire. If your skin gets caught, the razor around on the wire would cut you. People usually don’t walk around the reservoir anyway, if you did you would probably look suspicious since there’s nothing around it other than grass and high barb wire fences. The Jerome Reservoir is maintained and owned by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. I think that the barbwire is appropiate for this public space because the Jerome Reservoir supplys part of New York City and if somebody were to drop some toxins into the water, the turnout would be horrific. That’s why these barb wires are there, it’s to help deter outsiders. There are also patrol cars the circle the reservoir ever half hour or so, so I guess it can be called ‘Jittery Space’ also.

The picture above is of CCTV cameras. CCTV is short for ‘Closed Circuit Television’. It is what companies and businesses use for their security systems. As of last summer, my church installed a security system inside and outside of the church. On each corner of the building there are cameras. Because my church is in Chinatown, punks would come out at night and tag up the outside walls. Volunteers would help wash it off but the tags would keep coming which is why my church decided to purchase a CCTV system for the church. Since the CCTV system went online, the taggings stopped because the cameras would catch the face of the tagger and because of the CCTV system the church was able to catch a few people that didn’t realize the camera was there. It also caught one guy getting mugged and that footage was sent to the cops. I think people watch what they do now when they are around the church but it might also create and unwelcoming enviornment since there are cameras everywhere. These cameras help deter criminals and graffiti taggers. I don’t think cameras are appropiate for all churches but because my church is right smack in the middle of the city, cameras are appropiate. I think cameras are appropiate in certain situations such as this one, for example when placed in an area with crime. This space would be considered ‘Jittery Space’.

Walking around Wall St, there are different checkpoints such as the one going into the Mayor’s Office. I can’t find the specific picture of the mayor’s office but this barricade above resembles it. People can’t enter the road to the Mayor’s office, only authorized personal can. You would have to speak to the guy at the checkpoint in order for him to let you through. He has to lower the barricade so your car can roll through. These barricades are there to block cars coming in. The city built this in order to protect the Mayor. I think it is appropiate for this space because it’s for the safety of the Mayor. This would be ‘Prickly Space’ because I wouldn’t feel comfortble staying around there since there are cops there, and the barricade would make me feel paranoid. There are also national guards with guns standing outside the Mayor’s Office. Even thought it is safe, nobody would be comfortable being there.

Blog Post #3

While driving along the FDR, I’ve always seen this huge graffiti drawing on this handball court. This graffiti drawing is located in East Harlem. To others it may be another act of graffiti but to those living in the community it displays a really important message. Youngsters around the area play basketball right around there and they see the message, it deters them away from drugs such as crack. People living in the area really appreciate this drawing because they feel it may help impact those who view it. Who knows how many people were deterred from it but it definitely brought some more publicity to it. The artist’s name is Keith Haring, sadly he died in 1990 from AIDS. The graffiti was drawn on June 27, 1986. He sprayed this graffiti on because one of his friends became addicted to crack and 20 something years later the drawing is still here. The Haring Foundation was created in memory of him and it is still getting fan mail today still. During the time the graffiti was drawn, the New York City was being taking over with crack, many people were giving in to the addiction. Who knew why Keith Haring decided to draw it in a little park by the FDR drive. It does however give the thousands of drivers that drive on the FDR drive everyday a bird’s view of the drawing. This graffiti is transgressive because it was graffitied on public property, which was the hand ball courts in a small park by the FDR drive. It is the defacement of property according the the Anti-Graffiti City and State Legislation. It damages property which is the hand bacll court, because to take the paint off you need to used some sort of paint thinner that wears away at the cement. Basically it’s just straight up vandalism. It’s not a big crime but it is a misdeameanor. The government determined this sign was transgressive because Keith Haring went against the law and graffitied in one of the parks but the people did not because they believed it displayed a great message to the community. Keith Haring was given a $25 ticket and on the ticket it said for graffiti and vandalism. It wasn’t transgressive in a way that it offended people but it was transgressive because it was against the law. I found it interesting because even though it went against the law, it displayed a great message. Even today this graffiti drawing is being taken of, people still deface it with their own graffiti now and then and those have been removed. It became a part of the New York City Parks and Recreation because they chose to protect it and take care of it.

Blog Post #2

This ad was shown in the UK. It was part of the NHS anti-smoking campaign. The NHS is one of the largest publicly funded health services in the world. It was displayed on TV, the press, poster ads and the Internet. It shows smokers being pulled by their cheeks with fishhooks, trying to represent their desire for cigarettes. The controversial issue with this particular ad was that it was insulting, terrifying, and upsetting. Many complaints were about the effect it could have on children. It could really upset and terrify a little kid and the thing is that these ads were shown sometimes in between TV programs for children. What made me interested in this ad was the controversy of the ad. If I was a kid, I definitely would’ve been frightened. The video starts off with a man putting a phone down and then all of a sudden a hook is being pulled through his cheek and pulling him down the hallway, down the stairs and eventually outside. I understand that the NHS is trying to get people to be afraid of cigarettes and smoking but I feel that the ad is pretty brutal. It seems like it came right out of a horror movie. I think that this ad is problematic because it is shown between children TV shows, which make it even worse. Most kids don’t even know that cigarettes get people hooked, they’re not at the age yet where they know how bad smoking is for you because they don’t smoke so by putting an anti-smoking ad in between children TV shows would be ineffective. They also put these ads on billboards, you can’t control who looks at these billboards or not. Imagine a kid looking up at a billboard and see a guy getting his cheek ripped out with a hook; that could probably scar them. It’s the same way you wouldn’t let your 4 year old nephew watch a SAW IV, it’s because it’s going to scar them. The ad is an attempt to show people what cigarettes can do to you but I feel that these ad makers should think through some of them before putting the ads out there, they have to put into consideration what kind of audiences will be looking at these ads and if these ads are appropriate to put in between children TV shows, billboard ads and the internet.

Blog Post #1

This is an exit sign. It is both an icon and a symbol. It is an icon because it tells people where to go in case of an emergency so by just looking at it anyone can tell where to go if they want to leave. This sign can be hung anywhere and anybody would know what it stands for. It’s also pretty much common sense since it has the word EXIT written across it. It is a symbol of relief when there is an emergency, people can just look for this sign and know where to head. I know if there was a fire inside my building, I would look for this sign because I know that it’ll lead me right out of the building safely. These signs are located in every building, it’s sole purpose is to show people where the exit doors are and if it’s not put put up in buildings then people’s lives would be endangered.

This is a one way sign. It is an symbol to show drivers that the road they are approaching is a one way so turning the other way is forbidden unless you want to get injured. This sign is to warn people to not turn the other way because they would be going against incoming traffic. One way signs are put up on all roads that are one way in order to keep traffic flowing and to keep driver’s safe. If these signs aren’t up, people’s lives would be endangered and the government, more specifically the DOT, would have tons of lawsuits for endangering lives. It attempts to control traffic.

This is a Honda logo. It is an icon and a symbol. It is an icon because it brings to mind a Japanese car maker that is very popular in the United States. You can see these cars being driven on the road everyday. It is a symbol because whoever sees it has different thoughts. Some see this logo and they think gas efficient cars, and some see this logo and think low maintenance cars while others such as American car manufacturers see it as a threat because they’re losing sales because of them.