Well it turned out to be everything she had not expected. The hour+ train ride was still too long, but once off, a familiar scene resembling any bustling NYC street greeted her, but it was Roosevelt Avenue and Main St. in Flushing, Queens. There were buses galore at each intersection. The Streets were busy, but pristinely clean, crowded but not loitered. Everyone seemed to have had a purpose for being there although the main activity was certainly shopping. Many people were in groups sharing seemingly similar ethnicity. In fact, as she explored in more detail-going into stores, speaking to a few people, reading business signs, and observing the populous more closely; it became evident that the people who lived in this community also worked, shopped, banked, went to church, and generally carried out much of the errands of their daily life there as well.
The predominant ethnic groups were Korean, Chinese, and Spanish, but there was also some mix of Russian, Irish and Indian. One could hear many languages being spoken as persons elected to speak in their own tongue amongst themselves, but quickly switched to English when conducting official business. Along the age spectrum, this population went from the very young to the very old, but many of them appeared self-sufficient, healthy and independent. These certainly were not your “bow-backed, cane-grabbing” type of old folks!
Stacy gathered much insight into the character of this ‘village-like’ community by the types and numbers of institutions present within the few miles she had already traveled. She noted at least five banks within yards of each other, an indication of a resourceful community with assets and money in the bank. There were additionally several, mostly non-denominational churches, some dry cleaning services, a couple chain supermarkets like ‘Key Food’, and many local restaurants (e.g., Sushi, Chinese, and Spanish) with signs in both English and Korean, Chinese or Spanish.
There were also more familiar establishments like McDonald’s, Duane Reade, and Macys which reminded one that this multi-cultured ‘village’ of Flushing, Queens was just another part of the ‘melting pot’ that made up American society. But there was no mistaking that this community functioned for and around the people who called it home. Employees generally represented the makeup of the community. In stores music with a Latin beat and easy listening ‘Lite FM’ type music could be heard. Newspaper titles pointed to an audience in each sector of this eclectic populous-from the “Irish Echo” to “Noticias del Mundo” to the “Daily News”.
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