Currently I am interning for a non profit organization called Scan La Guardia Memorial House, located in East Harlem’s 116th street between 2nd and 3rd Avenue. Scan which stand for Supportive Children’s Advocacy Network provides residents of East Harlem with family counseling, parenting workshops, after-school programs and teen activities. During my highschool years I was heavily influenced by the “Reach for the Stars” college readiness service I received from Scan and as my way of giving back I am now devoting my time and assistance for the organization. Every week the center provides numerous workshops including the one this week titled “Strengthening The Role of Fathers,” an eight weeks workshop that is dedicated to single fathers ages 16-24 with child support order. As an intern this week I helped set up the workshop by reaching out to participants to confirm their attendance followed by making important phone calls to prepare monthly stipends and metrocards that is given to participants. The main topics discussed in this week’s workshop were child support, conflict meditation and role of a father and his rights. Participants began the session by discussing their relationship with the mother of their child and steps that can be taken to improve it. It seemed like most of the father’s main concerns were visitation and custodial separation, then the workshop instructor explained the importance of going to a court hearing the first time around dressed professionally to impress the judge. Participants learned the dos and don’ts in family court along with the difference between child support enforcement agency and family court. This session from my understanding was therapy for most of the fathers due to the stress that comes from having a newborn financially and emotionally. Eventhough in the beginning the process of setting up the workshop for my first time seemed hard the positive feedback was rewarding. I had the chance to network with social workers from the “Single Parent Resource Center” that came to lecture the workshop and had the chance to gain experience on my public speaking skills.
One of my favorite parks, while interning for the Parks Department over the summer, was the Sara D. Roosevelt Park at the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Extending from East Houston Street, between Christy and Forsyth Streets, all the way to Canal Street, the park welcomed a diversity of people. The M’Finda Kalunga garden; the boys playing soccer, basketball, and handball, and skateboarding; the elderly Chinese women doing their exercise routine at the soccer field next to Pace High School, the children having fun in the recreational areas; and the people seating on the park benches around noon made the park a lively one.
Over the five days I spent surveying trees at this park, people asked me about the job I was doing. Their curiosity increased as they saw me measuring trees and jumping over fences. One of the park’s staff, unaware of who I worked for, asked me to “get off the fenced area, since it was not open to the public”. With a measuring meter and a tree guide titled “New York City Tree Guide” on hand, I explained that I as an intern for the Parks Department my job was to collect tree data for a tree citywide inventory. The majority of people further asked me how old the trees were, thinking that I was a tree expert. I couldn’t answer to their question since I wasn’t a forester. I wish I knew how old these trees were, but it was this particular question that lead to consider forestry as my possibly focus for Graduate school.
Despite the fact, that the park was being well utilized by people of different group ages, the northern section of the park between Delancey and Broome streets was the least attractive and organized. Not only were the fenced areas filled with trash, but the different trees that have been in this section made it look horrendous. Species ranged from evergreens to the ubiquitous London Plane trees (found in most places around New York City.) Whoever decided to plant all these tree species probably did not have any idea of how disorganized and unattractive this section of the park was going to look like once the trees will have grown.
During my internship with DPR, whenever I couldn’t find a tree species in the tree guide, I took a picture of the tree’s leaves and bark and texted it to my supervisor. He then told me, if it wasn’t in the guide, what species it belonged to. He was a quite man and not much older than me, but he was very accessible. One particular tree I had difficulty identifying at the Sara Roosevelt Park was a Flowering Cherry. Not only did this tree had a similar bark and leaves as that of a Japanese Zelkova (Zelkova serrata), but its pink flowers which blossom in the spring time wither in the summer. Other than that, and the unattractive section I mentioned before, I dare to say that so far Sara Roosevelt Park is one my favorites in NYC!
I’ve been interning with the Transit-Oriented Development team, a subset of the Department of Real Estate Development, which is a division of the Real Estate Department at the MTA. And I thought the bureaucracy at Hunter College was convoluted.
The sheer number of departments and agencies with their own jurisdictions and mandates within the MTA is astonishing. I’d imagine that, given the number of hands that any approval must go through to get a final “OK,” even putting up a “Change of Service” poster in a Subway station is a small miracle. I’d venture to say that few New Yorkers have a grasp of how massive a system the MTA is, and what goes into keeping the transit network up.
The TOD team works to promote private and joint development on MTA-owned and operated property in the half-mile radius surrounding transit hubs in New York City and its suburbs. Using livability principles a la Jane Jacobs as an operative framework, MTA-TOD incites growth with an eye toward economic and ecological sustainability. Yet I’ve already become frustrated with the constraints that the City’s bureaucracy have placed on MTA-TOD’s capacity to negotiate plans with developers. Because TOD is still largely on the periphery of the MTA’s greater vision for New York City transit, it has not received the resources and the funding that it needs to operate at full efficiency.
Still, I’ve been incredibly impressed by my supervisors’ work; the amount that they have accomplished, in terms of ensuring that growth on MTA land remains sustainable and friendly to the pedestrian and bicyclist, is astounding. I am amazed at the intuitive ways in which they’ve crafted streamlined solutions to bureaucratic limitations. I look forward to working with MTA-TOD on applying creative problem-solving to a largely technocratic institution.
I am pleased to say that my supervisors have worked with me very closely to make sure that my work reflects my interests to the greatest extent possible. Of course, as in any internship (or any job, I would imagine) there are tedious tasks to be taken care of. No matter how you frame it, a spreadsheet is always still a spreadsheet, and an archive is still an archive. But for the most part, I’m loving what I’m doing.
As such, my assigned tasks have required a great deal of creative thought. I’ve been tasked largely with documenting the real estate value added by transit in neighborhoods surrounding transit. The aim of these “added value” assignments is to quantify the impact that TOD has on communities. To supplement this work, I’ve been doing external research with one of my supervisors into the feasibility of using tax increment financing to fund transportation projects in and around the City.
As a discipline, TOD is an integral part of sustainable development, an area toward which I have definitely noticed my interests and career aspirations trending. The internship I’m completing here will no doubt provide me with some of the planning and neighborhood-building skills that I need in order to succeed in my career.
There are nearly 500 community gardens scattered across the five boroughs of New York City. In a city of 8 million people, this is undeniably a large number. Data is widely available to determine where community gardens are located and how big they are, but in this agglomeration, one crucial set of data is missing- how much food is being grown? This is where Farming Concrete- a volunteer, citizen science project- comes in. The mission of Farming Concrete is to quantify how much food is grown in New York City community gardens.
I stepped into this project in late July, as it was nearing its apex. My position title was “Urban Agriculture Researcher.” As a researcher, I would be assigned to drawing maps of gardens, measuring the dimensions of each garden bed, recording the number of produce growing, and collecting completed harvest logs. Yet, already 20 somewhat researchers were roaming the streets, equipped with paper and pencil, tape measures, mapping forms, and scales. What was my role in this grandiose scheme? Would I be able to catch up with my fellow team members? I was excited to begin mapping yet uncertain of my capabilities.
It seems that Mara, the project coordinator, was a bit hesitant as well to let me venture out into the field on my own. A week later, I received an e-mail from Mara, suggesting that I take on a new role. I panicked; what did I do wrong? Did I say something to offend Mara? Maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned my disinclination to visit gardens in neighborhoods deemed unsafe or too far away. Nonetheless, this was not the time to begin arguing with my supervisor.
My new role was to be a project coordinator- a nice title as well. For the next few weeks, my job was to coordinate mapping across the boroughs, which entailed reviewing the master spreadsheet and keeping track of which gardens had been visited and which ones needed someone to go map them. In addition to this task, I went through hundreds of garden addresses, identifying the ones which were erroneous or had missing data. Although the work was quite tedious at the time, it proved to be extremely useful. Once corrected, the data was quickly exported into a Google Map, available for use to all researchers and volunteers searching for gardens to map in their neighborhood.
By early September, I began to grow restless of my job. The main purpose of this internship was supposed to be to go out into the field, speak to gardeners, draw maps, do crop inventory and measure plot dimensions. I had the uneasy feeling that my contribution to the project as of far was minuscule. With a determination to be more involved, I emailed Mara and asked her if I could visit a few gardens on my own in Coney Island- the closest location to me. To my surprise and pleasure, Mara wholeheartedly encouraged me to pursue Coney Island- an area of Brooklyn that has received little coverage. I had a paradox of feelings: on the one hand, I was all too eager to trek through gardens, counting tomato and pepper plants; on the other hand, I had neither idea of where to begin once I arrived at the garden nor any foreknowledge of plant identification.
My first visit to a garden was disastrous; I didn’t know whether I should begin by drawing a map of the garden or do crop inventory. Furthermore, I didn’t know whether I should count each individual vegetable or begin counting by plants. Luckily, on my second visit the following week, I came better prepared. I had written down the steps I would take and austerely followed them. The most satisfying aspect of that day was speaking to the gardener himself and hearing his story. I listened to him regale how he built the garden from scratch, the struggle of fighting with the city when it sought to decimate what he had built, and his final triumph in winning the fight against the city. Now, he works to preserve and promote the garden as a place for everyone in the neighborhood to enjoy. It is often mind-boggling to me that ordinary people can make such a stark contribution to a neighborhood.
As the harvest season is beginning to near its end, many new tasks await to be done. In addition to making final garden visits, there are harvest logs to be collected, phone calls to be made, mailing addresses to be retrieved, thank you letters to be sent out, and evaluation forms to create. For those who are interested in learning more about our project, there is an interactive map of our results so far on the following website: http://harvest.farmingconcrete.com/.
As I transition into my final semester at Hunter, I have developed more and more anxieties in terms of what’s next on the career agenda after graduation. I have grown sentimental over losing the in-school class experience, but excited about developing work experience that will make me focus and build more skills. Maybe that is why I feel my internship with a prominent council member (CM) will likely prove invaluable. Excited to learn more about the political side of the city council, yet unsure what being a council member really entails, I came into the office not knowing what to expect. Immediately, I was approached by the CM’s chief of staff, a younger guy with a good sense of humor and laid back demeanor, who is sort of my coach/boss. I then, met everyone in the office, which consisted of the CM herself and her urban planner, a recent graduate from Colombia. While I was nervous and not so sure that having a laid back staff would be ideal (concerned I wouldn’t have enough to do), I was relieved how friendly and forthcoming everyone was. It was the urban planner’s first day, so we had a lot in common, and it felt good to talk to someone about land use policies and other controversial zoning proposals going on in the city right now. While, I look forward to seeing how city government works and improving my writing skills during this internship, I may learn the most from this co-worker who seems to have a good understanding of land use planning and policies. That entire day I felt like I was in an episode of the West Wing (minus the White House part), following my pacing chief of staff around the halls and peeking in on various press conferences and meetings, a preview I found exciting. Over the past few weeks since then, I came to realize the immense responsibilities of the council member, and also what she prioritizes. I was fortunate to get paired with someone who is align with my political ideologies, as she is a strong advocate for immigration justice, affordable housing, education, and worker’s rights. My respect for her has grown and I admire her passion, sense of humor, and great communication skills. Considering how I never figured city council to be a very radical space, but more a neutral one, I was really pleased to meet some of the council members and see that they were extremely passionate about certain issues. This realization came to a forefront, when the chief of staff (my coach) came in the office last week and said, “Now you’re gonna see the government side of things.” Having spent the prior week sitting at a computer drafting back-to-back letters, I was stoked. I attended a women’s caucus meeting, which consisted of several female council members who gathered to discuss various human rights legislation as well as discussing the planning of events in their districts regarding the October Domestic Violence Awareness month. My assigned task was to take notes on the meeting for my council member. Speakers from the Urban Justice Center attended the meeting and proposed a human rights bill, hoping to gather support from the council members, while some had already signed off on it. I was pleased to listen in on the conversation, and see how the CMs interacted with each other. At this point, I really developed a sense of the distinctive personalities and value systems of these members, some of whom were surprisingly radical, strongly defending their neighborhood, and others who were skeptical and analytical, providing several suggestions and ideas. Observing this meeting was definitely the highlight of my internship experience so far. Later in the same day, I also attended a city State of the Union address downtown, which enabled me to see the whole city legislative process, and my CM in action. I hope I will be able to attend more meetings and events in the future--so far this has proved to be the most exciting aspect.
On my first day as an intern for the Parks Department, I had to identify trees! This was one of my biggest concerns prior to starting the internship. For I didn't have any experience whatsoever identifying tree species! Fortunately, I was provided with a tree guide, titled "New York City Trees", containing basic information of the most common trees in New York City. The photographs of trees' leaves and bark it included significantly helped me determine the species each tree. On that first day, I spent my time identifying and categorizing about 10 trees; each of them according to their physical condition. Some of these trees were excellent. Others were in either good or fair condition. At the beginning though, all trees looked alike! In the past, I never stopped at a park to examine trees’ leaves or barks. But as a GIS tree inventory intern, that was exactly what I had to do. Maple trees looked all alike to each other, for example. Looking for a maple tree’s fruit, however, was definitely a giveaway. The problem then was that some trees didn't have any fruit. Some of the trees’ wither during the summertime, making it hard sometime to tell what species they belong to. Aware that by working on different city parks I was going to acquire arboriculture knowledge, motivated me to bear the hot summer days that waited for me.
Internships do not appear out of nowhere, and especially in a large city like New York, and in a competitive job market to top it off. Securing an internship is not a task to be taken lightly. One of the first places I contacted was an organization that deals directly with two of my primary interests – worker and immigrant rights. When they called me back to schedule an interview I was thrilled. As with many grassroots organizations, it is small (as is their office space), a very casual environment at first glance. I interviewed at a card table in a room in which three other people were working in close proximity. Aside from the odd setup, the interview seemed to go well, and the individual I met with seemed impressed with my research and interest in their organization.
I left with every reason to believe that I had the internship. Days turned into a week with no word, so I began frantically applying for other internships, all the while wondering what I had done wrong and believing it is truly a cold world out there. Doubts and second guessing set in. Maybe I had dressed too casually – slacks, a blouse and brightly colored loafers may not have given the right impression. Maybe I was too soft spoken. Maybe I was too white.
I interviewed with a city council member’s office and scheduled an interview for the following week. This time I wore my best Goldman-esque outfit – no jokes in the ensemble this time around. I spent an eternity on the train, and became successfully late for an interview for the first time in my life. I was appalled at how I let this happen – I have seen many candidates dismissed simply for being late. I tried to act like an adult, and called the contact I would be meeting with to inform him I was running 10 minutes late. The interview was more formal than the last, but the two individuals I met with made me feel comfortable and the issues handled in their office- while not my first choice- were fascinating and I knew I would learn a lot. I was caught off guard when asked if I spoke Romanian – yes, I taught English there for a summer but certainly did not master the language in mere weeks. Just goes to show than anything on one’s resume is fair game for questions from any angle.
The next day the first organization I had interviewed with called to see when I would like to start interning. Really? I had already asked friends and co-workers to serve as references for the city council member’s office and had every intention of going ahead with the latest option. But as my heart was really with the issues of the first organization, I quickly emailed the city council members office to let them know the situation and may well intern there next semester.
Lessons learned? Always be on my A-game. Over-dressing on purpose is just part of the process, and at least one never has to doubt that they did that part of the interview wrong. Allow 30 minutes of margin to get to the interview (one would think this is common sense, but….) because between trains running slow, transfers, and scouting out the office, it is better to hang out around the corner at a coffee shop then have to make the phone call I did. I also learned not be afraid to ask for a clearer definition of where things are heading – “when might I expect to hear from you?” or “when do you expect to make a decision?” would have been perfectly acceptable questions I could have asked that would have prevented my internship obtainment roller coaster.
Now I will be living with my decision to go with the less formal organization – and while my heart is in it, who knows how their seemingly haphazard approach will play into the internship over the next few months. I will be attending member meetings, doing outreach, and assisting in the office, but I still need to coordinate a more formal mutual understanding of what the expectations are.
La Guardia Memorial House, located in East Harlem’s 116th street between 2nd and 3rd Avenue. Scan which stand for Supportive Children’s Advocacy Network provides residents of East Harlem with family counseling, parenting workshops, after-school programs and teen activities. During my highschool years I was heavily influenced by the “Reach for the Stars” college readiness service I received from Scan and as my way of giving back I am now devoting my time and assistance for the organization. Every week the center provides numerous workshops including the one this week titled “Strengthening The Role of Fathers,” an eight weeks workshop that is dedicated to single fathers ages 16-24 with child support order. As an intern this week I helped set up the workshop by reaching out to participants to confirm their attendance followed by making important phone calls to prepare monthly stipends and metrocards that is given to participants. 
