Aleksa Political Piece (New)

Shortly after the midterm elections took place in November of this year, I talked to a college student who seemed like an educated fresh mind with something to contribute to society. I was shocked to find that he looked as though he had no idea that an important election had just taken place. Not only did he not register, 21-year-old NYU student Reese Blanke looked at me and said that he doesn’t think that his vote matters.

Blanke was not the only eligible youth voter who didn’t contribute on election day, youth voter turnout was especially low this year. In the 2010 midterm elections, only 20.9 percent of eligible youth between the ages of 18 and 29 voted, comprising only 9% of total voters.

In the 2008 presidential election, 68% of American youth took to the polls. Why was there such a drastic difference in the youth turn out rate?

Political analyst William John Cox believes that the youth are discouraged to vote due to their recent experience with the voting process. Young people were motivated to vote in 2008 because they felt that change was evident. Cox states that now the youth feels betrayed because they have not seen what Obama promised, and consequently, “36% of young people said it wouldn’t make a difference who they voted for.”

18-year-old Julie Rosen didn’t vote in the 2010 midterm elections either. She claims that a few of her friends did, but she didn’t feel comfortable doing so because she didn’t know much about it and felt like she would be no help. “I feel like I should have voted, because the Republicans winning made me worry about our country a little. I didn’t know what was going on at the time,” said Rosen.

The result of these midterms includes Obama’s loss of the majority that he gained two years ago. The Republicans are now the majority seats of congress, making it difficult for Obama to utilize any of his plans for the remainder of his presidency. If the youth turn out were higher this year, this may not have been the case. In 2008, the Obama administration utilized all of the unconventional public relation methods that brought politics to young America’s front door.

Obama’s presidential campaign included opening acts by actual rockstars, such as The Decemberists, and Indie Rock band who preceded Obama’s big rally in Oregon. The campaign also used the millions of cell-phone numbers it amassed to create a text-message blast, along with many other media methods such as social network take over. It is safe to say that Obama was literally everywhere in May of 2008. The elections became an event that nobody wanted to miss.

This year, the midterm elections campaigning methods were worlds away from what they were during the presidential election in 2008.

“Because voting rates of young people tend to be relatively low, efforts to get them to vote almost by definition have to be special and not purely conventional,” said David Plotke, professor of Political Science at the New School University.

MTV, an outlet famed for its attention on youth, decided to ignore the idea that they could influence and educate their viewers to make political decisions. MTV created their own version of a race. Their 2010 midterm election candidates included Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, and Justin Bieber. No real candidates were included, it was about the public opinion about which pop stars should be president (the most popular), and vice president. Katy Perry and Justin Bieber were voted into the “house.”

In the 1972 presidential race, there was a prediction that there would be a low youth-voter turnout. “The kids are turned of from politics, they say. Most of ‘em don’t even want to hear about it. All they want to do these days is lie around on waterbeds an’ smoke that goddamn marywanna,” Hunter Thompson wrote in his classic Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ’72.

President Obama made a few public appearances during the midterms. He rallied on college campuses and headlined November’s issue of Rolling Stone a week before the midterm elections with hope to bring politics into the worlds of the young. But if we listen to what history has shown us, and Hunter Thompson, we’ll see that although capable to completely change the game, the youth are less likely to make it to the polls than adults and seniors.

“The young always receive more political attention than the old, though the old generally shape the elections more than the young. That trend is exaggerated in the midterm elections,” said David Paul Kuhn of RealClearPolitics.

In the 2006 midterm elections the seniors turnout rate was sixty three percent, which was more than twice the youth rate. Polls show that older voters lean more toward Republican candidates, so that could be bad news for Democrats. And this year it was. Did Obama miss the boat with the seniors?

Nine-in-ten local party leaders say that youth political engagement is a serious problem. But we don’t need to hear it from them. We can simply just look around and see that when the youth is missing in action, politics in our country change course.

American youth need to be educated, inspired, and understand that they have the power to change our country simply by getting to the poles.

Last draft of feature (with edits from 12/23)

Tengo…tengo la camisa negra, porque negra tengo el alma, yo por ti perdi la calma, y casi pierdo hasta mi cama…

Tengo La Camisa Negra is the name of the song playing from the swanky jukebox at the back of Zaragoza; the little Mexican bodega situated on 13^th Street/CAP and avenue A. At the front counter stands 19-year old Lang student Katie Kenney, “la muchacha”, (the nickname her boss has given her). She is the only white girl waitress to work at this cozy bodega. Kenney has been working here for what seems to have been ages, but in reality, only a little bit less than a year.

Complete with a wide selection of beers, Mexican sodas/drinks, authentic Mexican food, and a small selection of groceries, Zaragoza offers its customers an atmosphere much like a true bodega one might find in Mexico. Kenney says that she truly does love working there. However, the job came to her attention by pure luck, because of being unable to find a job on campus.

Kenney, a sophomore at Eugene Lang College, is one of several students at the New School who has suffered from the shortage of work-study funds and jobs offered on campus. She had been awarded federal work-study, but had it taken away when she couldn’t find a job on campus within thirty days of school starting. Due to high demand for jobs at the New School, the school is forced to implement this rule rather harshly, and unfortunately, Kenney fell as a victim to that.

Just as she had given up on the job search, Zaragoza entered the picture.

“I hung out at Zaragoza on the weekends in my freshman year. I kind of fell in love with the place…the family that owns it, and the four tables. Because that’s all they have. It’s just so…Mexican. I don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing. But I love it,” Kenney says. “I was offered a job as a waitress after I befriended the owners.”

During the week, Zaragoza is open normal hours from 9:30am to 12am, but on the weekends, it’s another story. Zaragoza opens at 9:30am on Fridays and Saturdays, and stays open until 4am. “I don’t stay until 4am every weekend…most weekends I am technically off work by midnight,” Kenney says. Her shifts start at 6pm, and her workweek usually starts on Thursday night, and goes until Sunday morning. On more rare occasions, she’ll work Tuesdays and Thursdays, along with the weekends. In one week, Kenney works anywhere from 24-32 hours, but she doesn’t mind all too much.

“I don’t really get to go out as much as I’d like on the weekends, because I’m usually pretty tired once I get off work. My shift technically ends at midnight, but I don’t actually end up getting home sometimes until much later, because I can’t leave when there are still customers seated,” Kenney says. Zaragoza is known for it’s excellent authentic Mexican food, especially during the wee hours of the morning.

Surely a 19-year old college student that works at any kind of restaurant can’t be making that much money. However, Kenney is an exception. On a good weekend, she’ll make anywhere from $100-$300 in tips, on top of her minimum wage salary. “My hourly wage isn’t that great, but with tips, I make a good deal of money in a week,” Kenney says.

So if the money and atmosphere is good, what’s the downside to having this job rather than a work-study job? “The hours are kind of a hassle. I don’t know anyone who works 6-10 hour shifts on weekends, into the morning. It’s really tiring on top of school,” Kenney says. Along with that, Kenney doesn’t reap the benefits that most work-study students have with flexible work schedules and employers that understand that school comes first. While the family that Kenney works for understands that she is a student, she finds it difficult to take off work just because she knows that they need the help, since she is the only waitress. Kenney is one of several students at the New School who have found significant difficulty attaining a work-study job.

Another student, who had a similar problem with her work-study award, was 19-year old Parsons student, Hailey Paulson. Paulson, who was awarded $4000.00 for the school year, got her award taken away after thirty days, and several attempts to find a job on campus. “They didn’t even tell me that I had thirty days to find a job! Or maybe they did…but I’m pretty sure it was in the fine print, not something obvious to me or any other student looking for a job,” Paulson said. She sent resumes, applications, e-mails to countless departments and job offerings, and most of the times she never even got a response back. If she did get a response, it was that the position had already been filled much earlier, and that she would be placed on the waiting list.

“The likelihood of me actually getting a job from the waiting list, seemed really unlikely,” Paulson said. “So I had the good luck of finding a weekly babysitting job…but it really doesn’t cut it for me. I get to babysit at the most, twice a week, and that’s only on good weeks. Usually it’s only once a week on weekends, but since its not consistent pay, it’s undependable.”

Eileen Doyle, Assistant Vice President for Student Financial Services, says that while there has been an increase in demand for work-study jobs, especially this year, there has not been an increase in the Federal Work Study, (FWS) funds. It’s a mere issue of too little supply with too much demand. This is the first year that it’s taken such a toll on students’ ability to attain jobs, essentially because there isn’t enough money.

Paulson, who is great with kids and loves to babysit, says that she loves the family but would rather be working a consistent daily job on campus. In the past couple of weeks, she hasn’t been called by the family, and thus, hasn’t made any money.

“I have an embarrassing amount of money in my bank account; my Mom and I just fought about money today. She thinks I'm making more than I'm actually making. It's kind of hard and it would just be nice to have back-up money from an outside job,” Paulson said. By embarrassing, she means $13.00. She hasn't been able to go shopping for food in a few weeks, and she says that she'll hold out until the semester finishes out. Her diet has consisted of cereal, yogurt, frozen vegetables, and milk, and the only money she has spent recently was on Christmas gifts for her family.

Apparently, according to Doyle and others in the office of the Dean, the problem with funding for work-study was blamed on the poor economy. The spring semester also poses a concern, because transfer students will not be awarded work-study jobs since the budget has already been set aside. Doyle also emphasized the fact that students are advised to work out a schedule with their supervisors to help maintain their work-study award for the entire school year. In the past, students were able to request more money if their initial award ran out, so that they can have money to the end of the school year. Unfortunately, this is no longer the case, because there are more work-study students than other years, with no money left to compensate for them when they run out.

To put this into better perspective, I use my own situation as an example. I have been awarded a certain amount of money for my school year. According to the work-study office, it is up to me to plan out how many hours I should work a week, so that I don’t earn up all of my award money before the year ends. In the event that I do earn all of my award money before the year ends, say, in March, I won’t be able to request for an additional amount of money to continue working. No more money award equates to no job, which leaves my employer at a loss as well.

When asked how many students have reached 75% of their annual award, Doyle said that the Office of Student Financial Services could not reveal any specific numbers of students affected by policies. She also said she could not comment on how many students were currently on the waiting list for work-study. Interestingly, Doyle commented on whether or not recently created work study positions would remain unfilled, by saying: “If FWS funds are not available, positions cannot be filled with FWS students.” So basically, there may be jobs available, but without the proper funding, no one can actually work those jobs.

However, a staff member at the Dean's office from Eugene Lang College (who wished to remain anonymous) offered quite a different perspective.

“There’s a lot of backwards things at this school. It’s not fair to students that are hired to find out that there isn’t more money to support them if they run out of their award. And it puts us as employers in an awkward position, because we no longer have a back-up fund to dip into if their money runs out.” The source was one of what appears to be many other supervisors who were told to hire several students to fill positions that were created for work-study. However, they later found out that while everyone hired would be paid, there was a shortage of funds for anyone who ran out. “So we have less money being awarded to more students. But is that really better in the long run for us employers? Once their money runs out, we no longer have student workers. It just seems like poor planning. The whole thing is backwards.”

The same anonymous source also shed light on another problem: The role of the On Campus Student Employment (OCSE) fund. This fund serves the purpose of backing up the University whenever they needed extra money, especially for Federal Work Study. They’re known as discretionary funds, which were drastically cut two years ago due to the economy. The OCSE funds are now only available in emergencies, and it seems that Federal Work Study fund shortages, are not considered to be an emergency.

To make matters even more complicated, or disorganized for the matter, the anonymous source said that one full-time employee runs the entire work-study office. This explained why it was somewhat difficult to even reach anyone for an interview in the work-study department. The anonymous source felt that one person was not an appropriate number of people to run an entire University's work-study department.

“I don’t really plan on quitting my job to appeal my work-study situation. It works for me right now,” Kenney said. “If I had a job on campus though, I’d still get to enjoy being a college student at night on the weekends.”

Reading Journal!

1. The facebook quote from The Kindest Cut of “I LOVE CAKE” was perfect. And the direct quotes of that character describing herself. I immediately disliked her and could picture her in my mind from the first paragraph.
2. First person usage in Vanish works really well, it makes the piece and justifies it because he uses this as the tone and gateway into information through the whole article. It just would not be the same piece any other way. I feel like in This is Your Brain on Football the first person is used in a very tricky but great way. She writes without using the actual “I” but her voice is definitely heard and the write is a sort of character in the piece. She also comments on the other characters as if it factual information, and makes a few statements that are said so imperatively but are obviously her opinion. Such as: “history gets written. People shout and claim turf. Heroes get invented.” This is seemingly objective, but after thinking about what these three statements are implying, you realize that this is the writers opinion and she is sating this so we understand her thought process or her idea on how things work so that we can better grasp the story as a whole and understand her not entirely objective perspective.
3. The character of Bennet Omalu is an expert, but such a character. The descriptions of him are wonderful and make the science stuff so much easier to understand after I have already decided that I like the person/character who is discovering it and doing the science work. I think he is made into a character because the writer describes him as an individual going through the process in a very relatable way. Rather than the writer just beginning with some expert quotes and then back tracking or adding in information on the expert.
4. Failing our athletes presents data much differently than in a news story because it is blended right into the piece, as if in a conversation but also sometimes the writing almost pauses to break down the data in figures and bullet points. In a news story data and opinion are not mixed, and they are presented as statements, not supporting evidence as I felt was the case in this article. The data is being used to guide you/ persuade you rather than tell you objectively.
5. The Kindest cut really aggravated me. That character Stephens was just someone that would drive me absolutely crazy and I dispute so many of her points that I just got annoyed reading the article because of her. That’s a pretty strong emotion- I’m sure not the best kind, but it definitely roused one.
6. Your brain on football is eloquently written as with a more essay-esque flow. Your brain on football reads more like a report, it is choppier and does not as thoroughly build the characters, but rather shifts few several. Your brain on football could almost even be a profile leading into a larger issue. And your brain on football describes the different viewpoints in an order similar to the order that they popped into my head as a reader. You know, like it seemed natural as if the writer was doing the investigatory work not all at once, but piece by piece.
7. I did not think that the subject matter in The Orchid Children was all that difficult. The writer simply made the subject matter out to be much more profound and science-y than it needed to be. Not that this topic is not an interesting and intelligent one, but I think the writer could have broken it down the issue of these two types of kids and different environments into lame-man’s terms and the article would have read better. I would have picked names (catch half-humorous ones) for each group of children in their specific situation so that so many adjectives were not necessary each time that type of kid came up. Does this make any sense?
8. Vanish is such an enjoyable read because you feel like you’re reading his diary. And he is letting you into his own secret world of thoughts. Of course that is enjoyable, and it has this pseudo-investigative tone of stating facts, but is embellished when appropriate and includes his personal commentary.
9. I am not sure of the technical term for this structure, but it is… describe particular scene, introducing characters. Then back to writer for writer-to-reader objective background information, facts and commentary. Then elaborate on that with the character scene again. Then cut from that scene again and go to supporting information. It is almost as if the writer is the expert and the expert’s support are these profiles. And the expert is asking something of the reader, or pushing he/she to go further than what is commonly thought.

Reading Journal (Lula Brown)

The characterization of Paul Wagner in “The Kindest Cut” is excellent. She tells what he does, his age, the space he lives in, and his physique and skin tone. By simply stating the facts, Larissa MacFarquhar presents us with a clear image of this person at the base level. Michael Lewis in “The No-Stats All-Star” demonstrates an example of a first person perspective used effectively. Lewis’ tone is effective because it allows us inside the head of Shane Battier, setting the mood for a story that could otherwise feel impersonal and inaccessible. Not everyone is in tune with sports, and opening in the first person allows anyone to relate to Battier’s feeling of pretentiousness in his field of work. In “This Is Your Brain on Football,” Jeanne Marie Laskas characterize Bennet Omalu, forensic scientist by utilizing honesty in her writing. She admits right away that Omalu had no interest in or appreciation for American football. Ironically, he was performing an autopsy on the body of Mike Webster, who was a professional football player. Being honest about Omalu’s personality, including his distaste for many components of American life, gains the readers trust. The first person perspective used in “Vanish” by Evan Ratliff is effective because he writes so much detailed information concerning himself that writing in any other style would seem laborious, and the reader would be left wondering how he knew such minute details. The first person voice in this story makes it exhilarating and similar to a novel or memoir. I had the strongest emotional response to “The Kindest Cut” because I felt like individuals who wanted to become donors and help a great cause were being stereotyped because of their past. This was extremely frustrating for me, but the journalist really conveyed their pain effectively. If the writing style was not as strong, direct and penetrating I do not think I would have had the same emotional, frustrated response. I thought these features were very compelling because of the varied structure of each one. There were many points in all the stories where I did not know where the story was going, in a positive way. This made them suspenseful and much more engaging than hard news stories.

Feature Story: The Bushwick Food Stands.Edit

The curtains were drawn as I left my Bushwick apartment but there was no mistaking the grey sky filtering through the thin floral-pattern material. Outside it proved to be no better, and I clung to my umbrella as the wind attempted to turn it inside out. The rain did not dissipate, and for several blocks I witnessed several others struggle onward against the elements, rushing forward without a second glance at the various food stands populating the sidewalk.

“No one wants to come when it rains,” Guillermo Borzola says through his thick black mustache. Borzola, an Ecuadorian immigrant, sells empanadas on the corner of Knickerbocker Ave and Stanhope St.

It is a quiet Sunday morning on Knickerbocker Ave in Bushwick, a neighborhood in the northern eastern part of Brooklyn. It's here I come across a sea of oversized umbrellas, so big one could easily find them fixed to a patio table. Instead it is attached to a food stand.

Food stands have long served as a supplementary or even primary source of income for vendors, historically in immigrant communities. The authentic Latin-American food available in this tucked away neighborhood of Bushwick is a far cry from the upscale food trucks of Manhattan that have become increasingly more popular. However, despite the discrepancy of the two locations, their presence has long been apart of New York City’s landscape. Its culture stemming from the same humble beginnings, as well as its current lack of proper regulation.

“The first four peddlers set up pushcarts on Hester Street in 1866,” the Department of Public Markets first reported in 1927. “For the next 75 years, the open-air pushcart market remained an institution of immigrant life on the Lower East Side.”

In many ways this immigrant community of Bushwick retains that feeling of old New York. Encased in each vendor’s stand is a food product that is representative of the culture they left behind. The food being sold differs from stand to stand. Some have handwritten signs advertising what they’re selling, others verbally tell pedestrians as they pass by. It can range from horchata—a Mexican rice drink accentuated with cinnamon and sometimes vanilla—to empanadas, corn, or tamales.

Sheets of plastic have also been temporarily attached to keep the rain out. Rain or shine you can always find the local food vendors here. They are mostly one-manned operations—though the majority on the block is women—often keeping their product in a giant orange Igloo brand cooler to keep the heat from escaping.

“I sell only cheese, meat or chicken,” says Borzola as he expertly rolls the dough to make another empanada, “the meat is the best.”

Borzola typically works two or three days a week selling empanadas. He has his own portable stand complete with a miniature grill. It’s been five years since he began selling part time a few days a week in Bushwick for additional income. Originally from Ecuador, he now lives in Brooklyn with his wife and three sons.

“They are so good, and so cheap,” says an older female customer, simply known as Dexy.

Dexy wears thick eyeliner that encircles both eyes. When she glances around and fixates on something intently she looks like a cat ready to pounce. She too is from Ecuador, and has lived in the United States for 30 years. She has come to Borzola for three of them, and eats in the neighborhood daily.

According to Dexy most of the vendors on this block have emigrated from Central and Southern Latin Americans countries. Dexy points to one of the stands across the street selling ceviche—a raw seafood dish marinated in citric juice—and systematically, moving counterclockwise—names each nationality ending with the woman selling chicken next to Borzola’s stand.

“Ecuadorian, Mexican, Ecuadorian, Chilean,” she matter-of-factly ends her list as she snaps open her ringing cell phone and begins speaking Spanish rapidly.

Food peddling, especially in densely populated immigrant communities, doesn’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon. In 1995, the Street Vendor Review Panel was originally established to regulate, ban, or limit peddling on certain blocks. The panel consisted of four members, including the Commissioner of the Department of Small Business Services, the Director of the Department of City Planning, the Commissioner of the Department of Transportation, and a nominated representative of the City Council.

However, there were actually too many departments, panels, and enforcing agencies already in existence assigned with the responsibility of regulating street vendors. As a result the Street Vendor Review Panel only contributed to more confusion as to whose responsibility was what, subsequently resulting in their last meeting taking place almost 10 years prior—there presence was needed, but a panel of four was largely insufficient to take over the demands currently assigned to multiple other outlets.

Historically, the issue of unregulated food peddling has been addressed since its first appearance on the Lower East Side, but never with much success. According to records kept at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, in 1934 Mayor Fiorello La Guardia was determined with organizing the open markets on Orchard St. by turning it into an indoor municipal market. He pumped large sums of federal money toward the issue, determined to “‘professionalize’ the peddlers”—meaning “even if only implicitly, at de-ethnicizing the markets.”

However, the cultural diversity of the food stands, as the result of immigration, proved to be a significant draw for customers. Following the removal of the pushcarts, it was reported Orchard St. saw a 60% decrease in business. According to the same records, “Immigrants and their families who had moved away often returned for a nostalgic trip down memory lane [while] others found the immigrant cultures interesting and exciting as well.”

Regulated or not, it hasn’t stopped food vendors from continuing their business in Bushwick. Evelia Arrata has sold corn in the neighborhood for two years. “I only come out for a little bit,” she says in Spanish, eyeing me suspiciously as she begins talking to a new customer, “but I am here daily.”

Arrata suggests the local community helps keep the local vendor’s businesses going. When compared to other major cities, Brooklyn affords the opportunity for immigrants to keep in touch with their roots in a place where others can share and take part in the experience, while being able to turn a profit.

“My friend, when she moved to Colorado she discovered she needed a car to get around anywhere,” Arrata continues her train of thought after another customer has left with a steaming cup full of corn soup. She imagines it would be hard to do what she does daily in a city where you can only get around by car, therefore making it much harder to discover neighborhoods like Knickerbocker Ave.

According to a fiscal brief filed by the New York City’s Independent Budget Office, although technically, “there are no caps on the number of food licenses that can be issued” in 2009 there were at least 5,684 interested applicants. The Department of Consumer Affairs—which handles licensing—stopped taking additional names according to the same report.

Regulation will most likely remain an issue of contention. Currently in neighboring Manhattan there are 160 blocks that reportedly abide by 160 different sets of rules, making it close to impossible for police—assigned with enforcing these rules on the streets—to properly enforce them.

Dexy begins chatting with a Chilean woman selling chicken skewers a few feet away from Borzola. They chat about their children and the abysmal weather, Borzola peeks over from behind his stand to tell them a joke about the weather.

Claudia Gatica emigrated from Chile almost 22 years ago. Since then she has worked in various places, but by far enjoys the community of the block she happened upon two years ago, when her brother-in-law began peddling food a few blocks away. “Everyone knows each other more or less,” she says of the neighborhood.

No matter how many vendors populate the strip between Dekalb St. and Harman St. it is clear the local vendors form a tight knit community within themselves—a form of compensation that cannot be calculated monetarily. “The people are always helpful here,” adds Gatica, “It’s because we see each other almost every day we are here.”

As if the temporary suspension of rain was a signal for a new wave of clientele to emerge, a noticeable rise of pedestrians begins to fill Knickerbocker Ave. The stands become immersed in chatter once again while small crowds consisting of families and others taking lunch breaks from businesses nearby drop in for a quick, inexpensive meal and conversation. Borzola and Gatica become busy again helping customers.

“I told you the meat was the best,” says Borzola to me, as he hands a family three meat empanadas.

Miles McDonald Food Grades EDIT

Its looks like the food industry of New York City is going back to elementary school- and its time for report cards.

In the last decade, New York restaurants have quit smoking, counted calories, and now, will be graded on sanitation.

This is the result of an announcement in late summer from the New York City Health Department that over 24,000 restaurants around the NYC would be graded based on their sanitation levels. This system has been enacted in cities such as Los Angeles for over a decade, but it will take over a year to reach all the kitchens of New York’s eateries.

“I never noticed them at first,” said Susana Caste, an East Village resident. “But now they are everywhere, its impossible to find a place to eat with out a grade these days.”

Restaurants will be graded on an A-B-C procedure. A (highest level of cleanliness) B (passing) and C (failing). The New York City Health Department is requiring all establishments to keep the grades on an 8 by 10 inch card within five feet of the front door, and visible from the exterior.

But is the new system just a little to nit picky? Many workers in the food industry think so. Kendrick Greer, a manager at The Half King restaurant in Chelsea waits nervously for his restaurant to make good marks.

“We are all biting our nails”, said Greer, “anything can lead to points being deducted. We have had to be extra careful around here. Anything other than an ‘A’ can really hurt business.”

Within the inspection, establishments can be point-deducted for things such as leaky faucets, busted light bulbs, and towels missing from bathrooms.

“No packaged food can be left on the floor”, said Michael Slater, server at the Half King, “it has to be left in government approved crate. The managers have been getting pretty crazy around here.”

Luckily for the food industry, the heath department has made statements that the grading procedure may be too critical and overbearing. Health department associate commissioner Elliott Marcus said the department hopes to change the criteria for inspection to make the process more forgiving. Pertaining to wet faucets, he says they “make it so that when you close up at night, mice know exactly where to go for a drink.”

The inspections are rated as followed: 0-13 deductions will yield an A, 14-27 deductions a B, and over 28 deductions a C. Restaurants that score below an ‘A’ are permitted to display a ‘Grade Pending’ on their window until second inspection following 30 days. After the second inspection, the final grade is distributed.

Or in the case of Ming’s Chinese Take out on 9th Avenue, some restaurants are simply self-evaluating. Although scoring low enough marks to receive a ‘C’ grade in 2009 (this was before it was mandatory to post grades on the façade of the business) the restaurant had an “A” vibrantly displayed behind the counter. City commissioners have heard several complaints of forged letter grades, and claim they’re making an effort to prevent these frauds. For starters, they began printing the reports on thick card stock instead of paper, and used a raised seal on the corners, and are complete with serial numbers specific to the establishment and the person who conducted the inspection. However, restaurants found guilty of posting fake grades can receive fines up to $1000.

A little skeptical of a restaurant’s displayed grade? Information pertaining to all inspected establishments is available online at the New York Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s website. You can search for a specific business, or simply type in your area code to find grades for your local neighborhood.

“Personally, I have never seen a ‘C’”, said Alicia Samson, A Lower East Side resident. “But I certainly wouldn’t eat at one. Its not safe.”

For eateries that missed the mark, the Department of Health offers affordable classes on food safety and sanitation practices, available in several languages, on-site or online.

However, The New York Restaurant Association is not pleased with the recent measures. Already struggling with a bad economy, members believe that the grades are will further damage business.

“Once you’re safe enough to be open, we don’t get what they’re trying to say between an A, B, and a C,” said Rob Bookman, the association’s lawyer.

Restaurants that score a ‘B’ or ‘C’ score do not pose an immediate health risk. The Department of Health closes establishments with hazardous health risks immediately. These new inspections are trying to create a new level of sanitation, one that is more focused on prevention and the highest level of cleanliness. They are far more thorough than inspections preformed in previous years.

An estimated 11,000 people in New York are hospitalized from food-borne illness every year while dining out. With these inspections, the department hopes to lower these numbers significantly. In Los Angeles, there has been a huge increase in restaurants receiving an ‘A’ grade- 40 percent to 80 percent since the system began in the late 90’s. According to The Los Angeles Health Department, the introduction of the ABC grading system in Los Angeles County significantly improved the sanitary conditions within local eateries. Also, LA health officials say that incidents of food-borne illness have declined significantly since the system was enacted.

The new grading system has managed to seep behind the bar and kitchens alike. The health department assesses all locations in the service industry, even those that do not serve food. Aside from dirty glasses, few people would find sanitary violations in their cocktail. However, Jamie Reynolds, a bartender in the Lower East Side says that her establishment has gone through extreme measures to withhold the sanitary standards.

“The bartenders now have to garnish the drinks with individual tongs”, she said. “Sometimes, we used to use expired orange juice for mixed drinks, but now we need to go through every single thing in the bar every two days to make sure it’s fresh. Any minor slip up is a possible citation, we need to be really careful.”

Although those in the service industry are woeful, the public appears to be embracing the system. According to a survey released by ZAGAT when, 83 percent of participants stated that they were in favor of the grades.

Currently, about 30 percent of the city's restaurants would qualify for A grades, 40 percent would get a B and 26 percent would earn a C, according to the New York Health Department, consumers can expect that a greater number of restaurants will receive A’s and B’s once the grading program goes into effect.

“This is really important”, said Danielle Zaslovsky, A Midtown resident. “As a healthy person and a healthy eater, I need to know how clean my food is.”

Allarie's Feature Edit

Coleman's Corner: nothing that romantic

My father loves reminiscing, and so while driving down this two-lane road we passed the dirt road he claims he ‘copped a feel’ for the first time, and the junk yard where he left his older brother’s motorcycle after sneaking it out and half-totaling it, and his second cousin’s family farm. My dad is far from a country boy, and so as soon as he could, he left this sleepy town for the city that never sleeps. It is here, he has always told me, that the small town environment is more alive than in small towns themselves these days.

Out of the handful of places I can distinctly recall from my childhood, the corner deli below my apartment is clearly etched in my mind. My father would stop in there everyday, mostly just to say hello. I never understood this habit of my father’s, until that summer ten years later, when I learned my great-grandfather owned a corner store. It was undoubtedly passed down a few generations, and so that was where my father spent most his time before he knew how to tell time. That was until, the almost inevitable occurred, and Coleman’s Corner became a Texaco.

The thought of a small town feel in a big city rings true for me. Maybe there is a reason we call the area I live The Village; perhaps it is here where you will find the local business and grass-roots organizations, even in the midst of such a metropolitan place. From my perception, this atmosphere is still found in cafes around the city, and for the purpose of my pseudo-investigation, I’ve decided it is exemplified in the absence of credit card machine.

The Asian man who owns The Adore, a French cuisine café, refuses to give me his name because he disputes that what he says is worth writing down. Of course, I disagree. I walked in after reading the ‘cash-only’ sign taped to the glass front door, and immediately inquired: why? His response does not answer why he is cash only, but rather, that he will not be much longer. “I’m not ready yet – well now I’m almost ready. I don’t want to, but I must.” He believes that customers are more comfortable paying with a credit card because then they’re not concerned with having enough cash, so will not as strongly consider the price, and therefore likely order more. He also hopes that a credit card option will attract more customers, although he is not entirely convinced that he really looses that many potential customers now. He does not even mention the price he will pay for including this service, because the primary cause of his reluctance is only that it will take him more time at the end of the day to compile and calculate all of the credit card transactions.

Everyman Espresso, an East Village coffee shop, has been in business for four years – credit card free. Upon first walking in here, and even from the fedora donning and hand rolled cigarette smoking couples crowding the outside, you receive an anti-corporation impression. The chalk boarded menu and seating area are both limited but always full. There are several posters on the windows and walls supporting local acts, and in several places you see the words organic and fresh just out at you in your peripheral vision. I walk by this place three times a week at exactly the same time and see the exact same people either reading inside or chatting outside. I trust from first hand observation, that it is the type of place that attracts some new faces, but subsists off the regulars.

When I walk in, Same Pemix, the owner, is restocking the shelves and chatting with the baristas. After I introduce myself she laughs with relief and says, “Oh good, I thought you were that lady who called me on the phone. She was yelling at me and questioning me as to why I didn’t agree with her that not accepting credit cards is so crudely archaic.”

Sam began this business credit card free for a reason. She believes in the idea of New York City being a cash community. “It’s an ethical thing I’m holding onto,” she tells me. “And also, why should I pay 19 cents of every swipe to some company – especially when most of my sales are a dollar or two. They’re offering a service, a convenient one, but its something I’d rather do without.” She also says credit card companies harm small businesses in favor of big business. “Best Buy,” the example she provides, “has a lower service charge because the credit card companies know they’re getting more business there.” So credit card companies do not consider the amount charged, but the amount of times charged.

This coffee shop does have a certain feel; it’s the counter-Starbucks. And that’s its object. Sam says is not easy holding onto this atmosphere. “It’s a challenge,” she states. “An uphill battle, we’ve even been contemplating it lately.” The truth is for her, even with those 19 cents taken away, she estimates that she would still make more sales daily. So many New Yorkers never carry cash, or don’t have the time to run to the ATM, but they’ll make time to buy coffee. “So if we can’t serve them, they’re going somewhere else,” she reluctantly admits. “I want to fight the good fight,” she says with a shrug and a smile, “but it isn’t that easy.”

It is not easy, but I do think that the small town environment is still alive in big cities because it seems as if these places are the few in the world where you can subsist without relying on capitalist means. This pertains to credit card machines, because as soon as a business implements a credit card processor than there is a third party involved, a middleman between the client and customer. And that middleman is benefiting from doing not much more than just being there. Creditcards.com is a website that connects merchants with potential credit card processor suppliers; they basically sell those little black machines that you swipe your credit card through that connect your card to the business’ register. This website informed me of how this system works. There are several companies that offer these little black machines, and all have deals with various banks. The business owner has to apply for this machine, and then after being accepted a specific plan is determined. The terms of agreement and fees vary depending on each credit card processor supplier, the business itself and personal choice of the business owner. However, there are always transactions fees, monthly fees, monthly minimum amounts, and start up fees. And the fee that is less often heard, but likely most intimidating, is the discount rate. This rate is how the credit cards profit so heavily. It is a portion of each sale that goes straight back to the credit card company, on top of the transaction fee. I scanned through several examples of plans and found that on average the transaction fee was .20 cents and the discount rate 1.60%. Considering these serious deductions off a two-dollar cup of coffee, it is understandable why despite customer disapproval, incorporating credit card companies into a small business anything but attractive.

Joe’s the Art of Coffee has defeated the credit card scheme. It is one of the better-known coffee shops in the city with local business appeal is and it now has five New York locations. “I couldn’t even imagine their spots being any busier,” Sam says, “so maybe I should just be patient.” It’s the environment, so the customer base they’ve built doesn’t even mind the cash-only aspect because they love the place so much. Cash only places are rare though these days, and while Sam herself prefers the credit card free ideology, she has also started wondering if is really that big of deal. “It sucks to say,” she says, “but do people even care that much?”

Bluebird is an organic bakery, priding themselves on local coffee and ingredients too. This place has the self-proclaimed title of a ‘green bakery.’ The walls are made of wheat and the counter tops 100 % recycled paper. Anything not made in the back is delivered by bicycle. When I walked in there and asked the woman, Camellia Tatara, working behind the counter about their reasoning behind not accepting credit cards, she wasn’t entirely sure of the logistics. However she is confident that the choice was primarily made to keep the neighborhood bakery feel. “You know, we’re into being more old fashioned,” she reports, while looking around the very beige colored, furniture-free room. This place was made to offer that an old-school bakery experience, mimicking the days when there really was only one bakery and you had to arrive at certain times before the fresh bread sold out. They’re successful at doing so; birdbath now has five locations throughout Manhattan. However, it does not fall into the same small business category, because this mini-chain of bakeries is the little sister of The City Bakery.

Joes’s the Art of Coffee has build a solid reputation on their non-commercial vibe. They have neighborhood group runs, work with local school children, and to make it a personal coffee shop experience, their baristas even have profiles on the website. I asked the guy working behind their counter, Michael Johnson, what their philosophy behind not accepting credit cards is, and he looked at me with a smile. “Philosophy?” he said, “well we’re supposed to tell you that we don’t accept credit cards because legally you can’t tell a customer that there is a minimum amount to swipe.” I found this surprising, because delis are constantly telling me the opposite, and I always end up walking out with five dollars of random grocery items that I’ll never need. He told me that delis say that because otherwise they won’t make enough of a profit to compensate for the credit card charge. This makes sense. So we chatted a bit more about this cash only system. He doesn’t think it detracts customers, nor does he seem to mind if it does, because their current method is quite successful and not changing anytime soon.

I think back to why my father loves the city and why there is something comforting about the neighborhood deli, even though are three or four in a two block radius and they stay open twenty four hours a day with nothing but processed goods. Perhaps Birdbath has the backing of an already successful twenty-first century bakery, but I still find it endearing. But perhaps I’m just holding onto something that hasn’t even existed since I’ve been alive. When talking to the barista and Joe’s the Art of Coffee I kept hinting to him, half hoping, or possibly just credulously assuming, that they didn’t accept credit cards to keep the local small business atmosphere. But he casually replied with, “Oh no, it's nothing that romantic.”