Final Reflections

As my final day here at The Loisaida Center draws to a close, it feels a bit ironic to be submitting my final assignment on time. While I still need to add my final edits to the newsletter that will be the culmination of my work here at the center, and therefore know that my fellowship has not yet ended, I still have a bit of the bittersweet feeling that accompanies the last day of summer camp. There have certainly been difficult moments throughout this summer, namely switching my research focus halfway through the ten-week fellowship duration, but the majority of the experience has been overwhelmingly positive- both in terms of my work and the center’s environment. 

That being said, it is important to reflect on what has and hasn’t worked throughout the last ten weeks. The most effective and efficient aspects of my research were: focusing on one specific archive that spanned only four years, speaking directly with community members who were present during the time period of focus, utilizing the program director(s) as resources for both copy editing as well as generating new ideas and perspectives, and maintaining a balance between range and depth with regards to material and themes. The least effective and efficient aspects of my research were: attempting to focus my work on topics that were reliant on people and organizations with clashing schedules, attempting to take on topics that required far more than ten weeks to pursue with integrity, and ignoring the value of outside help. 

I am most proud of my final works, which will be compiled in the style of the newsletter produced from 1978-1982 titles “The Quality of Life in Loisaida,” that allows for me to combine all of the different paths that I have pursued these past ten weeks into one comprehensive publication. The topics that I covered most deeply were the issues that NYCHA is currently facing, as well as the More Gardens residency (which I spent my first few weeks at the center participating in.) While changing routes so many times during this fellowship was certainly a hinderance, and something that I would’ve liked to have avoided if possible, it did open up my research to lengths that I would have never originally expected and ended up thoroughly appreciating.

As I move forward, I hope to be able to revisit certain aspects of my research. Specifically, I would like for a segment that I wrote for the newsletter titled “Where Are They Now?” which highlights the businesses advertised in the original newsletter, and shows what organizations now occupy those spaces. This segment was included as more of an entertainment piece, it simply includes the original ads published juxtaposed next to their contemporary counterparts, but it tells a compelling story about the displacement that has occurred in Loisaida since the 1980’s. I believe that it would be worth pursuing further: taking a look at property ownership histories, contacting the owners of the replaced businesses, extending the project out to the community and asking members to come orwrad with memories of landmark Loisaida businesses that have disappeared. I’m not sure what the final product of this research would look like, but I believe that digging deeper into this story would be worth it alone- plus I would love to have another project to work on in collaboration with The Loisaida Center. I suppose that would be my advice to anyone engaging with community-based research: explore the things that compel you, in a place that feels productive and intellectually nurturing, even if you’re not sure what your end game is.