{"@context":"http://iiif.io/api/presentation/3/context.json","id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/iiif/kw57d2s98v/manifest","type":"Manifest","label":{"en":["Nadia Misir Oral History"]},"logo":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/organizations/logo_images/000/000/010/original/Aviary_QPLlogo_192x192.png?1578574261","metadata":[{"label":{"en":["Description"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSummary of Full Interview\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eNadia Misir is a South Ozone Park resident, a writer, and a teaching artist who serves as Partnerships Manager at the Abrons Arts Center, where she manages and supports education programming. Misir speaks with interviewer Sophia Gallagher about her recent decision to get involved in artist-led workshops about daylighting Flushing Creek (to uncover portions of the creek that have been buried by land development so that the creek once again flows above ground), noting that the opportunity to lead these workshops has allowed her to learn about an area of Queens that she previously knew little about. Misir discusses how environmental issues such as flooding, water pollution, air pollution, and lack of green space have affected areas throughout New York City (particularly Southeast Queens, Flushing Meadows Corona Park and surrounding areas, the Lower East Side, and Gowanus Canal). She also discusses how ongoing gentrification and real estate development that further disconnects people from the natural world exacerbates environmental problems, socioeconomic disparities, and quality of life issues in New York City.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eMisir speaks about her family's roots in Guyana and the profound significance of water on geography, history, and day-to-day life in Guyana. She also reflects on her experience growing up in South Ozone Park, including traveling to bodies of water around Far Rockaway as part of an annual Hindu ritual. Additionally, Misir identifies local organizations that are finding ways to address local environmental problems, including Guardians of Flushing Bay.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003ePhoto: Looking north along Meadow Lake in Flushing Meadow Park with all major park infrastructures in sight, November 29, 2009. By Tommy Gao (talk) / Tommy Gao at English Wikipedia - Own work, Public Domain, \u003ca href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24961706\"\u003ehttps://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24961706\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e"]}},{"label":{"en":["Rights Statement"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eCC BY-NC-SA Contact digitalarchives@queenslibrary.org for research and reproduction requests.\u003c/p\u003e"]}},{"label":{"en":["Date"]},"value":{"en":["2025-11-23 (created)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Tags"]},"value":{"en":["Queens College Alumni"]}},{"label":{"en":["Type"]},"value":{"en":["Audio"]}},{"label":{"en":["Agent"]},"value":{"en":["Nadia Misir (Interviewee)","Sophia Gallagher (Interviewer)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Source"]},"value":{"en":["Interview recorded as part of the Queens Memory Podcast's 4th Season."]}},{"label":{"en":["Coverage"]},"value":{"en":["1990s-2025 (temporal)","South Ozone Park, Far Rockaway, Flushing Creek, and Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens, NY; Lower East Side, Manhattan, NY; Gowanus Canal, Brooklyn, NY; Guyana (spatial)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Language"]},"value":{"en":["English"]}}],"summary":{"en":["\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSummary of Full Interview\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eNadia Misir is a South Ozone Park resident, a writer, and a teaching artist who serves as Partnerships Manager at the Abrons Arts Center, where she manages and supports education programming. Misir speaks with interviewer Sophia Gallagher about her recent decision to get involved in artist-led workshops about daylighting Flushing Creek (to uncover portions of the creek that have been buried by land development so that the creek once again flows above ground), noting that the opportunity to lead these workshops has allowed her to learn about an area of Queens that she previously knew little about. Misir discusses how environmental issues such as flooding, water pollution, air pollution, and lack of green space have affected areas throughout New York City (particularly Southeast Queens, Flushing Meadows Corona Park and surrounding areas, the Lower East Side, and Gowanus Canal). She also discusses how ongoing gentrification and real estate development that further disconnects people from the natural world exacerbates environmental problems, socioeconomic disparities, and quality of life issues in New York City.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eMisir speaks about her family's roots in Guyana and the profound significance of water on geography, history, and day-to-day life in Guyana. She also reflects on her experience growing up in South Ozone Park, including traveling to bodies of water around Far Rockaway as part of an annual Hindu ritual. Additionally, Misir identifies local organizations that are finding ways to address local environmental problems, including Guardians of Flushing Bay.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003ePhoto: Looking north along Meadow Lake in Flushing Meadow Park with all major park infrastructures in sight, November 29, 2009. By Tommy Gao (talk) / Tommy Gao at English Wikipedia - Own work, Public Domain, \u003ca href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24961706\"\u003ehttps://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24961706\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e"]},"requiredStatement":{"label":{"en":["Attribution"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eCC BY-NC-SA Contact digitalarchives@queenslibrary.org for research and reproduction requests.\u003c/p\u003e"]}},"provider":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/aboutus","type":"Agent","label":{"en":["Queens Public Library"]},"homepage":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/","type":"Text","label":{"en":["Queens Public Library"]},"format":"text/html"}],"logo":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/organizations/logo_images/000/000/010/original/Aviary_QPLlogo_192x192.png?1578574261","type":"Image"}]}],"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/collection_resource_files/thumbnails/000/300/404/small/Flushing_Meadow_Park.jpg?1770151456","type":"Image","format":"image/jpeg"}],"items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404","type":"Canvas","label":{"en":["Media File 1 of 1 - misir_nadia_20251123_full.mp3"]},"duration":3198.288,"width":640,"height":360,"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/collection_resource_files/thumbnails/000/300/404/small/Flushing_Meadow_Park.jpg?1770151456","type":"Image","format":"image/jpeg"}],"items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/content/1","type":"AnnotationPage","items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/content/1/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"painting","body":{"id":"https://aviary-p-queenslibrary.s3.wasabisys.com/collection_resource_files/resource_files/000/300/404/original/misir_nadia_20251123_full.mp3?1769200980","type":"Audio","format":"audio/mpeg","duration":3198.288,"width":640,"height":360},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404","metadata":[]}]}],"annotations":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999","type":"AnnotationPage","label":{"en":["Full Transcript [Transcript]"]},"items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Sophia Gallagher: Okay. And I have your consent to record, right? Yes. Okay, cool. So sorry, I'll just introduce myself and have you introduce this on the recording. So yeah. I'm Sophia Gallagher. I'm a student at Queens College, and I'm also doing the—working on an oral history project for the next podcast episode of Queens Memory Project. And if you can just introduce yourself.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=0.0,24.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/2","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Nadia Misir: Yeah. So, I'm Nadia Misir. I'm a writer. I was born and raised in South Ozone Park Queens. I'm also a teaching artist, and I work at Abrons Arts Center.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=24.0,36.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/3","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Sophia Gallagher: Cool. So, I wanted to start this off talking about Queens since I know you're born and raised in Queens. Could you talk a little bit more about your relation to Queens and what it was like growing up in Queens?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=36.0,48.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/4","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Nadia Misir: Yeah, totally. So, I've lived in the same neighborhood for my whole life, so for 34 years. Originally, my parents and my grandparents, they migrated here from Guyana and they settled in South Richmond Hill, which is known as Little Guyana. So, it's a huge West Indian population in my part of Queens. And honestly, I actually didn't really grow up visiting Flushing. We were pretty much located—we're in Southeast Queens, close to JFK airport, close to Jamaica Bay. And so my first memories of water or going to bodies of water were driving to Far Rockaway. And I think I was always fascinated by flooding and water because we performed a lot of spiritual rituals near the ocean. So, that was kind of the first time I started thinking about how much water our city is actually covered in and close to. And yeah, I think what I loved most about growing up in Queens is just our proximity to all of that kind of wildlife and all of that—all the different types of bodies of water.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=48.0,129.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/5","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Sophia Gallagher: Cool. So, I wanted to ask you a little about how did you come across the history of Flushing Meadows Corona Park.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=129.0,140.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/6","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Nadia Misir: Yeah. So, it was a few years ago. Guardians of Flushing Bay, in partnership with Queens Museum, and an artist named Julia Norton, they just put an open call out on social media. They're I think like piloting a series of artists led workshops that would culturally daylight the creek. And so I thought it was pretty cool. At that point, I think was—I had just turned 30, I was about to take on this new role as an Arts Administrator and teaching artists at Abrons, and I was like, \"Oh, this is a really cool opportunity where I can practice some of my teaching and also learn about a part of Queens that I'm not as familiar with.\" The times that I've been to Flushing Meadows Corona Park, it's usually like to meet friends from other parts of the city, and that's just a meeting ground for all of us.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=140.0,192.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/7","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Nadia Misir: And then, it's also to go to Queens Museum whenever they have an exhibition up that interests me. So, I feel like in that initial planning meeting with Rebecca, with Julia, and with Catherine who was working at Queens Museum at the time, that's where I learned a lot of the history of it. They shared links to maps of the waterways that have been submerged. And then I started reading more about Robert Moses and the creation of the World's Fair. And was just really interested in how corporate interests can dramatically change the landscape. And even though they change it, the past of it keeps showing up in different ways. So, that was really cool. And when we did the workshop, I think we had about three hours, and we started at Queens Museum. We had a pretty large group. It was multi-generational, folks had different relationships to the park.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=192.0,251.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/8","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Nadia Misir: Someone had worked as a caretaker for different parts of the park, so he had a lot of important information to share about what he experienced with flooding. And we kind of did the same thing. We just stopped at different parts where the creek is submerged and we read excerpts of Toni Morrison's essay, The Site of Memory, which uses flooding as a metaphor in that essay. It's really a metaphor to describe writing, but I think why that essay resonates with so many people is because of that one quote, \"Water's always remembering where it is.\" [The line that Nadia is quoting actually states, \"All water has a perfect memory and is forever trying to get back to where it was.\", corrected by transcript editor]. And that's what flooding is. And then we came back after doing our walk, we had maps of the creek and we kind of used black ink to draw an elegy on top of it. So, it was pretty cool. It was an interesting way to think about writing beyond pen to paper, but walking as a mode of writing, thinking as a mode of writing, and then trying to translate that visually onto the story a map tells.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=251.0,322.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/9","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Sophia Gallagher: That's really cool. Sorry, I just wanted to go back a little bit about Queens and I guess what was Queens like when you were growing up, especially with what you said about the proximity to wildlife and maybe how that effected you.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=322.0,338.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/10","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Nadia Misir: Yeah, totally. I think my part of Queens has been relatively untouched by gentrification, but where I started to notice the changes is when I would take the subway, I went to high school in lower Manhattan, and so you would notice the shift in demographics of people coming onto the train. But my neighborhood in particular, it kind of feels like a little bit frozen in time. If I am in Jamaica Queens, I see more of the changes there. They've moved the bus terminal. There are all of these high rise glass condos, and people I think are just coming out further because Brooklyn and Manhattan are just too expensive. So, that's really interesting to me. But yeah. So maybe I should back up and talk about why we would go to Far Rockaway so often. Part of it is that my family, we have a multi-faith family, but my parents raised me Hindu.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=338.0,404.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/11","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Nadia Misir: And so we would have something called a Jhandi once a year, which is just sort of a ritual offering to bless the home and just kind of pay gratitude to the earth for another year of life. And after you have that in the house, you travel to a body of water or to the ocean, whatever is close to you, and you just kind of like offer prayers to the water in that way. But what I noticed growing up was there was a lot of spiritual litter. People would leave things they shouldn't, like jhandi flags, which is made of cotton fabric, coconut shells, but then also plastic and metal things, which was not okay. One change that I did notice is folks are more aware of the pollution that comes with some of these rituals. And cleaning up the beach if you do go, not throwing things into the water and thinking that that is helpful cause it's not. I think that's one thing I'm noticing is that folks are really thinking about the connection between their spirituality and ecology and what it means to just take better care of our shorelines.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=404.0,478.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/12","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Sophia Gallagher: Yeah, that's really cool. What do you think has motivated that change?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=478.0,484.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/13","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Nadia Misir: Yeah, I think it's just people seeing the effects of it. So, seeing the litter wash up on the shoreline, animals ingesting it, and that not being healthy. And then I guess the more that you educate yourself about where you live, the more you realize just how much of an impact a small action you take has.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=484.0,516.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/14","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Sophia Gallagher: Yeah. Do you see communities in New York starting to respond more to pollution and climate change?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=516.0,526.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/15","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Nadia Misir: Yeah, I think so. Especially through groups like Guardians. But I think a lot of people are realizing the importance of how close we are to water and what that can do for your quality of life. So, I think about the Bronx River and how they're also advocacy groups in the Bronx who are cleaning up the river. And I saw a post on Instagram the other day about a beaver. There was a beaver spotted somewhere in the Bronx, and it felled a tree, which is really beautiful. It kind of means that the water is healthy enough to support this beaver.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=526.0,568.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/16","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Nadia Misir: I think sometimes whenever I'm crossing a bridge or I'm on a ferry and I see all of these skyscrapers, I kind of think back to Catherine's meditation. And I'm like, \"Wetlands are actually beautiful, thriving places of life and we've just sort of stacked concrete on top of it.\" And I think just within my family and friend group too, we were really craving green spaces. And I think at the park, this park is in Brooklyn that I mentioned on the walk, but Shirley Chisholm Park used to be a landfill. I think when my parents came here, they saw it. And when I took them back to see it, they were shocked, 'cause it's like restored. There's phragmites. There's owls and birds, and you could really enjoy it. You can ride your bike, you can walk, you can just have a quiet moment to yourself and maybe imagine what was here before all of the industrialization.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=568.0,636.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/17","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Sophia Gallagher: Yeah. Could you talk a bit more about, I guess, how this relates to your art as a poet and your practice?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=636.0,646.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/18","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Nadia Misir: Yeah, I love that question. Yeah. I think I'm obsessed with water. So, I guess I connect it back to where my parents come from. So, Guyana is a part of the Caribbean, but it's not an island. It's located in South America, but the name actually means, in one of the indigenous languages, it means land of many waters. And so I kind of grew up hearing my family members, whenever they would talk about Guyana, they would invoke water. So, you either lived on the east coast of some river or the west coast of another river. They were always talking about trenches and canals and traveling by boat to get to different villages in the country. And so when we visited, I think we visited after my grandparents died when I was 25. I was just so fascinated by the way water affects how people move and think about their movement and think about their day.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=646.0,714.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/19","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Nadia Misir: They're thinking about the tides of a river and how that will affect their boat travel. They're thinking about like, \"Is the moon full and the water high?\" How is that going to affect my travel throughout the country? Now there's bridges being built and the roads and infrastructure's being built up more. But I just thought, \"Wow, what a way to be present to the place you're in, to be guided and directed by something bigger than you instead of trying to control it or submerge it the way Flushing creek was.\" So, I think a lot about that in my poetry. And I also think a lot about how the same Atlantic ocean that is here is also flowing down to Guyana.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=714.0,764.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/20","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Nadia Misir: I'm so interested in the way water kind of defies borders and the way water is a force in different ways. It can erode. It could be very soft. It can be nourishing but it can also be destructive. So, I think just as a force. It feels like it's something that's really rich to be mined like people's memories of water. My mom is actually really deeply afraid of water. She has a reverence for it that always interests me and makes me think about intergenerational traumas and what it means to be descended from people who were indentured and crossed the ocean to get to the Caribbean to cut cane after they abolished slavery. So, I think a lot about that too, the role that water plays in the migration of my people from South Asia to Caribbean as indentured laborers.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=764.0,821.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/21","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Sophia Gallagher: Wow. That's all so interesting. I think it's really—and I like what you're saying about borders and water, because I think it's so true. It's even—just with some of the—doing research about land and water use in New York, and there's all this stuff about how even designing the water systems kind of meant they had to ignore state borders because water just goes across, to design these interstate reservoirs and stuff.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=821.0,850.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/22","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Nadia Misir: I didn't know that. That makes so much sense.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=850.0,853.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/23","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Sophia Gallagher: Yeah, apparently—I mean it's an ongoing issue because borders obviously don't always go along the water lines and stuff, but yeah. So, the centrality of water, I want to talk, how do you compare that a little bit to how people relate to water in New York City and how people—","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=853.0,877.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/24","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Nadia Misir: Yeah, such a good question. I feel like the way I've thought about water has always been a little bit romantic, but here it's a high stakes thing. We need water. The water pollution that we kind of see even on the walk when we were closer to the highway, just seeing how stagnant and brown the water was. And then I think there were some ducks that were floating on by. It's just yeah, it makes me—it feels a little tragic in a sense, because often when I was growing up, I didn't really realize just how much water we were surrounded by. Like yeah, we would go to Far Rockaway but it always felt like a trip out of wherever we were. But I think it's kind of sobering when you think about just how much has been submerged and how much has been just ignored or set aside for the purposes of building infrastructure.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=877.0,952.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/25","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Sophia Gallagher: And what do you think, I guess, about these infrastructure projects and how they relate to the natural landscape of New York?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=952.0,961.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/26","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Nadia Misir: Yeah, I think everyone is obsessed with having a water view without taking care of that water. So, I also think about the Gowanus Canal, and there's so many of those big glass apartment buildings being built there. And I feel like that part of the city, it's even more striking because Gowanus was never full of skyscrapers. It was always kind of very small apartments but when you walk past the canal, there's a little park area with wooden benches, and there are these information placards that talk about the wildlife that used to be there. So, they have pictures of birds. They have pictures of what it looked like before that waterway was created. And I think to me, it kind of feels like a site of mourning sometimes a site of deep grief because it's like, \"What's the point of having all of these buildings if you can't enjoy the natural beauty of a place?\" \"Or what would it have looked like if we could time travel and kind of work with the shape or the flow of the water instead of trying to straighten it out or empty it or create a canal.\" And it's also really stinky down there sometimes. There's a poop wave that comes once a week, and that's obviously not healthy and not you know—who wants to smell that?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=961.0,1069.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/27","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Sophia Gallagher: Yeah. I really liked what you're saying and could you talk a little bit more about what you're saying about the human relations with the natural world?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=1069.0,1077.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/28","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Nadia Misir: Yeah. I think for me, I've found that I'm able to connect more with the natural parts of our city through the work of orgs and groups and people like you who are actually really studying the nitty gritty of all of it, because it's not something that I learned in school or even as an undergrad student or a graduate student. I feel like all of the knowledge that we kind of source about our environment in the city is community sourced, which is really beautiful. But also requires funding and support from people and folks showing up to events and the folks that are leading that they should feel and be supported.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=1077.0,1130.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/29","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Nadia Misir: But yeah. I think more people—I'm noticing there are more workshops, arts workshops, or writing workshops where you're interacting either in the environment or you're thinking about it. I think Far Rockaway, last year I went to a workshop about nature journaling and birdwatching, and they were talking about the plover birds. And I think plover birds, they're very tiny. They're very cute but they're also endangered. But it seems like a really important way for folks to start thinking about their relationship to the environment is doing it through art or doing it through a way where they can—what we're doing now reflecting on what their relationship is first before learning the history that affects all of us.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=1130.0,1187.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/30","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Sophia Gallagher: And could you talk a little bit more also about what you're saying about the grief of these lost environments? I really feel that.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=1187.0,1196.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/31","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Nadia Misir: Yeah. It's so real. I think that's why I love Alexis Pauline Gumb's work because she really writes about the living world as living beings. And I constantly think about that. What if a tree could talk? What would that tree tell us about what it's witnessed? If a shoreline could talk, what would it tell us about all of the feet that have walked across it or all of the animals that have nested? I think a lot about also our quality of life and what it means to sort of live in a city that really values this kind of hustle culture, but results in people burning out, getting sick, not being able to spend quality time with the people they love. And we could learn so much about the way nature works to support everything in an ecosystem. We could use that to learn how to support ourselves in our communities and in our neighborhoods.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=1196.0,1274.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/32","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Nadia Misir: It just seems like such a missed opportunity. And I think something I also grieve is, it's harder—for me personally, it's harder to be present when am on transit, or I'm just trying to think about how I'm getting to work or getting home or making a stop. But if I'm at Shirley Chisholm Park and I'm looking at the water and I'm listening to the phragmites in the wind, there's a kind of presence I feel that I don't feel anywhere else. And I'm like, \"Wow, we're robbing ourselves of this kind of co-regulation that you could do in nature.\" And we need that now more than ever. Just that time with things that have lived longer than we have that have thrown down roots longer than we have.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=1274.0,1330.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/33","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Sophia Gallagher: Yeah, that's really beautiful. I wanted to ask you about like, have you had any experiences with climate change and climate events that have made you think more about this?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=1330.0,1342.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/34","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Nadia Misir: Yeah, totally. The part of South Ozone Park that I live in, we don't experience floods, but my grandparents, their homes are located in South Richmond Hill. And whenever there would be a rainstorm, the basements would flood. And I have a distinct memory. We use a coconut broom. It's made of coconut, a bunch of coconut dried coconut husks, and you kind of sweep with your hand behind your back and you're bent over. And whenever there was a rainstorm, my grandparents would be sweeping the water into the gutter in front of the house because it would just kind of stay there stagnant. And as a kid, I was like, \"Oh, it's just normal.\" But it's actually, that kind of flooding is pretty bad. And stagnant water can breed all sorts of things that are not good for you. And I think the other thing is I live pretty close to JFK airport, so the noise pollution is really hard to deal with.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=1342.0,1402.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/35","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Nadia Misir: When I was younger also, maybe I didn't experience it as much as I do now, but the Concorde used to run. I think when I was six is when the Concorde stopped running, but the entire house would shake. I think when planes are passing by, birds can get sucked into the engine. I'm sure the air quality is not as good here since we live so close to the airport. And I definitely have dry cough allergies, and I don't have asthma, but I definitely feel like it's affected my lungs in a lot of ways. And then also, I live near so many different highways. I'm by the Belt Parkway, the north and the south conduit and the Van Wyck. So, it's kind of hard to find green space, or even to get to Shirley Chisholm Park. If I were to ride my bike, I'd have to ride along a highway. So there's a ton of car pollution that you're inhaling. So yeah, I think a lot about the way roads have been used to separate neighborhoods and prevent folks from having larger green spaces. We're so close to Jamaica Bay, there's no reason why we should have more asphalt than shoreline or green space.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=1402.0,1486.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/36","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Sophia Gallagher: Yeah. Can you talk a little bit more about the inaccessibility of green space in Queens?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=1486.0,1493.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/37","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Nadia Misir: Yeah. I think it's also related to transit, too. So, I am not within walking distance of a train. I rely on the buses. And I feel like when I'm on a bus, I'm more aware of the way streets have been laid out because you're outside and you're seeing it. But even taking the Q37, which ends right by the conduit and the belt, there is a park there, but it's pretty small. There's some very small trees. They're not as tall and mighty as other places. And I wonder if that's because of the air quality. And it gets pretty busy in the summertime. It's packed. Everyone is flocking to that park, as they should, but it's also near two gas stations. So, there's a ton of car activity that's always happening around the closest walkable green space in our neighborhood. We also don't have— there's no community garden in my neighborhood, which is interesting.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=1493.0,1562.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/38","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Nadia Misir: I say it's interesting because I grew up noticing in my community, and this is probably a legacy of indenture, but everyone keeps a small vegetable garden, flowers, all of that. My grandparents would grow eggplant and peppers and a very small plot of land in their front yard. And as I'm getting older, I'm like, \"Wow! why have we not sourced that knowledge and taken an abandoned lot and created a community garden for our neighborhood?\" And I know that's more prevalent in the Lower East Side and in parts of Brooklyn, but I think—something that I think also affects access to those kinds of spaces is how much people have to work and how much time people have after that. There's just—like some families might have heads of household who are working maybe two jobs, and they just don't have the time to think about that or even observe in their neighborhood, \"Oh, this is a change I'd like to make. How can I do it?\"","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=1562.0,1633.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/39","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Sophia Gallagher: And what do you think about the city's approach to pollution and green space and climate change in Queens?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=1633.0,1642.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/40","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Nadia Misir: Yeah, I think that's something that I'm still learning, actually.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=1642.0,1646.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/41","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Sophia Gallagher: Or lack of approach.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=1646.0,1648.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/42","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Nadia Misir: Yeah, I wish I was more educated on that, and I wish there were more resources for folks to learn about. Even the pamphlet that Guardians gave out at the walk, I was like, \"Oh, I had no idea that it might even be a possibility that the creek is daylighted in some form, shape, or form.\" And so yeah, and I am never able to go to community board meetings because I work and the times are usually at five o'clock. Like I'm still working at five, and I don't really know what is being taught in schools when it comes to that. As a teaching artist, sometimes I try to incorporate—like one semester when I was working with my second graders, I focused the curriculum on community gardens in the Lower East Side. And we spoke about the history of it and seed bombing and what gorilla gardening was, and that felt really good. But I noticed that even in that part of the city, a lot of the kids were kind of like, \"Wow, I didn't know this.\" And it's like, \"Oh, but it's like the East River is right there.\" The East River Park was demolished. You see these things, but you might not know the context behind it. See, I wish I had a better answer for you for that.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=1648.0,1738.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/43","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Sophia Gallagher: No it's okay. I think also what you're talking about is very interesting, just about people's disconnection with their surroundings and with nature.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=1738.0,1746.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/44","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Nadia Misir: Totally. Yeah. I think in my experience, it's kind of like the same thing, the hustle and the grind of the city. You don't have, you might– you see it, but maybe you're not registering like, \"Wow, why is it that the trees in the East River Park were cut down?\" \"Why is it that a sea wall is being built instead of looking at the natural way trees could absorb water?\" I wish there was just more opportunities for folks to learn about that that didn't require them to sacrifice their free time, I guess. It should be something that we're all thinking about.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=1746.0,1797.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/45","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Sophia Gallagher: Yeah. So what do you think climate resilience, I mean first, I guess, sorry, this is kind of two questions. First of all, what does it mean to you? What does climate resilience mean to you?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=1797.0,1808.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/46","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Nadia Misir: Yeah, I love that question too. I think climate resilience to me means connecting with community members who are impacted by environmental issues and listening to those that are impacted the most. And then, it also means everyone kind of crowdsourcing their skills and their knowledge and their memories, and figuring out how to not only deepen the understanding and awareness of the natural world around us, but really working together to think of ways to solve these problems. So again, Guardians, I feel like does such a kind of beautiful balance. They're very practical initiatives. There are volunteers who steward and take care of the rain gardens. And then there are opportunities to kind of connect with your inner artist, which requires you to be observant of the world around you, to really think about your place in all of that and what your role could be, whether it's educating your block about flooding or maybe you know how to raise money and you raise money for an org to put on an event or to support the staff, or maybe you're an ecology expert and you have the knowledge that can help people understand where they live in a more accessible way.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=1808.0,1905.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/47","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Nadia Misir: I think climate resiliency really to me, it means being more rooted and being in community with each other and figuring out how we can be part of the work together and not just one person or one org.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=1905.0,1926.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/48","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Sophia Gallagher: I like that. And this kind of connected to my second question was going to be, what do you think the future of climate resilience in New York could be?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=1926.0,1936.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/49","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Nadia Misir: I love that too. I'm going to be optimistic because I feel optimistic because again, a lot of folks are thinking about these problems and finding little ways to bring community members together through art or through education or through advocacy. If it's a rally to stop the casino or something, there are all of these different ways to start plugging yourself into the movement. And yeah, I feel like that is exciting to me. I think the future also is going to require us to really work with young people who are also experiencing even a bigger brunt of it. They're inheriting major housing inequity. They're inheriting stronger storms and worse flooding, but they're going to schools that are underfunded, that are cutting art programs, that are kind of looking at them as people to be surveilled rather than people who can lead. So I think that's also part of it is how do we support our young people? And then how do we also honor elders who know some of the history of these places that we might not just by virtue of how long they've been around.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=1936.0,2030.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/50","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Sophia Gallagher: And I know you mentioned that you are teaching artist, right? Sorry, could you talk a bit more about how do you see, and you mentioned about that schools are very underfunded. Could you talk a bit more about how you see this play out in your work as a teacher?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=2030.0,2050.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/51","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Nadia Misir: Yeah, totally. So Abrons Arts Center is located on Grand Street, like a walk from the East River, and there are a ton of community gardens around that area. And also, I think that part of the Lower East side is where you see just extreme income disparity, and it reflects in the students of a class in the families that come to our center to take art classes on Saturdays. But regardless of your economic class or your background or where you're from or how long you or your family have lived here, the environmental issues will affect everyone. And some people it will affect more, like low income families who live in the projects closer to the water. When Sandy hit, windows were blown out, there was major flooding, and NYCHA already plays around with people's lives and with their homes. But I think now it's kind of like I noticed people who are impacted in that way, they are more aware because it's about their life. It's about how they're able to live and go to sleep at night and enjoy where they are.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=2050.0,2136.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/52","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Nadia Misir: I think Abrons also—we try to program classes that allow students of all ages to really reflect on the neighborhood's histories and where we are. And I think one of the things that surprised my second graders when we did that community garden—the classes about community gardens is I showed them pictures—I'm forgetting the artist's name. She's a famous photographer who took pictures of these abandoned lots before they were turned into community gardens at a time when the city was just decrepit Marlon Bomber, I think. But yeah, I showed them pictures of what the abandoned lot looked like and then what the community garden looked like after. And they were just blown away by the change. And one of the art activities we did was we printed pictures of the abandoned lots, and then they added their own. If they were to beautify it, how would they—and they added their own kind of grass and trees and different flora and fauna we learned about that were native to that part of the city, and that made them really excited.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=2136.0,2211.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/53","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Nadia Misir: We visited a community garden that was nearby, and we were talking about all of the different sculptures that were in the garden and how installing art in these public green spaces, what that does for people that visited and they loved it. They were just kind of really excited to learn about the past that you might not necessarily see if you visited, without knowing the historical context behind it or what it took to reclaim like an abandoned lot and make it living again.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=2211.0,2252.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/54","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Sophia Gallagher: And you mentioned Hurricane Sandy. I wanted to ask, were you here during Hurricane Sandy and what were your experiences?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=2252.0,2261.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/55","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Nadia Misir: So, I actually was not. I was a student at SUNY [State University of New York] Oswego, so I missed the storm. I was upstate dorming, but I remember I was in constant contact with my family the whole time. And I think our part of Queens, South Ozone Park was not as affected as places like Far Rockaway and anywhere that was close to the water, the lower East Side by the East River. So I think for me, it was really learning about—that was the first time that I thought about the deep inequities of neighborhoods just in Queens, just by virtue of where you are or how close you are to the water, how far out you are from the mainland that affected the aid you got, how fast you got it, rebuilding. I mean Far Rockaway is interesting because I feel like there's the ocean side and then there's the bay side. And the communities in Far Rockaway, the black and brown communities obviously are still underfunded, waited very long for aid, and were the most affected. But if you're on the ocean side, there are all of these new developments and condos being built. And yeah, I think Sandy was the first time where I was like, \"Oh, this is not just affecting everyone in the same way.\"","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=2261.0,2352.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/56","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Sophia Gallagher: What do you think about the city's priorities with climate change and protecting communities? And also, sorry I have another question, but I don't want to say two at once.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=2352.0,2364.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/57","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Nadia Misir: Yeah, I think it's uneven. And I think, yeah, it's interesting because the same communities that should be benefiting from more care and more aid and more intention are also often sometimes the same communities that are becoming the most gentrified. So, it's like the city wants—is valuing profit and real estate over taking care of the communities that have lived in these places for generations and have taken care of their neighborhoods. But then when there's an event like Sandy, like why would it take so long to rebuild a community just because they're geographically maybe farther from what the center is? I think a lot about that. Even with trying to get out to Far Rockaway on the train or on the bus is a journey. There's always issues with the train. There's always sort of construction happening that makes stops inaccessible for residents of parts of Far Rockaway. And I think there are parts of the city that the government just doesn't care to take care of that it's okay that it's neglected.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=2364.0,2458.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/58","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Sophia Gallagher: Do you see that reflected in Flushing Meadows Corona Park?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=2458.0,2463.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/59","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Nadia Misir: Yeah. That's interesting. I feel like, I'm not sure. I think again, I'm still learning about that part of Queens and the history of that area. I think, yeah, actually, I don't know.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=2463.0,2483.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/60","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Sophia Gallagher: No worries.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=2483.0,2484.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/61","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Nadia Misir: Sorry, Sophia. Yeah.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=2484.0,2486.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/62","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Sophia Gallagher: No worries at all. I was also going to ask if you know anything about the Willets Point Development Plans?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=2486.0,2491.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/63","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Nadia Misir: I don't.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=2491.0,2492.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/64","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Sophia Gallagher: But also, no worries about that.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=2492.0,2494.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/65","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Nadia Misir: Sorry, Sophie!","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=2494.0,2495.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/66","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Sophia Gallagher: No, no, no. It's totally okay. It just definitely—it's part of what we've been doing, part of the research on, because they're building. There's this big development plan and it's in a flood zone and they're raising it.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=2495.0,2509.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/67","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Nadia Misir: Yeah, it's a lot that I don't know though. This is the thing. I feel like even Queens is so massive geographically that some parts of Queens often feel like another borough, because I'm closer to East New York and to the airport. And I feel like that's another thing, even for me to get to Flushing via public transit is like a nightmare. And driving, it's easier. So yeah, I feel like even in that way, the way they've planned the borough, it affects how much you know about other parts of it.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=2509.0,2553.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/68","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Sophia Gallagher: Yeah, no, absolutely. Yeah, I live in Queens too, and I am very far from the park.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=2553.0,2559.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/69","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Nadia Misir: Yeah.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=2559.0,2561.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/70","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Sophia Gallagher: I wanted to ask, sorry, I think you kind of said a little bit before about this before, but how did you get involved in the proposal for Daylighting Flushing Creek?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=2561.0,2568.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/71","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Nadia Misir: Yeah. Oh, so I'm not involved in the proposal. I was just kind of called the first time, the open call for the artist-led workshop. The proposal was accepted, and then Guardians just asked if I would like to tag team with Catherine to lead this workshop. So, it's really only just been kind of, it's honestly been more of me observing and learning, I feel like, than me being able to teach a group something. I feel like what I've been able to bring is just maybe a method of how you can reflect on your relationship with your surroundings. But I think honestly, I've learned more working with Catherine and Guardians to just know more about the area and what the history is.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=2568.0,2623.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/72","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Sophia Gallagher: And what does it mean to you to be a Queens-based artist and to have grown up in Queens and that you're still living and working here?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=2623.0,2630.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/73","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Nadia Misir: Yeah, I'm really grateful that I can, and I think it's because I'm able to live with my family, which is a huge privilege. If I were to just rely on the salary that I have now, I don't think I'd be able to live here. I would be priced out for sure. But I think it goes back to that word, resiliency. I don't want to leave. I want to be able to just learn as much as I can about where we live and work with other people to appreciate it and protect it. So, even if I were to find a way to move out, I don't think I would leave Queens because it's been such an important part of my life and how I've grown up. And yeah, I think Queens is interesting because it can feel like you're between a city and a suburban space. There are a lot of liminal spaces in neighborhoods where you're like, \"Oh, I'm still in New York City, but this feels different.\" And as an artist, that just is a rich place to create from and to question.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=2630.0,2706.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/74","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Sophia Gallagher: I like that a lot. Yeah, I don't know. I guess I kind of have some maybe wrap up questions, but sorry a little nervous.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=2706.0,2720.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/75","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Nadia Misir: Oh my God. I'm very nervous, Sophia. I'm just kind of like, \"I don't know what I can tell you to be honest.\"","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=2720.0,2724.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/76","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Sophia Gallagher: No, this has been great. No, it's been really cool to hear. But I guess I wanted to, what do you think, I guess, about the future of the city and in Queens specifically, especially with the issues we've been talking about with people getting priced out and climate change?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=2724.0,2745.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/77","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Nadia Misir: Yeah totally. I think lately—I know I spoke before I was like, \"I feel optimistic.\" Maybe, I think the things that I'm worried about is just something that's been big on my mind are the casino proposals. And so I live very close to Resorts World, and that's a pretty big site of grief for me because I grew up going to Aqueduct Racetrack when there was a huge thriving flea market. I would go there with my grandparents and with my mom, and you could find anything there like beautiful pastoral paintings, butterfly clips, reggae CDs, food, it was bedsheets, curtains. It was a beautiful flea market. And you could tell that the vendors that were there really took pride in what they were selling. And when they turned it into the casino, it took away, I think it took away an important space for community members to enjoy recreationally, but also to enjoy as small business owners or vendors.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=2745.0,2811.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/78","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Nadia Misir: So I'm worried about this trend of like, \"Oh, casinos will bring jobs.\" \"Casinos will increase the money that's coming into the area.\" But actually the money's not really being invested in our community. And it's also, I feel like it preys on communities where gambling is an issue. Alcoholism is an issue. I consider myself to be Indo-Caribbean, and those are two big things I've witnessed in my family and community is alcoholism and gambling and the way that it can just destroy someone's life and family. So yeah, I'm worried about just about the different competing interests on what to do with the land. But then, I'm also optimistic about groups like Guardians and people like you who are dedicating your time and your research to learning more about our environment and sharing that and saving it and archiving it. I feel like that's really important and something that will help people at least feel like they can begin thinking about these questions. You don't have to have an environmental science degree, but at least there's an archive you can go to and kind of benefit from the work you've been doing and the work that Guardians does.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=2811.0,2901.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/79","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Sophia Gallagher: And so part of the Willets Point Development Plans are this casino, which is starting to be approved or in the stages of approval. Yeah. Can you just talk a little bit more about what you think of that?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=2901.0,2915.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/80","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Nadia Misir: Yeah, I mean I think it's awful. I think we don't need it. We don't need it. We have– they've already gotten Aqueduct Race Track, and a parking lot means paving over the area. It means more cars are going to be coming there more. I notice a lot of huge tour buses that come to Resorts World. It's more car pollution. People are going to be spending money on gambling and on alcohol, which they could be using in a different way that would benefit them and their community. And Flushing is already so densely populated that I can't even imagine where—like parking is already an issue. The buses are already, you know, it's hard for the buses to go down the bus lane.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=2915.0,2969.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/81","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Nadia Misir: We've built the city in a way where there's just not enough room for all of this activity. And then casinos, to me, also flatten the culture of a neighborhood or a landscape. You go inside any a casino and it all looks the same no matter what part of the world you're in. So I feel like spiritually, it's divorcing you from your surroundings, from your environment, from your culture. And it's like replacing it with this boxed room with no windows. There's often no clocks, so you don't know what time it is. It smells like cigarettes. It's overstimulating because there are all of these lights and bells and sounds happening. And yeah, I don't think the argument is that people will get jobs. Well, there are other industries that we could support to give people jobs, like eco jobs or green careers. But yeah, I think it's kind of devastating that this is even being thought of. That it's even on the table.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=2969.0,3041.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/82","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Sophia Gallagher: Yeah. Absolutely. And yeah, I guess just my final question is really, is there anything else that you think people really should know about this topic? About just climate and water and also the developments and everything?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=3041.0,3059.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/83","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Nadia Misir: Yeah, I think everyone should know that it affects them in some way. And so it's valuable to reflect on what that relationship is. When you wake up every day in the morning and you leave your house or your apartment, just kind of observing the way the natural world is interacting with you, or kind of being hidden or buried or submerged, is just an important part of learning how to be present in the world.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=3059.0,3099.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/84","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Sophia Gallagher: Yeah. And how do you think that people in general can uncover these hidden things?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=3099.0,3108.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/85","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Nadia Misir: Yeah, I think it's definitely being out. If you are able to, being able to walk through these spaces, learn about them, questioning like \"Oh, why does one part of Queens flood more than another?\" Maybe taking account of how many trees are on your block or how many trees are on—why are there more trees in some neighborhoods and not in others? Whenever I'm on Jamaica Avenue, I always notice King Manor, which is a historic site. There are lots of trees, but when you get further out into the commercial part of the neighborhood, there are no trees. And in the summertime, it's just massively hotter than other parts of the city. So yeah, I think just making a list of things that you observe when you're moving through the outside world, and then recording how you feel and comparing it to other parts of the city that you go through.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=3108.0,3175.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/86","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Sophia Gallagher: That's cool. Okay. I guess I'll stop recording unless you have any last things you want to say.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=3175.0,3183.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/87","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Nadia Misir: No. I feel like I've babbled a little bit, so I appreciate just your patience and your questions.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=3183.0,3191.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/88","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Sophia Gallagher: No, this is great. Thank you so much. I mean, the purpose of an oral history interview, really.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=3191.0,3196.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404/transcript/88999/annotation/89","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Nadia Misir: Yeah.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/165087/file/300404#t=3196.0,3198.288"}]}]}]}