{"@context":"http://iiif.io/api/presentation/3/context.json","id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/iiif/sb3ws8k15x/manifest","type":"Manifest","label":{"en":["Timothy Chubinidze and Kavish Batra 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\u003eTimothy Chubinidze serves as Director of Civic Engagement for the Office of the Queens Borough President, Donovan Richards, Jr. In the first half of the interview, Chubinidze answers questions from Queens Community Board 6 member and Queens General Assembly delegate Kavish Batra. Chubinidze recalls how his experience as a college intern at the Office of the Queens Borough President sparked his interest in a public service career. Chubinidze explains how the COVID-19 pandemic has prompted young people to get more involved in civic engagement and local government. Chubinidze describes the important roles that the Civic Engagement Department and the over-260-member Queens Civic Engagment Committee serve at the Office of the Queens Borough President.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eIn the second half of the interview, Batra answers questions from Chubinidze. Batra speaks about his experience as a 26-year-old lifelong Rego Park resident and the changes he has witnessed in the neighborhood. Batra recalls how he became more civically engaged after graduating college in 2019, becoming a member of Queens Community Board 6, which represents Rego Park and Forest Hills. Batra comments on the need for more public awareness and education regarding how people can get more involved in their communities.\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":["Source Metadata URI"]},"value":{"en":["http://digitalarchives.queenslibrary.org/search/browse/40712"]}},{"label":{"en":["Date"]},"value":{"en":["2022-12-01 (created)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Tags"]},"value":{"en":["Queens College Alumni"]}},{"label":{"en":["Type"]},"value":{"en":["Audio"]}},{"label":{"en":["Agent"]},"value":{"en":["Timothy Chubinidze (Interviewee)","Kavish Batra (Interviewee)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Coverage"]},"value":{"en":["1990s-2022 (temporal)","Rego Park, Forest Hills, and Queens Borough Hall, Queens, NY (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\u003eTimothy Chubinidze serves as Director of Civic Engagement for the Office of the Queens Borough President, Donovan Richards, Jr. In the first half of the interview, Chubinidze answers questions from Queens Community Board 6 member and Queens General Assembly delegate Kavish Batra. Chubinidze recalls how his experience as a college intern at the Office of the Queens Borough President sparked his interest in a public service career. Chubinidze explains how the COVID-19 pandemic has prompted young people to get more involved in civic engagement and local government. Chubinidze describes the important roles that the Civic Engagement Department and the over-260-member Queens Civic Engagment Committee serve at the Office of the Queens Borough President.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eIn the second half of the interview, Batra answers questions from Chubinidze. Batra speaks about his experience as a 26-year-old lifelong Rego Park resident and the changes he has witnessed in the neighborhood. Batra recalls how he became more civically engaged after graduating college in 2019, becoming a member of Queens Community Board 6, which represents Rego Park and Forest Hills. Batra comments on the need for more public awareness and education regarding how people can get more involved in their communities.\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/public/images/audio-default.png","type":"Image","format":"image/png"}],"items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987","type":"Canvas","label":{"en":["Media File 1 of 1 - chubinidze-batra-2022-12-01-radioedit.mp3"]},"duration":1589.184,"width":640,"height":360,"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/public/images/audio-default.png","type":"Image","format":"image/png"}],"items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987/content/1","type":"AnnotationPage","items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987/content/1/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"painting","body":{"id":"https://aviary-p-queenslibrary.s3.wasabisys.com/collection_resource_files/resource_files/000/207/987/original/chubinidze-batra-2022-12-01-radioedit.mp3?1694790985","type":"Audio","format":"audio/mpeg","duration":1589.184,"width":640,"height":360},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987","metadata":[]}]}],"annotations":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987/transcript/49666","type":"AnnotationPage","label":{"en":["Full Transcript [Transcript]"]},"items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987/transcript/49666/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Google Voice: Recording in progress.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987#t=1.0,5.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987/transcript/49666/annotation/2","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Timothy Chubinidze: All right. We should be good to go.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987#t=5.0,8.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987/transcript/49666/annotation/3","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Kavish Batra: Alright, I guess how did you come to Queens?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987#t=8.0,15.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987/transcript/49666/annotation/4","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Timothy Chubinidze: So, I was born in Queens, New York at Elmhurst Hospital. So I didn't really have a choice, I guess you could say, although my parents came to this country in 1992 from the former Soviet Union, the Republic of Georgia, and they pretty much found their place in Queens, through word of mouth. They had a family friend that was already in Queens, and similarly to how most immigrants who come to this country do, they, they gravitated towards an area where they know that someone is located in. In our case, it was a family friend who happened to live in Queens, and that's how my parents got their start in Queens and they've been here ever since. We've only lived in Queens our whole lives.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987#t=15.0,74.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987/transcript/49666/annotation/5","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Kavish Batra: Gotcha. And then what made you wanna get involved with your community?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987#t=74.0,79.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987/transcript/49666/annotation/6","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Timothy Chubinidze: So that one is another kind of-- I was kind of pushed in that position technically. I never got involved in the community until I went to college. When I went to college and did my bachelor's program at Queens College, there was an opportunity to conduct an internship, or actually that was the requirement to finish the course. And I just so happened to pick the Queens Borough President's Office. And in doing so, obviously, when I was interning at the Borough President's Office that was the first time I really got involved in the community. I got to know what being involved it looks like, the impact it can have, and the relationship between the community and the local elected official offices. And then obviously as the time went on, I ended up getting a full-time position at the Queens Borough President's Office, and then that just escalated over, over the last four years. It's just been trying my best to get more and more involved through the job and even personally, even in my own neighborhood, trying to get involved and helping out folks that that live in the same community that I do.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987#t=79.0,166.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987/transcript/49666/annotation/7","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Kavish Batra: So you've worked at the Queens Borough President's Office. How do you like that so far? Yeah, how do you like working at the Queens Borough President's Office?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987#t=166.0,176.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987/transcript/49666/annotation/8","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Timothy Chubinidze: So, technically this was my very first kind of real job coming out of school particularly. It's basically a combination of luck and opportunity. When I was offered the position when I was an intern, I definitely didn't expect it. I had no intentions of working at the Queens Borough President's Office. I was just there fulfilling a college requirement. So when that opportunity came up, it really allowed me to kind of narrow my focus and determine that public service is probably the path I want to go on. A receiving this job opportunity was the perfect way to kind of explore that opportunity. I figured if this is something that maybe is not in my lane or something I won't succeed in, I can always move on in a little bit. Being that I had no experience in government, I was fortunate to have a very great leader and supervisor at the time: the director of Immigrant Affairs and Intercultural Affairs, Susie Tanenbaum. Basically, she took me under her wing and I learned a lot very fast about city government and working at this office has just been great ever since.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987#t=176.0,264.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987/transcript/49666/annotation/9","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Kavish Batra: Gotcha. I guess like knowing what you know now, working at Queens Borough President's Office-- [unclear] hasn't been that long-- how has your view on civic engagement changed? I know you're the director of civic engagement, but I guess the question is: now that you've worked at the Queens Borough President's Office, you've been exposed to more of this-- I'm not even sure what the terms are -- but like, you're exposed to more than other people exposed to in terms of local governing or at least-- man, I'm confused. I'm not sure I put this question-- But knowing what you know now working at the Borough President's Office, how has your view on being involved changed?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987#t=264.0,314.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987/transcript/49666/annotation/10","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Timothy Chubinidze: For sure. So I guess I'll give you kind of the comparison of what civic engagement was a few years ago and what it is now in my personal view and lens. So, civic engagement technically has been around for a long time, but it's always been a minority of folks. It's never been kind of a mainstream topic or thing to do. And I think the pandemic really changed that because all of a sudden all of us-- every single one of us-- were affected by the rules and decisions of the local government and municipalities all across the city and all across the country, not just New York. So that really kind of opened the eyes of a lot of people that local government, local politics, truly matters. And in a situation like the COVID-19 pandemic, it really has an impact on your day-to-day life, the people who you have representing you.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987#t=314.0,381.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987/transcript/49666/annotation/11","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Timothy Chubinidze: In my personal view-- thinking back just to a few years ago even when I started in 2018-- it was always the same players involved in either communicating with their local elected officials or even when you go to consistent community meetings, it's usually always the same folks; folks that tend to be a bit older, folks that have a history or relationship either working for the city or with the city. And there's definitely been a very big, youth component that was missing. And I think over the past few years, especially during the pandemic, that has been shifting a bit where a lot more young folks are getting involved. A lot of more young folks are paying attention to their local elected official offices. And even the kind of narrative about politics has kind of changed where it's becoming more of a mainstream thing to talk about and to pay attention to even things like having an elected official come on a podcast or doing a interview with them on YouTube.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987#t=381.0,454.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987/transcript/49666/annotation/12","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Timothy Chubinidze: That kind of hasn't been the norm really. But the last couple of years, especially this past year in 2022, there are a lot of folks that are doing podcasts that are appearing on interviews, that are going on late night shows, like the mayor of the City of New York. So that's just something that I've noticed that's changed. And as the borough presidents took office-- Donovan Richards-- he also noticed that change, which is why the civic engagement department was created at Queens Borough Hall because we are at a point in history where we need that kind of middle man to engage all those folks who are interested in getting involved and connecting them with our office, other offices and just the resources that they either need, are advocating for or would like to see for themselves and their communities.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987#t=454.0,513.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987/transcript/49666/annotation/13","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Kavish Batra: You mentioned there's younger people more involved now, the demographics have changed of people who are more civically engaged, the way people are communicating information has also changed. The last question is what are your hopes for Queens? But I kind of wanna tie in your hopes with the idea that the people who are civically engaged now-- you've seen it change, and the Borough President has seen a change. What's the relationship between that now? What's your future view of Queens or the local community and how do you think the people involved now are gonna play a role? If that's [unclear], I'm not sure.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987#t=513.0,562.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987/transcript/49666/annotation/14","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Timothy Chubinidze: Gotcha. Gotcha. So I'll definitely do my best to answer that. [crosstalk] It's kind of a big question, [crosstalk] but I think -- and also I believe the borough president would agree-- that Queens is not only the future, but it is the present. There's a lot going on in Queens and I think this borough is leading the way in terms of creating a place where there's a little bit of everything: where you could come and raise a family where you could enjoy the light night life, where you can have entertainment, cultural organizations, parks. I think the more folks that are involved in all of these processes, the better. Obviously we had a lot of kind of big-time projects even in the past month. Projects like Innovation Queens and the Willets Point soccer stadium, those are kind of really huge projects that helps to transform the borough.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987#t=562.0,626.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987/transcript/49666/annotation/15","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Timothy Chubinidze: And having community input in projects like that, having folks involved and knowing what those projects even are and what they're gonna bring to the community is very important. And also just making sure that people are advocating for what they want and believe in. There are a lot of folks who like to complain and criticize, but if you ask them, \"Did they go vote? Are they part of their community board? Do they go to community board meetings? Are they involved in a civic association?\" More than likely the answer is probably \"no.\" But in those spaces, in those meetings is usually where the changes happen. So if those spaces are kinda dominated by a certain group of individuals, they're gonna have kind of what they think, they believe in and that's what's gonna get implemented. So the bottom line is filling these spaces up with as many people as possible, as diverse of a crowd as possible, both ethnically and age-wise, is something that I think a functioning democracy needs.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987#t=626.0,704.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987/transcript/49666/annotation/16","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Timothy Chubinidze: It's what it strives for and that's what Queens hopefully is trying to lead an example in. With the civic engagement department at Queens Borough Hall, we have a very thriving and strong Queens civic engagement committee that has over 260 members as of right now. And it's really a grassroots way of getting people involved, connecting them with resources and making sure that their voice is heard at the end of the day. Because you don't have to be a community member or an elected official or a strong civic leader to be heard. You can be just the regular everyday individual citizen who works nine to five. And if they have something that they wanna address and make their voice heard about, we wanna be here to listen to them. And that's kind of the bottom line.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987#t=704.0,759.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987/transcript/49666/annotation/17","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Kavish Batra: That was beautiful. [laughs] You really, really kinda tackled it really well. Very eloquent.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987#t=759.0,764.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987/transcript/49666/annotation/18","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Timothy Chubinidze: Thank you.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987#t=764.0,765.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987/transcript/49666/annotation/19","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Kavish Batra: Yeah. It's funny cuz I was like jumbling around my question and I feel you answered both parts of the question and did it really well. I wanted to ask you: we went over how you got here, how you got involved, how you got here involved in the Borough President's Office, and how you see the future of Queens. So I guess it does kind of answer all those questions. That's kind of like what we discussed personally too, those three points.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987#t=765.0,805.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987/transcript/49666/annotation/20","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Timothy Chubinidze: Awesome.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987#t=805.0,806.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987/transcript/49666/annotation/21","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Kavish Batra: Good. I guess whenever you're ready you could ask me questions and I'll try to be as [unclear] as you [laughs].","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987#t=806.0,817.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987/transcript/49666/annotation/22","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Timothy Chubinidze: No, don't worry about it. Just do your best, that's all. So I guess I'll also start with: how did you come to Queens?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987#t=817.0,830.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987/transcript/49666/annotation/23","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Kavish Batra: Well, my family is from India and they immigrated here in the early nineties. And I was born in Flushing Queens at Booth Memorial Hospital. It's not Booth Memorial Hospital anymore, but it was. My family came here and I was born here, so not really a choice, but, um, glad it happened that way.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987#t=830.0,863.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987/transcript/49666/annotation/24","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Timothy Chubinidze: Have you stayed in a particular neighborhood for a long time or have you been around the borough?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987#t=863.0,869.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987/transcript/49666/annotation/25","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Kavish Batra: Right. I basically just lived in Rego Park my entire life. From going to PS  06, I went to Halsey for middle school and then Forest Hills High School for high school. And that's all my Zone schools. I literally haven't moved my entire life, which has been 26 years so far. But, it's been Rego Park and it's a great neighborhood that I'm glad to have been raised here. Big Indian population, so that was kind of nice since my family's Indian, but, yeah, it's Rego Park.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987#t=869.0,911.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987/transcript/49666/annotation/26","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Timothy Chubinidze: To piggyback off of that question: since you've been there basically your whole life, what changes have you seen in this neighborhood over time, if any?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987#t=911.0,920.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987/transcript/49666/annotation/27","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Kavish Batra: Right. Rego Park has definitely changed-- I would say significantly-- the last 15 years that I've noticed. We've gotten like new, larger malls, we got a new shopping center. The Rego Center was a parking lot when I was younger. We have more bike lanes now. Some demographics are also changing. There's different groups of people coming in. You kind of notice that change when you've been here that long. I would say that, we're also getting a few new high rises so that's definitely gonna, probably bring in more people of all types of different cultures and backgrounds. But I guess to sum it up, the changes I've seen living in Rego Park the past 26 years, we've, we've gotten new buildings like new high rises, we've gotten new schools, infrastructure has changed with the bike lanes and that's pretty much it. Yeah. Yeah. But I would say it's a noticeable change.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987#t=920.0,1012.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987/transcript/49666/annotation/28","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Timothy Chubinidze: Is it safe to say that you haven't come from a particularly civically engaged background?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987#t=1012.0,1023.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987/transcript/49666/annotation/29","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Kavish Batra: Yeah. It's a tricky question. I learned more about the idea of civic engagement in high school. I wouldn't say that's like my background. I mean, when my family came here and we didn't know anything about anything. And my folks still don't understand how local politics or local municipalities work or even the idea of like volunteering to them is a little foreign to them just because it's not their country, so they don't see what's the point. I was born here, so I I would agree with you. My background, it wasn't a civicly engaged background, right.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987#t=1023.0,1073.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987/transcript/49666/annotation/30","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Timothy Chubinidze: Right. So that I would think a lot of folks in Queens, particularly children of immigrants, could relate to that. So on that kind of similar vein, kind of being the first generation of a civically involved person, what brought you to the Queens General Assembly in the BP's office?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987#t=1073.0,1094.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987/transcript/49666/annotation/31","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Kavish Batra:  Yeah, so, well, after I graduated college in 2019, I came back home. I was in Upstate New York. So I came back home after four years and I realized I'm gonna be home for a while and I wanted to understand how things work in my community. So I joined my local community board-- community board six-- And it's been a year and some change now. But while there, I believe I was presented the opportunity through my district manager, Frank-- I don't recall exactly -- but I believe that this opportunity was presented to me through being involved with my community board. And so I applied at that as well. And it's been a great opportunity I feel. But just to sum it up, it was presented to me through working with my community board, so I just signed up and lucky that I got selected and be a part of that group.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987#t=1094.0,1173.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987/transcript/49666/annotation/32","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Timothy Chubinidze: So, on following that kind of path of being the first person in your family who's getting civically involved and engaged, what do you think the issue is for other folks maybe your age who are not getting involved, like you? When you kind of speak to your friends about this stuff, what are their thoughts?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987#t=1173.0,1198.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987/transcript/49666/annotation/33","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Kavish Batra: Right. I feel like people really just don't know it exists, like people don't know these kind of opportunities exist. I think when I speak to my friends about the kind of things I do and volunteer in my community, they really are interested and it does pique their curiosity, but they don't really have an idea of what it entails, or they don't even know how to go about the process of joining, let's say the community board or they probably don't even know the Borough President's Office exists. So I think it's more of a lack of information, lack of awareness and we weren't told. A lot of my friends and I myself, we went to public school, and for most of our lives-- and even in being involved in public school-- we didn't learn about how to be involved in our community.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987#t=1198.0,1252.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987/transcript/49666/annotation/34","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Kavish Batra: We didn't know about the public resources, like the Borough President's Office. Even though I went to Forest Hills High School, the Borough President's Office was two stops away and I didn't really learn about that until I graduated high school. And I think that's the case for most young individuals, especially from here, it's just a lack of awareness and we don't learn about it young enough to even care about it when we get older. I think I was fortunate enough in high school to have a teacher who got us involved in our community. That was kind of where I lucked out, but a lot of the people my age, they just really just don't know that these opportunities exist so they don't know how to go about getting involved in general.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987#t=1252.0,1307.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987/transcript/49666/annotation/35","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Timothy Chubinidze: What would you say to someone who's listening to this interview -- if you were to recommend them, why they should get involved? What would you tell them?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987#t=1307.0,1318.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987/transcript/49666/annotation/36","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Kavish Batra: That's a great question. I would say get involved for the right reasons, right? I like my neighborhood. I was born and raised in Rego Park, so that's why I wanted to join my community board because I've been here my entire life and I really wanted to just get to the bottom of how my neighborhood operates. So that's kind of where I came from. What was the question again?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987#t=1318.0,1349.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987/transcript/49666/annotation/37","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Timothy Chubinidze: So if a person is out there listening to this interview, what would you tell them? What would be your kind of reasons for them to get involved if they're debating it, if they're curious themselves or if they don't know about any of the stuff we're talking about, what would be your pitch to them to get involved?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987#t=1349.0,1370.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987/transcript/49666/annotation/38","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Kavish Batra: Okay. Yeah. I personally, I feel like I met a lot of great people, so that's a great way to meet people who are like-minded and also driven to create positive change in the communities. So that's a reason why someone should get involved: get to meet people in your community that also want to see good happen. You also get to be involved with the decision making process to an extent, right? You get to see and meet the people who have influence on the changes that could happen in your community. So if you want to see something happen or you wanna see some kind of change, it would be helpful for you to be in those environments that you get to meet and connect with those people. And you learn a lot about how things work. I guess to sum it up, you get to be around people who are trying to see positive change, and you get to be working with those people. You can learn a lot from those people, and you get to kind of be more in tune with the community and kind of help make positive change if that's your reason to get involved.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987#t=1370.0,1457.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987/transcript/49666/annotation/39","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Timothy Chubinidze: [unclear] The final question, we'll close it with this one: Since the Borough of Queens is consistently changing throughout the years, what are your hopes for the Borough of Queens or for your community in particular?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987#t=1457.0,1476.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987/transcript/49666/annotation/40","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Kavish Batra:  Well, I feel like I'm like lucky to have-- I keep on bringing up this teacher I had in high school, it was Ms. Santiago-- I feel like I was very lucky to have her as a teacher because she created awareness about being involved in a community and what that could look like when you're in high school. I was lucky to have that teacher to kind of create that spark for me to get involved after I graduated college. A lot of people don't have that. And so I would want more information, more awareness of the resources that are available to people in certain communities. That could come in different ways, but I think I want there to be more awareness of the resources that are available to you.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987#t=1481.0,1539.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987/transcript/49666/annotation/41","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Kavish Batra:  And, like you mentioned before, a lot of people who are civically engaged, it's the same demographic or the same people. And it's changing now for some reason, maybe post-pandemic people got more involved, but I think people should know what's going on in the communities and I just want more information available to people. That's a kind of change I would wanna see. I would want to see more information available and just more people involved. But I think that comes with awareness.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987#t=1539.0,1585.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987/transcript/49666/annotation/42","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Timothy Chubinidze: No worries. You did great. Thank you for all your answers and your thoughts and insights.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987#t=1585.0,1589.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987/transcript/49666/annotation/43","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Kavish Batra: [unclear] My best [laughs].","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/107135/file/207987#t=1589.0,1445.184"}]}]}]}