Photo Essay
Background
This week, I have worked on an assignment where I have used a brainstorming method to create a short narrative involving a protagonist that I would create. I thought this was an exciting assignment since I had the flexibility to create a story of my own choosing. So I decided to choose to focus on the story of small business owners in Flushing, Queens, New York.
What is Flushing, Queens, New York?
Flushing is a great neighborhood in Queens, one of the boroughs of New York City. It has Asian-owned businesses and residents predominately. Personally, it is one of the communities that I personally loved to hang out at, mainly because there is a vast variety of food!
Gaining Empathy
To kick off this project, first I wanted to really want to have a stronger empathy and understanding of how businesses have been before the lockdown, during the lockdown, and after the lockdown. So I was able to talk with one cafe owner and one restaurant owner.
“Before the pandemic, our business was already struggling. Now with everything going on, I don’t know how we can stay open”
“The stimulus check helped out a lot of individuals which is great, but the government didn’t give any assistant to small business owners. Instead, taxes started to increase just to be able to pay off some debt.”
Storyboarding
After talking with small business owners, it was insightful to learn about their current experiences and pains. Down below, I drew a storyboard (Sorry for the ugly drawing) from their testimony and experiences.
Final Result (Putting it all together)
My name is Carol, and the year is currently 2020. I work as a cafe owner in New York City. It is a city that I have grown up in and can confidently say one of the world’s greatest cities. Many students and adults come to my cafe to either study for their next exam or hang out with their friends. Being able to see the smiles on their face is one reason why I love my job.
But in January 2020, there have been reports of this mysterious disease coming to the United States; many people laughed and thought this was a hoax or did not take it seriously, including myself. Later in March 2020, I started to see on the news talking about this ravaged mysterious disease that has just claimed millions’ of lives. But I cannot let the fear of this epidemic deter me from closing my business as I have my family to feed. A few days later, I hear the government mandating all small businesses to shut down. Hearing this, I was optimistic and thought I could use this shut down as a great chance to get closer with my family, thinking it was only going to be a few weeks. Two months have passed…. Three months have passed…
It has been ten months; I was finally able to reopen my store with limited capacity. Having hopes that I would be able to see my old customers’ smiling faces bought me joy and helped me preserve to continue my business. Two weeks have passed since the cafe’s opening, then three weeks, then four weeks. As the days go by, I lose hope more and more every day. I don’t know if I can continue like this. I have started rallying with the local businesses to petition to ask the local government for support. I hope that the government will hear our voices in time.
Self-Reflection
So far, I would say this was the most interesting and insightful project for me. This got me to go out to my community and reach out to small business owners of my favorite restaurant and cafe to hear their stories. A few things that stood out to me the most were:
- How much lack of government support there is for helping out small businesses.
- There really is no one looking out or supporting these small businesses despite how much tax they pay.
Next Steps
For my next steps, I would say to simply continue supporting these businesses by purchasing something. Even buying one small coffee from a cafe can go a really long way.
Contact Information
For any questions or feedback, feel free to send an email at Hi@christopher.kim
