What I Hear

Everyday on my commute to Hunter and back, I pass by Flushing, a very urban neighborhood on the eastern portion of Queens that has such a large Chinese population, it is considered the second largest Chinatown outside of Asia. Flushing is well known for its densely crowded streets, deliciously authentic (and very reasonably priced) food, being the main social hub for Queens teenagers, and being one of the forefronts of gentrification, with new luxury sky rises being build every year.

Though I have passed through this neighborhood for as long as I could remember, I have always either blocked out the sound with my own music or simply ignored the sounds of Flushing. I never really took the time to simply sit down and absorb the sounds of the people and places of Flushing. 

As I made my virgin hearken voyage around Flushing, the noises that primarily stuck out to me was keynotes, which was prevalent in all directions. Everything around the very crowded rush-hour Flushing was on the move and constantly fluctuating with activity. Super markets were bustling with the sounds of the vendors shouting at the top of their lungs how fresh their fishes were, an old man in the middle of the sidewalk was aggressively handing out flyers for a hair salon that he obviously did not frequent, construction workers were taking their cigarette breaks and gossiping about mundane topics. With all of this noise being the mere tip of the iceberg of all the noise that is happening in Flushing, it was, quite frankly, a very overwhelming experience to take in at once. 

After walking around the streets for about half an hour, I decided to step into one of the more well known food spots in Flushing, The Golden Mall's basement food court. It is a complex machine of a food court, filled wall to wall with noodle, dumpling, hotpot, and other authentic Chinese food vendors. At the time I entered the food court, it was just before noon, so it was filled with all different walks of life. From businessmen who always frequent these vendors on their lunch breaks, to teenagers from 3 boroughs away who read a Serious Eats article about the mythical spicy and sour lamb dumplings, the food court was bustling and filled with the sounds of chefs warmly greeting their customers, foodies joyfully munching away at their food, and the sounds of idle chatter. Once again, attempting to observe all of the noise turned out to be a very overwhelming experience.  

Reflecting upon the sound-walk that I conducted throughout Flushing, I have realized that Flushing is filled with so many keynotes that collectively, all of these noises simply becomes Flushing's sound-mark. The hustle and bustle of these crowded streets and the people in them create my "image" of Flushing.