Listen: Oral History Collection
We are creating a community archive of interviews by and with Flatbush-PLG community members. Our archive will eventually be accessible through the Brooklyn Collection at the Brooklyn Public Library. Below is a sampling of oral history interviews collected, with more being added regularly.
Nowshin Ali and Anurag Shrivastava
Narrators: Nowshin Ali and Anurag Shrivastava
Interviewer: Nancy Hoch
Collection: COVID-19 and Flatbush East
Date: June 30, 2020
Topics: COVID-19, pandemic, food, food security, immigrants, India, Ramadan, schools, Parents Association groups, "People In Need," volunteering, culturally specific foods, grocery delivery, community
Nowshin Ali and Anurag Shrivastava describe their efforts to distribute food to the community through the organization People In Need. (Note: recording starts at 18 second mark)
Carmen Castillo-Barrett
Narrator: Carmen Castillo Barrett
Interviewer: Elizabeth Oliver
Collection: COVID-19
Date: April 13, 2020
Topics: COVID-19, science, pandemic, remote learning, education, teaching, parenting, germs, New York City, children, Brooklyn
Carmen Castillo-Barrett reports on how teachers and students have adapted to remote learning, and highlights the importance of science education.
Emily Tellier
Narrator: Emily Tellier
Interviewer: Laura Thorne
Collection: COVID-19
Date: April 22, 2020
Topics: COVID-19, dance, movement, artist, Brooklyn, Vancouver, neighborhood, queer dance, community action, Gibney, artist relief funds, social distancing
Emily Tellier describes life as a dancer, the “iconic space” of Gibney Dance, and what COVID restrictions have meant to her.
Sue Yellin
Narrator: Sue Yellin
Interviewer: Nancy Hoch
Collection: COVID-19
Date: April, 26 2020
Topics: COVID-19, pandemic, housing, affordable housing, PLG, Prospect Lefferts Gardens, Flatbush, Patio Gardens, development, 626 Flatbush Avenue, rent, activism, eviction, Prospect Park East Network, assisted living, CityFEPS, neighbors, community, mutual aid, elections, jazz, artists
Sue Yellin discusses facing eviction during COVID-19 and her ongoing struggle to find affordable housing.
Wesley Jean Simon
Narrator: Wesley Jean Simon
Interviewer: Tracy Sidesinger
Collection: Flatbush Eats
Date: October 21, 2021
Topics: Nostrand Avenue, Brooklyn, Haiti, restaurants, Haitian cooking, community, neighborhood, Creole culture, Zanmi, Caribbean, Flatbush, black rice, breadfruit, djon djon, Haiti earthquake
Wesley Jean Simon, chef and owner of Zanmi, a community-oriented Haitian restaurant on Nostrand Avenue, talks about the culture of Creole, Haitian, and Caribbean food and the importance of community.
Andre Hueston Mack
Narrator: Andre Mack Hueston
Interviewer: Deborah Mutnick
Collection: Flatbush Eats
Date: October 26, 2021
Key words: food, wine, sommelier, restaurants, neighborhoods, New York, Brooklyn, Prospect Lefferts Gardens, Rogers Avenue, And Sons, Chickadee Bread, Mockingbird, Kingfisher, breakfast tacos, "Service Included," Trenton, Texas, community
Andre Hueston Mack, sommelier and owner of five restaurants in PLG, talks about the origins of his love of wine and food, how he came to the neighborhood, and what it means to share his passion with his community and his children.