Welcome to my neighborhood

I was raised in Ridgewood, NY and spent most of my life there. I also lived in Maspeth. Currently I reside in Long Island City, NY in Queensbridge North housing projects. I have been living in LIC for about 8 years now. If I had it my way I would be back in Ridgewood just because I love that neighborhood so much and I have lots of memories there. It was not necessarily my choice to move to LIC.

About 9 yrs ago my family and I were evicted from our apartment in Ridgewood and found ourselves seeking support from the NYC shelter system. We spent 16 months in Harlem in a studio apartment that was a 13ft. x 18ft. in size. Imagine having 4 people trying to live in that size room for that period of time. I kept telling myself it was only temporary...and it was. At the end of our stay there, housing deemed us qualified for NYCHA housing. I remember the day I signed my lease as if it were yesterday.

We were kind of excited to finally be getting out of the shelter system but uneasy about where the city would place us. We went to the management office and were basically told, "either you take it or lose your benefits." While we were in the management office waiting to go see the apartment I remember a housing manager saying (loud enough for the entire department to hear), "Hey, did we get the police report from that shooting last night?" I began to cry. I have always lived in a rather safe neighborhood and now, due to circumstances beyond our control, we were being subjected to taking this apartment whether we liked it or not.

The apartment was very nice and much larger than the apartment we came from in Ridgewood. However, I was really scared for my children, their father and myself. I did not want to have to deal with the possiblity of neighborhood shootings. What if??? OMG. But, we had no choice. I remember hearing gun shots every weekend when we first moved in. I remember telling the kids to stay in the house after 10pm. While the location was prime, in that we had every bus and train possible for transportation to just about anywhere in NYC, and my transport to and from work would be cut in half, I really could not wait for the possibility to get back to Ridgewood.

Now, about 8 or 9 years later, I can honestly say the NYPD has significantly cleaned up my neighborhood and I can't remember the last time I heard a gunshot. My apartment is comfortable and clean and not the typical "projects apartment" people tend to think of when they hear those words. Due to the circumstances of the economy these days I am rather happy to be living in NYCHA housing. My rent is based on my income. Heat, hot water, gas and electric are included, and I get to have a washing machine in my apartment. We have three bedrooms for a rent rate rarely found anywhere in NYC except housing. I guess you can say I am grateful NYCHA was there for us in our time of need.

I still can't wait to one day get out of NYC entirely and live in the country. Somewhere you can smell fresh cut grass, hear the birds chirping, and simply enjoy what nature has to offer. One day I hope this will happen for us.