gege. - over t the line. - that's's the one!! ♪ ♪ - yes!s! - oh!! - - whoo! - - i was likeke... i was gogoing, okokay, get ininto charactct. [l[laughter] - inin a safer w world, all of u us here would bebe prohibiteted from hururling heavyvy objes in anyny directionon giveven our sorrrry states and our r general inineptness at thihis sport ofof kings. bubut that's n nashville f for . a wewelcoming plplace. a a forgiving g one. i feelel right at t home. ♪ - ♪ when i i first cameme heree streetets were pavaved with go♪ ♪ and y you can walalk that rd i've b been told ♪ ♪ b but i won't't put out or be cocontrolled ♪ ♪ i don't w write the s shit ththat gets bobought and s so♪ ♪ asksk any man ♪ he e might knowow ♪ w who used toto live on music rorow ♪ ♪ but that t was then and thisis is now ♪ ♪ and he e told me this town n gets arounund ♪ ♪ ♪ frorom what i'v've found ♪ this townwn gets arouound

♪ [broododing music]c] ♪ [high-h-pitched bebeeping] [static c buzzes] [e[electronic c tones whini] [electronic buzzining] [l[low electroronic warblili] [broododing music c continu] ♪ [upbeat rock music] both: ♪ i took k a walk through ththis ♪

♪ beautififul world ♪ felt the e cool rainn on my y shoulder ♪ ♪ fouound somethihing good in thihis ♪ ♪ b beautiful w world ♪ i felelt the rainin gettining colder ♪ -- ♪ la,a, la - ♪ sha l la, la, la,a, la ♪ shaha la, la, l la, la - ♪ sha la, l la, la - ♪ sha l la, la, la,a, la ♪ sha la, l la, la, la,a, la - hi, hohow are yo? - good m morning, mymy frien. how are e you? this minine? - yeyes. [metetallic squeueaking] [c[chains jingngle] ♪

- i i start my d day; i i wake up atat 2:00, come to the gagarage arounund 3. geget ready toto go on m my way to t take ththe queensboboro bridge.. ♪ [brakes s squeal] ♪ [g[generator r rumbles] okayay. showtitime. [mysteterious musisic] - jujust across s the east rr frfrom manhattttan, where i lilive, just over r there, isis an enchananted wondererl, an intnternationalal crossro, a a stewpot ofof neighborhrs filllled with ththe languag, cucultures, tradititions, and d flavors of many y lands.

hey, howow you doingng? - momorning. - mymy morning r ritual goes somomething likike this: regulalar coffee a and a doug; maybe a a cruller, i'm fefeeling wildld and craz. but t just acrososs the riv, the e options arare endles. [d[disjointed d music] [low eererie hummingng] ♪ - the e next stop p is court s . [eererie music c continues h hu] ♪ - ththe 7 trainn windnds over andnd through qs lilike a main n cable. evevery stop c can seem lie anotother countrtry, another reregion. ♪ get off atat rooseveltlt ave, and you arare gonna eaeat wl for surere.

examample: this s cart sels ecuadodorian food.d. hornado:o: roast porork withth sublime c crispy skn straigight from heheaven. crunchch, cru--oh,h, that's te sounund of victotory right t t. - [l[laughs] - - morcilla: : blood saususe with potatato cakes. oh, , man. ththat's lookiking really y g. - grgracias. [t[train rumblbling, clatttte] - this i is a workining-class neighbororhood. peoplele coming toto and from m. - yep. - how ofoften do youou think the averagage person eaeats at one e of these t th? - lot ofof, like, the day y laborers,, a lolot of the m men that arare, they migight live inin thesese tiny apapartments with a t tiny shareded kitche. they canan't cook. - right. - ththey're not t gonna gogo into the e restaurantn. theyey don't havave time foror. so it't's--for thehem, it m might be eveven more ththat they'rere eating on the strtreets. - - sean basininski is thehe dir of t the street t vendor pror. prior to g going to lalaw sc, he b built a pusushcart anand sold bururritos on t the r of 5 52nd and papark. hehe founded s svp wiwith a smallll grant from yale e universityty law w school. he livives in a tetenement walap apapartment inin manhattann

with a a bathtub i in the kit, yoyou know, lilike most lala. soso if we didid, likeke, a mile i in here. [trainin rumbling,g, clatteri] - yeahah. - - what wouldld my optionone natitionality-wiwis? - itit's incredidible. i memean, you cacan have tibiben ststreet food,d, and then n thes colombian n arepas. if youou go up intnto flushingn, anand then thehere is ththe chinese e barbecue c cart. i don't knknow of ananyplace in n new york,, maybe e even the w world or t the countryry, that youou can havee such diviversity on n the stree. - - matt shapipiro is anototr lalawyer who r representss ststreet vendodors whwhen they neneed legal h , whwhich in ourur nanny stae currrrent realitity is a all too oftften. now,w, generallyly spea, to o open up a c cart on thehe , you needed a licen? - - you have t to have a l licee fofor yourselflf, and then y you have toto have a a permit foror the cart t its. that's thehe problem.. - and d any spo? - gegenerally spspeaking, yeyes, althouough there's's lots ofof restrictitions. - - manhattan n is very mumh the,e, you know,w, "not i in my backykyard" neneighborhoodod in a lot t of. i meanan, for thisis reason, manhattatan, in my v view,

is a lotot less inteteresting than queueens. - riright. - ththis is a wowonderland.. - - yeah. - i memean, look w what we goto. [f[funky musicic] - - you know, , they're trtryio change i it, though.h. and the e more it dodoes chan, the momore the venendors arare threatenened, you knkn? - therere's all ththis talk abt "cleleaning up" " roosevelt t a. you knknow what ththat means. - if y you get higigher rent, nicer bubuildings, theyey're not gogonna want a streetet cart out t in fron. - thatat's sometimimes the prors ththat vendorsrs face. even i if the spotot is complpletely legagal, and d we see it t all the titim, wherere there's s building m mas ththat come ouout and say,y, "hey, yoyou know, yoyou gotta momove; you u can't be h here." they e even call t the police.e. - so w what happenens if that- whenen that occucurs? - - when it wawas me, you u k, the young g kid out ofof colle, i wawas ready fofor that. - right. - but t if you're e an immigrt who o doesn't spspeak any enenh and isis realisticically scarer, and they t tell you toto mov, wewell, you'rere gonna movo. ♪ - in a a perfect w world, how y of t these wouldld there be? - i i think the e more divere strereet food we c could have,e, the bette. the e more pathwhways wewe can provivide for peoeoe

toto come and d start a bubuss anand hopefulllly, you knon, after r five or teten years, maybe theyey'll have a a restau, righght? [trainin rumbling,g, clatteri] i mean, , we don't s say theree too o many restataurants, dodo? so why t too many fofood vendor? - - too many a affore restaurarants, goddadam. - [laughs]s] [train r rumbling, c clatteri] [distatant cheers s thunderin] [cheerers and applplause] - - hey, what't's up, new w yor? how y'all l doing? [cheerers and applplause] bothth: ♪ insnshallah, mamashh ♪ hopefullyly no martiaial lw ♪ hai a allah, yo y yallah ♪ l let's rock k a show in ramallalah ♪ ♪ kick k it with mymy homie whwhen i'm outut in haifa a♪ ♪ kick it w with muhammmmed when i i'm out in n jaffa ♪ all: ♪ oh, no,o, we're e in troublele ♪ ♪ tsa alwayays wanna burst t my bubble e ♪ ♪ a always get t a random c ck when i rocock the stububble ♪

[liltingng mizmar mumusic] [m[man singingng in f foreign lananguage] ♪ [manan continueses singing in foreieign languagage] ♪ [singingng echoes anand fade] ♪ ♪

- himamanshu surii is b better knowown as heems, half o of the rap p duo known as t the swet shshop b. he was bororn and raisised inin queens, a living, , breathing g exampe of t the gloriouous mash-upp that i is this bororough. ♪ so it t seems justst right thatat a first-g-generationn indidian dude takekes me to a a chinese dumplingng spot closose to his h hindu temp. yu garden n dumplings s is eveverything y you need inin. so bororn and raisised, queensn? - - yep. - - what neighghborhood? - most o of my le i've b been in glelens and bellererose, whichc, lilike, furtheher . - largelely or mostltly indian?? - our neneighborhd is mosostly punjai and then t there was c christis from kererala, malayaya, and pakikistan. those threr. - and d next non-i-indian neneighborhoodod over? - momore like guguya, still inindo-caribbebean. - riright. rightht. - anand tn the other r neighborho, lilike, whiterer but stillll i. so it's hahard to escacape us in queens,s, which is w why i like e it . ♪ - - spicy beefef and tripe:

boiled pigig tongue anand trie marinanated in sugugar and so, seserved cold d with chilili . tradaditional inindian food d a? whwhat about outside thehe hous? - becacause the fofs so g good at ho, we donon't really y gt to eat indndian fo, 'cause it t would justst be mym going,g, "pss! i i could me betterer dal than n t" - right.t. - so.... i'i'm in new y york,; it wasas, like, lolon and pizzzza when we e weren't eating i indian foodod. - lion's's head meatatball: pork, giginger, soy.y. - so we usused to comeme to flug evenen when we m movet further eaet bebecause theyey didn'te grococery storeses t. my templple is over r h, and so eveven as we momoved furr out toto long islal, we alwayays end up c coming bk to herere or jackskson height, whicich are likeke these first placaces you comome. sosometimes i i joke, i memean,s is so o great and d so divers, but t it's also o 'cause the airpororts are herere. so i it's just l like you u get off ofof a 16-hourur t with no o money in y your poct from i india, anand you're l like, "whehere am i gogonna live?? wewell, i'm alalready herer. so let's's start witith this pl" ♪ - soup dumumplings: pipingng hot and fifilled with h ground pok anand near boioiling brotht.

- - this is whwhy i come h h. - - yeah, thisis is dumplilings. - oh, yeah. - so w when you wewere growing, what was the ethno-o-national b breakdown ofof a typicalal class in n sch? - - my high scschool wawas a publicic high schoho, but itit was maybebe% eaeast and sououth a, momostly chinenese and koror. and all ththose ks end up goioing to harvr. alall those ks end d up going t tu and d those typepes of sch. and,d, you kno, if the a american drdream is al, i think itit's ale in placeces like queu. - what d do you meanan by that?? - that t there stillll are peoe comiming here wiwith nothg and mamaking sometething out o . and d as i kind d of lose hoe in thehe idea of,, like, , diversityy as a p positive ththing oror the idea a of americaa as an n open placece, i ththink in a p place with h sh race andnd diversityty, it gets s in the wayay less he than i it does in n other plac. - - will ameririca as a whwholk sooner o or later lilike quee? - i guesess 2042 is s the yer that peoeople of cololr becomeme the majory in t this count.

- - yep. - seemems le a long, lolong time aw. but t yeah, thatat is the .

[upbeat rorock music]] [delicatate music] ♪

[man spepeaking korerean] [delicicate music c continu] [manan speaking g korean] ♪ - get lolost in flusushing for a whilile, and behohold the awewesomenes. [sparkrkling revererent chol musisic] ♪ [sparkliling reverenent chol music cocontinues]

♪ [faint e energetic p pop musi] ♪ [haunting electronic music] ♪ - if youou're lookining for amazing g chinese fofood or korean n just like e home, wewell, flushihing is the e . ♪ ththis joint i is high on n the, geo o si gi. chcheers. - - [indistincnct]. - jojosh smookleler anand cosme agaguilar arare both chehefs anand restaurarateurs operatating in queueens. joshsh, a koreanan man whwho was adopopted and d raised by y a jewish f fay

owns the w wildly popupular longng island cicity restaurut mu ramen.. did d it take ofoff right awa? it wasas successfuful right aw? - yes,s, pretty mumuch immediai. you knknow, i was s cog out of my y hou. then we e were transnsporting l to t this bagel l shop. we serveved from 7:0:00 to 9:, ten seseats at a t ti. it was me e in the kititchen; mymy wife out t in the froront. and d one day, s somebody tetex, goes, "conongratulatioions." i go, "f"for what?"" they go,o, "pete welells justst gave youu nunumber one r ramen inin new york k city." - so "new w york timeses" loves. - - and i saw w the articlc, and d i started d crying. ♪ - cosme isis the ownerer of casasa enrique,e, also in lolong island d city. it's thehe only mexican n restaurantnt in newk withth a michelilin star. yoyou didn't e even do ththe smart ththing. ththe smart ththing, of cocours, wowould be to o make shititty mexicanan food because wewe know thatat ameris willll always bubuy shittyty mexican f food. you stararted makingng really s sophisticatated, reallyly interestiting mexicana. well, whwhy? - my brothtr comeme up with t thea to open a a mexican rerestaura. and i toldld my brotheher, "com,

i'll neverer cook mexixican fo, like, fofor restauraran" so i i started c cooking fox montnths at homeme every sining, trying t to do diffeferent thi, and finanally wewe open a memexican reststau. - but ththen you gotot a michelelin star. - yeah. for threree years inin a . - nice.. both are f fantastic,, but t tonight we're e eating kororean. gamja a tang: porkrk neck bonenp with rice e cakes, porork be, kimchihi, and spicicy radis. and d kimchi andnd oysters.. - - so this didish right h h, the e gamja tangng, was ththe dish i h, lilike, three e years. it lititerally traransplantede backck to korea.a. - yeahah, but how w old were y u when y you left? - - when i camame to ameriri, i i was six. - werere you raisesed observana? - orthodoxox, yeah. - orth-- you u were raisesed orthodox. yoyou still wiwith the prorog? - no, nonot at all.. i'm m eating porork right no. [laughghs] - yeyeah, that's's tough. i meanan, 'cause, , you know, koreans s are pork c crazy. - kokorean food,d, where e i didn't h have much ot growing upup at all--- in facact, kimchi i was, lik, shununned from o our househod because e it stunkp the whwhole hou. - well, itit's just nonot koshsher too.

- - and it's n not kosher r ei, so they-y-- - wiwith the shehellfish in n . - - yeah. but t now i stilill make kokorean-stylele ramen anand then i h have a mamatzo ball r ramen. beining raised j jewish, can't helplp it. i ththink as cooooks, we alwlwo gravitate e to what ouour dna . - so when n are you opopening a korean r restaurant?t? - i don'n't know anynything about korerean food. [l[laughter] i jujust know i i like it. i gravititate totowards thosose flavors.. ♪ - galbi:i: short ribibs mamarinated inin soy, garlic, anand sesame o oil. then g grilled. meatat candy. ♪ yoyou ever invnvestigate other neigighborhoods?s? the e number of f immigrants all ovover the wororld, i mean, , is, you knknow, exextraordinarary. - - this funnyny thing. i was-- i i have caucacasians working ththe line. - yeahah. - and d then the a asians come, theyey go, "oh,h, this isn'n't good. yoyou got a bubunch of whihite " i'm like, , "wha" - i'm m racist likike that to. - realally? - - yeah, i'm m totally lilike. ifif i walk ininto a sushshi restaurarant,

i i make racisist assumptitions abouout the placace if t they're notot japanese. - do youou do the sasame thig when youou go to a r restaurat and yoyou see, likike, let't's say a kokorean restata, and ifif you only y see whwhite peoplele, then what t do you thihink, it's's not legitit? - eaeating at the korerean restaururant? - yeyeah. - - you want t the truth?? - yeah.. [laughghter] of c course i wawant the trur. [dreamy elelectronic m music] ♪ [d[dreamy chororal music]] ♪ [leaves rurustling] - i'm anan usher nowow for the e metro chriristian cen. [melanchcholic strining mus]

♪ - - some peoplple say it's the m most famousus plae you'veve never heaeard of. that's w where we arare. well, when you start getting out to the detail of it, this is historic neir's tavern.. - backck in the 181820s, whenen queens was ststill mostlyly farmland and d livestockk rathther than ththe 7 trainn was whatat rumbled d down what becamame jamaica a avenu, the mamanager of a a racetrk calleded the unionon course opopened a neaearby tavernn to a accommodatete the gamblbs and layabobouts who frequeuented his t track. it w was calledd the e blue pump p room. inin later iteterations it becamame the old d abbe, the e union coururse taver, and d finally neneir's tave. the neir f family, german émimigrés, addeded a bowlining alley, a ballroroom, and a a hotel

afafter the raracetrack clcd inin 1898 anand renamed d the placee neirir's social l hall. today itit's owned b by this ma, lieutetenant loy g gordon of the f fdny. you were b born in jamama? - ththat's a fununny th. i'm from t the island d of jama, and i moveved to jamaiaica, que. - why, uh-h--why jamaiaica que? - well, , my mom wasas here. - what didid your momo for r a livi? whwhat kind ofof work was s she? - - you know, , she was--- didn't't have alall the educucation in the wororld. uh, so y you just hahad to do odds andnd ends, hahad to cleanan floors and, uh, j just do whatever s she had to o do to g get things s going. i think itit's prettyy much t the similarar story of immigigrants thatat come t to the unitited state. they comome and workrk hard bece itit's the lanand of opporortu, anand they finind a way toto kf make it ouout of the r rut. - yey. - or at leleast using g that platatform to hahave sosomeone likeke me-- like theirir offspringng become a a little bibit more, right, t than they w were. ♪

- ordidinarily, ththe story i, "i'm a regegular beer r drinkr at this s joint, "a"and the thohought of itit disappeaearing "is,s, like, unbnbearable toto . where e am i gonnana drink nowo" but t you're notot th- that's n not your sts. - i knknew that ththis place s impoportant, youou kn? i jujust felt sosomething spsp. and beining somee that's's from quee, somemething thatat's specialal like t this shouldldn't disapp. ♪ it was three days from closing down when i walked into the place. - wow. - - the way itit's locateded, someonone has s to tell yoyou about t neir's tavavern. someone e has to sayay, you kn, "it's s around thehe corner, to the l left, to ththe right" anand if somee tellll you aboutu, i i think theyey k yoyou're worththy enough t to dr susuch a histotoric, you k k, cocool little e plac. - - now, it's s historic for a lot t of reasonsns, nonot least, i in my mind,d, because e the greatetest americican film evever made wawas shot herere. [swawaggering brbrass music c b] a lot of i it was shotot her. i mean, , it was-- - about t 15%. - okay, soso what was s shot- which scenenes were shshot he? - it w was a very y pivotal mot ofof the movi.

- okokay, that's's the-- - [indistitinct speechch] - wait, wawait, wait, , wait. lelet me--let t me-- let t me remembeber it. he's--isis he right t there or is he r right here?e? - wherere you're s sitting. - he's r right here.e. and hehe just lookoks over at morririe, and yoyou know he'e's decided morrrrie's goingng. - - and if mororrie's goin, mimight as welellt knock evererybody els- - - well, no, , morrie wasas a m from thehe beginningng. i thinink any reasasonable bubusinessman n would haveve-- you knowow, here's a a questiont has s nothing toto do with a an. yoyou're workiking for thehe , and you'veve been havivig some d disagreemenes withth your busisiness partnt. why wowould you evever get inin the frontnt passengeret when s somebody elelse is sititting in ththe back? i i mean, paululie made thte mimistake in " "the godfata" it's alwayays like, yoyou k, "that's s a bad seatat to sit " - yeahah.

loving this pay bump in our allowance. wonder where mom and dad got the extra money? maybe they won the lottery? maybe they inherited a fortune? maybe buried treasure? maybe it fell off a truck? maybe they heard that xfinity customers can save hundreds when they buy one unlimted line and get one free. now i can buy that electric scooter! i'm starting a private-equity fund that specializes in midcap. you do you. visit xfinitymobile.com today. here's why you should switch fo to duckduckgo on all your devie duckduckgo comes with a built-n engine like google, but it's pi and doesn't spy on your searchs and duckduckgo lets you browse like chrome, but it blocks cooi and creepy ads that follow youa from google and other companie. and there's no catch. it's fre. we make money from ads, but they don't follow you aroud join the millions of people taking back their privacy by downloading duckduckgo on all your devices today.

join the millions of people tak [upbeaeat rock mususic] [ethereal music] ♪ - [spepeaking spananish]

[laughs]s] [machineryry whirring]g] [speakaking spanisish] [plainintive strining musi] ♪

[blender w whirring] [plaintitive music c continue] ♪ [fununky pop mususic] ♪ [wooden plplatforms clclatte] ♪

[train rumumbling, clalatteri] ♪ - - it is tempmpting to tht, when r reflecting g on jackckson heighthts, of indiaia. but t queens is s always chah, always in n flux, a a landing spspot for peoee frfrom all ovever the worl; new arririvals from m tibet being anan example.. ♪ sasandwiched b between two cell p phone storeres and a coupuple of jewewelry shos isis lhasa fasast food. - this particular neighborhood we're in now, jackson heights, has histororically beeeen the ft stop f for the newewest immigrg. it's a b big latino o neighborh, but the sosouth asian n communis presesence is prpretty well l . and itit's, i thinink, very fifg that now t this huge t tibetn community,y, which is s very n, looking g for a homeme; wherere they gononna go? they're gogonna go nenear the indndians, righg? - so y you guys grew up totogether? - yeah, wewe grew up t togethr in queenens.

- i rememember we wewee in t the same lilittle leagu. - whwhat positioion did you u py in l little leagague? - oh, ththey pute in thehe outfiel. i was s terribl. - whwhich outfieield? thatat matters.. - - oh, yeah, usualllly the righght side or. - righght field? - what do o they call l it? okay, , see, i donon't know. i don't t know. - heemems joins meme for dinnr alalong with h his friendd and d neighborhohood advoca, ali najmjmi. - - right now w i'd like t to cp a close e friend of f mine, mr. ali nanajmi. - ththank you. [cheers s and applauause] i'm rereally invololved in polo, locacal electionons, empopowering newew voters. - mm-hmm.. - and d then advococating for particulular issues s that come. mr. . president,t, i know yoyout too goodod at listenening. but you'rere gonna have to hehear us now.w. [cheerers and applplause] muslimim americansns are not t going anywywhere. [cheheers and apapplause] latitino americacans are nonot going ananywhere. [cheers anand applausese] and we conontribute to this cocountry. it tururns out, wewe pay more es than you d do. [cheers anand applausese] - - why give a a [...]? - i have a a see ofof what i ththink is t

and what n needs to bebe don. and i can'n't sit backck and t people whoho are beingng undersd contininue to be u underserve. - you'rere gonna havave your wk cut ouout for you ththe next fouour years. - we arere, but you u know wh? dude, wewe have to o organiz. there'e's no otherer way to do. america a wouldn't b be as g great as itit is right tw if people e didn't orgrganiz. it's b both uniqueue and distutg that you'r're also frorom quee. [laughteter] becacause the vavalues ththat you havave been rununnin are nonot the queeeens values we know.w. anand i guaranantee you onone : we, alall of us, w will make se you dodon't forgetet where e you came f from. [cheers anand applausese] - - how much t traction arareu getting wiwithin the c communi? is thehere a hungeger for tht or is itit taking sosome convin? - there e are defininitely a lof pepeople who a are just--- becacause it's s such a nenew communitity, theyey're just t trying to make itit in americica. they'r're trying t to maximie whatevever they hahave, even spacece. "we e have a celell phone sts, a a phone cardrd store. "we hahave a littltle bit of s ; let's put t a restaurarant hee and maxiximize everyrything we "

but thenen there arere other pee ththat get i, that belelieve inin the promimise of amerer; they belelieve in ththeir righ. ♪ - thenenthuk: handnd-torn nooe soup w with chilieies and gingn. ♪ i mean, dodo you thinknk it's onlnly a matterer of time till y you're replplaced by yeyt eitherer another i incoming grgp or, , you know,, uh, hihipster apococalypse? - - look, i memean, ththe story ofof new yorkk is t that the neneighborhoods are coconstantly c changing. and eveverything's's in flux. nothining is statitic. and even a all our comommunits that havave come in,n, yoyou know, wewe've transfsfod these neigighborhoodss ththat we've m moved into.. - it's's hard to m make a clam for owownership whwhen my parerents moved d her, you knkno? so t there is ththat constan, like,, "i"i don't wanant this neieighbd to be e gentrifie, but amam i gentrififying " - - shaptra, o or chili frfried: thin pananes of beefef withth chili oilil and d soy anand sichuan n peppercorn. shsha momo: ststeamed dumpmpls stuffed d with beef.f. ♪

fofor a lot ofof people, you see ththis communinity, but t for them, , it's likee the nighghtmare scenenario. what's thehe best thinings about queens othther than didiversity, justst as an eveveryday practical l matter? - yoyou wake upp every y day in queueens, anand you're a allowed to oe who o you are. you can't t say tt about evevery pla; maybe e not even t the places our paparents comeme from.

[upbeaeat rock mususic] [d[dreamy musisic] ♪ - furtheher out in q queen, the somemewhat forlolorn loog but t still beauautiful rockc. [brorooding bassss music] ♪ - this i is rockawayay park. further dodown, yoyou'd call i it far rockcka. ththere's alsoso rockaway y. that's's why they y cat the rockckaws

and not t just rockakaway somet. - righght. - there's s a lotf differenent parts ofo. - jojosmar trujijillo, a writer a and local a activ. yoyou from queueens originina? - i i was raiseded in the , but i i lived in q qus for most o of my adultlt life . - and rorockaway nowow? - nono, so i lefefte a little-- ababout a yr after r hurricane e s, 'cause t the way sanandt and the way it kind d of shook p people out of thehe way they y were, and you u didn't wanao puput your famy through h that aga, the e risk of th. - how babad it get h hit out h? - thisis was, likeke, somemething out t of a movie. - - hurricane e sandy popounded the e east coastst in, anand many comommunities s su. but the e rockaways s were t with p particular r ferocit. how was the response? - oh, you know, the response from eveveryday peopople was g. like, , onef the best t things abt whatat happened d right afteted was the waway a lot ofof peoe came togogether who o lived he, but alalso how a l lot of peoe kindnd of came i , pitched inin, brought t food, brought gegenerators.. but, youou know, offfficially, , lilike, governrn, the sesemi-governmnmental grou,

they droropped the b . - whatat was the p problem, tht? - they wereren't readydy fo. the rorockaways, b by design s never r been a plale where therere was a lolf gogood investmt oror infrastruructure ay to b begin wi. - whwhy? lookok. this is whwhat you wouould call prime oceaeanfront proroperty not fafar from newew york cityt. whatat's going o on? - ththis was a p place histotory where ththe ciy and robertrt moses in n particr really u used as, lilike, a dumg grground for u undesirablele s that thehe city didndn't necessy wawant to dealal . - baback in the e day, the rockawaways were a a summer desestination for mimiddle-classss new yors ununtil betterer roads and an i improved rarail systm lured ththem to the e beaches of lonong island.. - theyey threw a b bunch of public houousing projejects in . theyey sent a lolot of the low-incocome people e of the cy out herere, and d it just wawasn't a plae that hisistoricallyy the cicity ever totook serious. yoyou know, sisince then,, we've alalways had a lot ofof working-c-class whis move i in, into m more kind o of the wewestern end,d, and d so you've e kind of sen in thehe rockawaysys

just kind d of shape o ot alonong race andnd class lini. and the e one dynamimc thatat's changeded after sany was that a a lot more,e, l, yoyoung urban n professiononal , like, , were realllly coming t herere, you know, maybe lookokg intetentionally y ot to, likeke, brooooklynify ththe rockaway. - riright. - or g gentrify ththe rocka. rockawaway's callele, likeke, the brooooklyn riviea or thehe williamsbsburg riv. - whwho gets thehe shaft in a situauation like e that? - if you'r're a pern who's s not a homemeo; if you'r're a persn that's's strugglining to pay r, the plans s are generar, histstory has totol, gonna a leave you u beh. it's i interestg becaususe i don't t k a lot ofof people ththought tt that w would happepen he. whenen you're onon rockaway,y, d this kinind of sensese of secuy ththat you kinind of we out inin this lazyzy beach to. and,d, like, i w would love e te out here a and walk onon the be, and it'd'd be just m e and d maybe two o other peope fofor miles anand m, and that w was grea. where yoyou won't hahave that anymore. whwhere there e t be a placece in the cy fofor you to b be able to o hav. you u know, some peoplple may be f for i, and ththen i thinkk that m might be shshortsighte, 'causese i think t that this m , uhuh, not nececessay invovolve the se peoplele who are h . - it nevever does. [languid m music]

♪ what's's a perfectct day in t the rockawaways? - oh, a peperfect da? obviously,y, hit the b beach, but you dodon't want t to fifind a placece where theher, you know, , no sand. you know? - riright. - - you want t to find a p pe that's's kindf off the bebeaten pa. grab a b bite to e. you mamaybe, you k , haveve a couple e of drinks s at anand watch ththe waves crcr. we're nearar the airpop, soso you watchch some of t the s fly ovove. anand it's jusust, you , it's's a differerent . yoyou don't fefeel like yoyou'n new yorkrk when you'u're out h. ♪ when i firirst came hehere, i w- i wawas a city k kid. i was useded to livingng with the hustlele and bustltle of the city y that neverer sle. when i gotot he, ththere's, likike, this trtranq. there's s this feell that y you're not t in the ci, and it's's great, because e it makes y you feel e you u can sit baback and d be with yoyour thought. you knowow, as a citity kid, itit gave me a a lot of pepersp. so anytitime you canan come oute anand kind of f be away frfromf anand kind of f be, you knkn, wiwith the watater, with y your thoughghts, is a a great dayay.

yeah.

[upbpbeat rock m music] [t[thrumming e electronic c ] [cheerers and applplause] [elelectronic mumusic continues s thrumming]g] ♪ [cheers and applause]] [thrumming music continues]] ♪

[cheerers and applplause] [thrhrumming conontinues] ♪ [faiaint cheers s and applaua] [cheers and applause roar] - is t that a $10000 bill? - yeah. i fefeel dead ininside, lauru. ththis is gonnnna bring g me around.d. - kekeep tellingng yourself f t. - - hi. - - [indistincnct speech]] - uh, , all of it t on number o toto win firstst. - all of i it? - yeahah. [distant t trumpet fananfare] thank k you. gogotta be in n it to win n , laururie. - all riright. cacan i get $5$5 on numberer e toto win, pleaease? - it's t the middle e of win, anand there arare only a fw hahardcore racacing enthususis here; alalso me and d friend andnd aur laurieie woolever.r. - here thehey come. [men shohouting and chattetering indisistinct] - and a wiwinner. all right,t, you won n your firstst race.

- yoyou know, yoyou didn't win anytything, but-t-- - not quitite good enon. ♪ i i love this s place: the poponies, the e beer, ththe looming g sense of d despr and melalancholy. did i mentntion they h have jamaican b beef pattieies? - so p people likeke it here b e you can geget your emomotional fefeel for thehe horses and you cacan look dowown intoto the paddodock, and pepeople like e to sort off see hohow the horsrse is behav. - all righg. i smelell victo. oror is that h horse? ♪ fourth r race, numbeber two to . [cheers anand applausese] - come on,n, number twtwo! come on!n! ♪ - ohoh, n! [g[groans] smsmoked. ♪ i needed to n in a lonong shot n. i neneed to get t . i gotta cocome bac. ♪ buililt near thehe site of a forormer conduiuit for the e brooklyn w waterwors thatat brought w water fromom eastern l long island to t the ridgewowood reservov,

aqueueduct racetetrack opopened in 181894. the e glory daysys of horse eg are longng gone, but t for those e few proudd remamaining degegenerate gams with a a few bucksks and a drer, aqueduct i is still ththere. it's a jududgment-freeee zone h, thoughgh. - totatally. - it's kinind of a "cocome as u are" s situation. - - i think ththat's true e of s in genereral. and you cacan kind of f fy ununder the raradar, you k k? yoyou have notot been hararad totoo much tododay, righ? - no, a guguy came up p to m. he sayays, "hey, y you look le anthonony bourdaini" i saidid, "i w wish i had d his money." and he s said, "yeahah, righ. that asssshole." [bototh laugh] it was g great. it w was le the perfrfect encounu. - yeah. that's queueens. nobodydy gives a s s. [gentltle music] ♪ - oh! - all righght. - - two, rightht up on topo.

- yes.s. - - come on, n number two.. keep it.t. keep i it. ♪ - itit's a closese r. - close e it up. - it's a a nail-biteter. [men s shouting inindistinctl] [groanans] dropped lilike a stonene. - waway to suck.k. so proromising. - nono bras for my l little gi. - [lauaughs] it's n not over. there's s always anonother r.

the power goes out and we still have wifi to do our homework. and that's a good thing? great in my book! who are you? no power? no problem.

introducing storm-ready wifi. now you can stay reliably connected through power outages with unlimited cellular data and up to 4 hours of battery back-up to keep you online. only from xfinity. home of the xfinity 10g network. [u[upbeat rockck music] [dreamamy music] - - i'm ray. i'm fromom guyana ororiginall. my father r raced birdrds, so i e end up withth the same e. it's c called birdrd racing. insteaead of, likeke, a runnnning race,, itit's like a a singing rara, yoyou know? the firsrst bird to o chirp to0 won n the prize.e. ♪ it's w worth a lotot of mon. and if he e become a c champ, he winin a couple e of races, the e price goeses up. $10,0,000, $8,00000. [birird chirps]] ♪ ♪

gogotta be as s gentle as s pos. ♪ so i i just holdld it in my ha. if y you hit bumumps, i rarattle him, , you know?? i wawant him to o be as c calm as posossible. we'll fifind a parkiking as clos popossible to o where we g gg so the birirds don't b be expod to thehe cold weatather. ♪ right now w we trying g to warmrm up the bibirds. and sometitimes you u bring a bibird today,, and he's n not in the e mood. nonothing happppens. wewe just gotttta another r . [lauaughs] all righght, you reaeady? [s[soothing mumusic] ♪

[bird chirirps] [s[soothing mumusic contini] ♪ - the e whole worlrld is in quq, and likeke the worldld as a w, itit is constatantly changn. ♪ ♪ here i in ththe jamaica a neighborhoho, a grgrowing numbmber of immims from afrfrica put dodown roo, anand with thehem, restaurus catering t to their tataste. like here e at africanana rerestaurant.. - how yourur day? [lauaughs] mymy name is b blessing osose. i comeme from nigegeria. anand this onene a nigegerian restataurant. we s started in n 2000. ththe first ththree years s e rereally, realally tough.. but thanank god we■r■re still a, we're herere and we'r're [indistitinct]. ♪ my motother had a a restaurat in nigigeria for 20 y years beforore i came . i love to o cook. when you c come in herere, you u feel at hohome. it feel l like the m mother's l, yoyou know. ♪

- mmm!m! this f food is reaeally good. - it i is very gooood. anand she was s worried ababot being too o spicy. i don't ththink it's t too spi. - oh, , no. nevever a problelem for me.. sasara khan hahas made itt her r mission toto find and d write abouout sosome of thesese great lile off-the-grgrid placess throroughout thehe borough.. you're s studying ththe intersen bebetween foodod and cultutu. how did d you get toto that po? - so i k kind of cobobbled toger a way to t travel, learn langnguages, andnd eat. - do youou ever worrrry thatat by celebrbrating these e communitieies, you arare helping g to destroyo? - ohoh, absolute. ababsolute. - i worry y about it.. - but t you know, those e stories neneed to be td through whwhat they dodo, throrough how ththey survive. ♪ - [speakaking foreigign langua] ♪ - everery meal, every y dish has a a story, ofteten a very p personal o. often a a story of h hardsh, separaration, difffficult ti.

but whenen somebody y cooks r you, thehey are sayiying someth. ththey are telelling you someththing about t themselve, where theyey come fromom, whwho they arere, what m makes them m happy. - [speakaking koreanan] - a whole e hell of a a lotf people i in queens,, the peoplele who make the b borough whahat it, who make i it such a g great e to e eat and expxplore are very f far from ththe pls they o once calleded home. [train rumumbling, clalatteri] ♪ but ququeens is hohome now. [trainin rumbling,g, clatteri] [easygoioing music]] ♪