Interview with Mrs.Shelly Kuchar

I interviewed Shelly Kuchar. Mrs. Kuchar is 28 years of age and is a Medical Laboratory Scientist. She lives with her husband Thomasz Kuchar and her 13 month old daughter, Gabriella. The following is how the interview was carried:

1) How long have you been living here?
“I’ve lived in Richmond Hill for 12 almost 13 years now".

2) What are some changes you have bear witness too or have experienced first hand during your years in this neighborhood?
“The only changes I can really recall are those of businesses. Such as the local banks, they have changed a lot in the past 5 years from Bank of New York to Chase. There have been other fast food stores buying over the local pizza shops, etc. And well there have also been street signs that have just recently changed, most roads did not have a four way yield, and now they do. The street signs near the Van Wyck have also been replaced".

3) What attracts (attracted) you this neighborhood?
“Well, I grew up in this neighborhood. When my family migrated from Trinidad, my parents settled here because it felt just like home, and I haven't moved out of the area since. But I do not plan to stay here, the neighborhood is good, but I believe it is still too busy to raise a family".

4) Since you have taken residence in Richmond Hill, has it changed for the better or for the worse?
“I would like to say for the better, I haven't really been living here too long to know the difference to be quite honest. But if I had to make an inference, I'd say for the better. The area has indeed built up a lot in the past 12 years. It has gone from a suttle residential area to a more industrial area".

5) How is the ethnicity flow affected?
“There are a lot of West Indian people living in this area. I'd say it’s very diverse. It has a majority of Indian residence but there are also a fair number of black, Hispanics and a few white families here and there".

6) If you’ve gone to school here or currently have children in the schooling system, do you think it is beneficial?
“I went straight into college when my family moved to New York, so the local schools I am not very familiar with. However, I have two younger sisters that have gone to the Public Schools in the area and they benefited greatly, in my opinion".

7) How is the food diversity in this neighborhood?
“There is plenty diversity I believe. We have a lot of West Indian restaurants as you can imagine, because the majority of people in the area are of West Indian decent. But then we have our Asian selection, the famous Chinese food restaurants, we have Italian restaurants and many American fast food restaurants".

8) Would you consider Richmond Hill as a residential area or a commercial area?
“Like I mentioned before, it is gradually changing into a more commercialized area, because of all the new businesses that have recently settled into the community and the many sources of public transportation".

9) Is this a comfortable environment for you, or do you choose to take residence in Richmond Hill because it’s affordable?
“Well, there really isn't any place in New York that is affordable, but I have not moved from this neighborhood just yet because my husband and I are trying to save what we can to move into a more residential area to raise our family. The place we have right now doesn't run our pockets dry, so we are content with the area for the meanwhile, until we can officially settle down in our own home".

10) Do you find it hard living in Richmond Hill financially?
“No, for me at least it is not at all hard living in this neighborhood, but I do believe that the people living in this area would have to be working for a significant amount of money to maintain their payment on their property mortgages. Considering the drastic increase on how much their property is now worth. You see, years ago, housing was not as expensive as it is in Richmond Hill now. When my family bought their house it cost only 100 grand, now their property is worth 5 times the amount".