Summary(2:24) Born and raised in Sunset Park. Family connections to Mexico. Undergraduate at NYU Gallatin School of Individualized Study -- (4:30) Moved to Manhattan for school -- (6:00) Family connections to Sunset Park, Borough Park -- (8:20) Expected to enter senior year in fall, uncertain if classes will meet. Misses traveling neighborhoods of NYC, an important element in his studies -- (11:00) Queer identity and connections to peers, friends -- (13:00) Emotional support from friends during pandemic. Friend lent him apartment in Fort Greene after NYU closed. Reconnecting with family -- (15:30) New appreciation for plants. Inspired by the gardens of Fort Greene, Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument in Fort Greene Park -- (20:00) Week before and into city lockdown, transition to remote learning, move to friend’s apartment -- (22:00) NYU disorganized, little guidance -- (25:15) Professors supportive in transition to online learning -- (27:45) Current academic focus: trauma and memory -- (28:45) Grandfather, Fortunato Martinez, passed away from COVID-19 -- (29:15) Worked as maintenance worker after immigrating to U.S. -- (30:50) Father figure for Kevin -- (31:45) Recollections of grandfather -- (39:00) Difficulties grieving at time of social distancing. Helping family with funeral, logistics -- (42:30) Most of family works maintaining big buildings, cleaning offices. Timing of grandparents’ illnesses and disease transmission -- (44:00) Family unable to work from home -- (44:50) Grandparents’ difficulties getting proper care once sick with Covid -- (49:25) Grandfather’s death reflects larger disparities in the city. City’s inadequate response to crisis -- (51:40) Kevin translates for asylum seekers. Vision for city going forward.
NoteAudio interview conducted on May 15, 2020, by Maura Johnson. Collected for the Covid-19 Oral History Project through Our Streets, Our Stories, an oral history project of Brooklyn Public Library. This project is a partnership with Services for Older Adults and the Brooklyn Collection.
SubjectQuarantine ; COVID-19 (Disease) ; Epidemics ; Coronaviruses ; Distance education ; New York University. Gallatin School of Individualized Study
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TitleOral history interview with Kevin Zambrano conducted on 2020 May 15.