CUNY Thomas Tam
Scholarship
2009 Recipient
Erick
Pinedo
(Borough of Manhattan
Community College)
Project - Visiting the
Great Wall of Mott
Street
Photo by Corky Lee
Excerpt: "There is so much history and culture
in Asian communities in
the United States.
Unfortunately, I believe
it mostly gets
overlooked by visitors
who feel that bargain
hunting takes
precedence. My plan is
to work with local Asian
organizations such as
the Chinatown
Partnership Local
Development Corporation,
NYC Tourist.com and
Chinatown-online to set
up special tours for
area concierges, showing
them that these Asian
communities have more to
offer than just finding
a good deal.
A good concierge has their finger on
the pulse of a city.
Many visitors go to the
concierge to learn more
about what a city has to
offer and what can they
do during their stay.
These tours would help
familiarize concierge to
the history and cultures
of the Asian communities
of New York City. With
this newly acquired
knowledge, they can
better explain the
richness that these
Asian communities
possess. I believe that
by providing guided
tours to these areas
(Chinatown, Sunset Park
Brooklyn,
Flushing-Queens), the
concierge community can
experience first-hand
the Asian cultures and
their way of life. It
will give them the
opportunity to be more
knowledgeable when
relaying this
information."
