Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
When They Were Seventeen . . .
By
Dave Hogarty
Published Sep 19, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Dave Hogarty
Published Sep 19, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
The New York Times's City Section this past Sunday had a special focus on seventeen-year-old New Yorkers. According to the paper, more children were born in 1990 than at any point since the Baby Boom. Now they're on the cusp of adulthood and the Times has a series of oral histories that one can read or listen to online. It's an interesting project; here are a few of the teens:
- Neil Allicock lives in East New York. Although he was born in the United States, he spent several years growing up in Guyana, where his parents are from. Sometimes he wishes he could live in an actual house, like the ones his relatives in Guyana inhabit, instead of a small Brooklyn apartment. Allicock says that his parents and family are a rock upon which he depends. Somewhat alienated from his environment, he is a young man determined to make something of himself, unlike many of his peers who he feels are content to be blown through life without a clear purpose.
- Sarah Mohess of Jamaica, Queens was in and out of foster homes before she ran away to Philadelphia and enrolled herself in a school there, which is difficult to do without a legal guardian. "Who did it? Me, myself and I. I pretended to be my grandmother." Mohess is back in New York now, struggling to finish high school. Although she is part of an anti-gang youth initiative, she remembers her days in the Bloods fondly and speaks highly of organizations like gangs that provide social structure and mentoring to young people who may have few other opportunities for guidance. She speaks from experience.
- Katherine Pak lives in Riverdale in the Bronx, but goes to school at Brearley on Manhattan's Upper East Side. As a financial aid student at the school, Pak initially found the disparity in family wealth between her and some of her classmates daunting. When she first started at Brearley, someone had to explain what a summer home was to her. Like many teenagers, however, Pak's primary worries are keeping her grades up and getting into a good college. Also, the absence of boys at the all-girls Brearley is a source of constant frustration. "We’re always talking about how we all want to have boyfriends, and how we have so much love to give but no one to give it to."
- David Helene grew up in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn and is a "lifer" at Packer, the school he's attended since he was three years old. He's a cosmopolitan kid and describes himself--like all his friends--as liberal, but concedes that it's a mindset he came to by default and is intent on reading more newspapers when he's not studying, playing sports, or hanging out with his friends. Still, the farther Helene observes beyond Packer and Cobble Hill, the more extreme the world seems. The students at Berkeley Carroll in Park Slope are cocky and drink a lot more than Packer kids. "Culturewise, the Upper East Side, or the Brearleys of the world, those kids do a lot of drugs. They do drugs that kids from Packer, where I go, don’t touch. Like heroin." Helene appreciates the hip-hop culture and slang that his friends are into, but he is a man with limits. "They were like, 'That’s dumb stupid.' I’m like, 'That’s redundant.'"
Almost all of the 17-year-olds' stories make for interesting reading.
Tagged
As
baby
Baby Boom
berkeley
bronx
brooklyn
children
city
city section
cobble hill
college
culture
david
drugs
east new york
east side
environment
friends
gangs
heroin
high school
hip hop
kids
love
manhattan
new york
new york times
new yorkers
News: NYC
park slope
people
philadelphia
queens
Sarah
sports
The New York
the new york times
united states
Upper East
upper east side
wealth
Dave Hogarty
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
NYC tow companies busted for ripping off drivers must give $67K in refunds, city says
Mayor Mamdani has expanded enforcement on towing scams, but the unlicensed towing industry remains largely unregulated.
By
Liam Quigley
Published Oct 2, 2026 at 4:47 p.m. ET
Off-duty NYPD officer stabbed in the Bronx, police say
Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Commissioner Jessica Tisch visited the officer in the hospital.
By
Ryan Kost
News
Off-duty NYPD officer stabbed in the Bronx, police say
Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Commissioner Jessica Tisch visited the officer in the hospital.
By
Ryan Kost
DOC negligence factored in death at Rikers' Bellevue hospital outpost, jail officials say
By
Brittany Kriegstein
Conductor on NYC subway that dragged man to death may have skipped safety check, source says
By
Stephen Nessen
NYPD still searching for man who threw burning substance on victim in East Harlem
By
Ryan Kost
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .