Share Your Story in Oral History Interview - Neighborhood Stories Project

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The Neighborhood Stories Project is a storytelling initiative by the NYC Department of Records and Information Services (DORIS) with the mission of recording the memories of New York City residents through a series of oral history interviews. These interviews will be preserved in perpetuity at DORIS - connecting local history with the records of City government maintained in the collections of the Municipal Archives and Library. The interviews will reflect people’s unique experiences of life in New York City and will be available for researchers, teachers, students, activists, and residents interested in discovering the history of their city from the perspective of its community members.

We are looking for participants to sit for oral history interviews for the Neighborhood Stories Project. Participants in the project are interviewed by a trained volunteer, who will ask them questions about their lives and communities in New York City. Once recorded, the interview is preserved in perpetuity at the Municipal Archives with the goal of documenting the personal histories of local residents and changes in their communities from a personal perspective. Participants should have access to a phone (including landline), computer, or the internet. Participants should also be willing to share their stories and experiences.

Volunteers can also assist the project in recruiting other participants in their families and communities by spreading the word about the Neighborhood Stories project and sharing informational materials (which can be provided).

About the Interview:

• Interviews last roughly an hour;
• The interview is conducted on the platform Zoom. However, you do not need to have an account or a computer to sit for this interview. If you don’t have access to a computer or the internet, you will be able to call in from your phone (including a landline) to join the interview.
• Before your interview, you will be required to sign a release form, so that the recording can be preserved in the Archives;
• The interview will cover topics related to your personal history, specifically your experiences living in your Neighborhood.
• While you do not need to have lived in a New York City neighborhood for a given duration of time, you do need to be a present or past resident of New York City.

If you are interested in participating in this project, please fill out this application form:   https://forms.office.com/g/SASt5rm4dh

After you have submitted your responses, you will be matched with a volunteer and given a time for your interview. If you have any questions, please email stories@records.nyc.gov.