Samira Tazari

Samira Tazari is a 2014 graduate of Syracuse University’s SI Newhouse School of Public Communication with a BS in Television-Radio-Film and Russian Language and a 2017 graduate of the Maine College of Art's Salt Institute for Documentary Studies. She recorded interviews for the Coney Island History Project from 2015-2018. For her first oral history, with singer Cornel Chan, Samira selected and added clips of his recordings to the edited interview. A lover of podcasts, she has worked as a podcast producer for Slate and Spotify and is currently a freelance producer. 

Interviews

5D Cinema entrepreneur on Coney Island's Bowery
For the Coney Island History Project's first-ever "on-ride" oral history, interviewer Samira Tazari mixed recordings of her ride on the Bowery's 5D Cinema and an interview with the indie attraction's owner Terry Zheng. Known as  "Tommy" to his...
Mermaid Avenue pharmacist dispenses news and advice to new immigrants
Ho Cheung Li's J & R Pharmacy is on Mermaid Avenue at the corner of West 23rd Street in Coney Island. He and his family live upstairs.  Li emigrated from Hong Kong when he was in his 20s and spent more than four years in school to regain his...
"The Elvis of the East" and founder of Brooklyn Chinese-American Assn. Chorus
Cornel Chan (陳均能) immigrated to the US in 1972 from Hong Kong, where he enjoyed a successful career as “The Elvis of the East” singing American songs on radio, TV and in clubs. With younger singers from abroad gaining popularity and his young sons’...