The 7 train flooded with natural light as we emerged from underground, and Long Island City’s graffitied rooftops, prewar buildings and brick warehouses come into view. The commute from school to my parents’ garment factory in Queens was a 25-minute bus ride, a transfer and then another 35 minutes on the subway. After stepping off the packed train, I walked down a sidewalk lined with abandoned warehouses, their windows cloudy, cracked and boarded up with pieces of plywood. Unmarked trucks and vans passed once in a while.