Over the Hillz (Williamsburg, Brooklyn)

As Hillary fades from history (although hopefully she still has more to contribute) so do the posters that had tried to turn her into an icon. And threw Mao in just for the hell of it.

Ms. Rodham Goes to Washington (Fort Greene, Brooklyn)

I took a train to this fortuitously named subway station in Brooklyn on Saturday night. The name  proved prescient in 1992 and hopefully will prove just as prescient today. 

Happy (Gowanus)

My colleagues watching a video I directed to celebrate our organization's 20th anniversary.

Too many cooks spoil the broth? Not necessarily (Clinton Hill, Brooklyn)

The open kitchen at The Finch was a constant whirlwind with the team filling plate after plate of delicious (and lovely looking) food. I was amazed how superb their timing was; entrees and sauces and side dishes emerged non-stop, everything appearing as if by magic just when it was needed, and then it was almost instantly whisked away by a cadre of servers. I suppose a restaurateur doesn't dare create an open-air kitchen unless his/her team knows what it's doing, but the show was impressive nonetheless. As was the food.

R is Not for Red Hook (Red Hook, Brooklyn)

While working on a video in Red Hook, Brooklyn, today we walked by this iconic sign. One might think at first glance that the "R" stands for Red Hook, but the floating period suggests otherwise. The actual story, according to the blog Lost City is this: "This used to belong to paper goods manufacturer named E.J. Trum. When John Turano & Sons Furniture took over the address in 1978, they tried to tear down the Trum letters. All but the stubborn "R," and a period, were removed. There they remain."

Yesterday I Was ... (Mural in Brownsville, Brooklyn)

Work brought me to Brownsville, Brooklyn, today, where I met several life-long residents who shared stories about the neighborhood, past, present and future.

Among the people I met was a grandmother, who talked about learning to swim and sew at the Brownsville Recreation Center and playing games and going to dances at the various community centers in the local housing projects. In those days, anyone could go to any of the community centers, but today, many of the community centers have closed, and those that remain offer fewer activities. Worst of all, the projects where they are housed are divided by rivalries, so that it’s no longer safe for “outsiders” (i.e., someone from another housing project) to walk through them. Projects have their own gangs, or “teams” as one person called them, which zealously guard their territories.

Only a few places are considered neutral, like the Recreation Center and the Brownsville Community Justice Center, which many hope is in the process of inspiring change. The Justice Center has created innovative programs for youth, including art and design workshops, a peer-led youth court and job preparation. The Justice Center is actively trying to change the narrative of Brownsville from the one fueled by media, which habitually portrays the neighborhood as a place of high crime, high poverty, and dense public housing, to one that emphasizes its strengths, like its large, supportive family networks, its many citizens who care deeply about its future, and the vast potential of the its young people, who eagerly grab onto any positive social or learning activity whenever it is offered.

The mural above is the result of one of those activities. Located at the Brownsville Student Farm Project, the mural was created jointly by young people under the supervision of the Groundswell Community Mural Project and Brownsville Community Justice Center. It's one of several murals they've helped young people bring to fruition throughout the community.
 

This little toy was minding its own business on a window ledge outside one of the Justice Center's offices.

St. Patrick's Night (Bay Ridge, Brooklyn)

I've often seen Christmas lights, of course, but never St. Patrick's lights until I walked passed this house tonight in Bay Ridge.