à Trouver: urban

I've been an official Brooklyn resident for just over 6 months now and I'm slowly but surely finally getting a chance to explore my city or more politically correct--borough. I have to admit that for the first few months of my relocation The City (the landmass that is Manhattan Island; you know, the SoHos, the Times Squares, the Central Parks, etc.) was more so my life than the place that I laid my head every night. I knew more about SoHo, the neighborhood in Manhattan where I work, than Crown Heights, here, in Brooklyn where I reside--that concerned me.

If you're looking at New York City as a whole entity, frankly, it's quite hard. New York City is a vast conglomeration of 5 separate cities, officially known as boroughs--Manhattan, Brooklyn, Staten Island, Queens, and the Bronx. For the most part, each of these boroughs alone would be one of the largest cities in America. Despite their separate identities they all come together under one flag that is New York City and they are a damn proud people. Nevertheless; where does one start in the process of becoming a "local?"

The answer to that question finds me in Prospect Heights taking a leisurely stroll through Grand Army Plaza to the Brooklyn Public Library on a Monday afternoon. A library card is the skeleton key to a corridor of endless entryways (too dramatic?). In all seriousness, your local and/or in this case regional library is a great resource for a transplant (incoming resident from another city) to begin to learn what their community has to offer. Here at the Brooklyn Public Library, one can find community calendars, learn new languages, take creative writing classes, join a book discussion club, apply for a passport, take classes to learn valuable job readiness skills, relax in the café and make a new friend over a warm drink (perfect central meet-up spot for the cold winter months), use the internet, or even read a book, maybe?

At the end of the day, when moving to a new community there's a plethora of new things to learn and explore and your local public library has a wealth of information and services to get you well on your way. Happy exploration...

- Esoteric

"Here are enshrined the longing of great hearts and noble things that tower above the tide, the magic word that winged wonder starts, the garnered wisdom that never dies." (Roscoe C. Brown)

Selected Shots:

Fin.

Above the tide,

Yet weathered from erosion;

Beyond the waves,

But a slave to the surf.

Ones environment dictates much about their life and its inevitable experiences. Human geography is a broadly vast experiment. With that being said, I personally seek to suit up in my lab coat, glasses and gloves and blow shit up as often as possible.

Today's experiment took us into the field known as the Wiliamsburg neighborhood, with a quick romp into adjoining Greenpoint. Often known as "Hipsterville," be it affectionately or otherwise, this section of northern Brooklyn offers a large array of diverse dining and shopping experiences as well parks and natural scenic grace (as natural as can be in a heavily built environment such as New York City) . As diverse and the commercial real estate is also the housing offered in the area. There's everything from high rise condominiums to walk-up apartments and, characteristic of Brooklyn, gorgeous brownstones. With such a wealth of contrasts, it is quite amazing how well these neighborhoods operate in harmony; even with all the damn tourists.

- Keilon

“In wisdom gathered over time i have found that every experience is a form of exploration”

-Ansel Adams

“...and i plan to experience a lot by the end of my time.”

-Amanda

with that being said, we ventured into a little place known as “hipsterville”, pardon, williamsburg is what this area is called. it’s a journey to get to depending on where you call home in new york city. we took three trains to get there; borough hopping from brooklyn to manhattan back to brooklyn. but once we got there and saw that the sun was still out i was happy i made the trip. it's a nice little area that reminds me of neighborhoods from home (Chicago). our reason for making this trek was to explore the Brooklyn Flea's winter market-Smorgasburg.

brooklyn flea is a very large market where one can procure vintage, modern, new, used and modified items as well as fill your belly with delicious grub. we decided to have a breakfast classic; a chocolate doughnut from Dough Brooklyn. and it was amazing! (had two actually) and browsed lots of sparkly jewelry and cool rustic home decor.

after the flea market we explored more of the area walking leisurely even though it was windy and chilly making sure to take everything in. getting brunch at Mable’s Smokehouse & Banquet Hall and traveling to the greenpoint waterfront to see the east river at sunset. overall this exploration experience was nice. williamsburg, we may be back soon…

-Amanda

Selected shots of the day:

From Brooklyn...

...to Manhattan

Public Transit in NYC can be a daunting and incoherent excursion. Why must you travel from Brooklyn just to make it back to Brooklyn via grumbling train ride through lower Manhattan?

Street art and murals have come to define much of this portion of Brooklyn

Amanda surveys the scene on 5th & Berry

The scene in front of the Brooklyn Flea's Smorgasburg

....from clothing...

...to trinkets...

...and, of course, food!

There's a little bit a lot of everything to see and eat at these Brooklyn Flea sponsored events. Be sure to visit www.brooklynflea.com for information and schedules on their various markets throughout the year.

Street Scenes:

thoughts on the wall

There's no shortage of street art in Williamsburg. One can argue that at times, there's a bit of visual overstimulation but how can you not love art? And by love art, how can you not appreciate the process of seeing and loving or seeing and loathing; be utterly intrigued or utterly disgusted; whatever your reaction may be you felt something and that's the central theme to revisit in life. If this post leaves you with nothing else, take away the desire to Feel Something.

photo-op time...

The eyes are always watching

almost as effective as the yellow lines

Chilly

Vivid

the pursuit of "Epic"

trying to find "that shot"
Behind the wallStreet art

Greenpoint Waterfront:

After the endless bombardment of industrial fortresses that crowd the Williamsburg portion of the East River it's nice to break into the somewhat more serene setting of the Greenpoint waterfront at WNYC Transmitter Park between Kent Street and Greenpoint Avenue.