To interview the subject of my next video (whom I won’t disclose yet), I accompanied him on a walking tour of several blocks of Nostrand Ave. Though I’ve been to Nostrand–my grocery store is there–I really had very little idea how packed it is with little businesses and so much to photograph, not least the very cool murals we found along the way.
To my dismay, this reminded me of someone I know who lives in Prospect Heights, near Underhill and Park, and who had no idea where Grand Ave is. For those who aren’t familiar with the area, Grand is TWO BLOCKS EAST of Underhill. Two. Blocks. But, as I keep finding in this part of Brooklyn, people spend a lot of time walking westward for food and sights but seldom explore the great little blocks and intersections in the other direction. It’s a disappointing sort of chauvinism, an unwillingness to discover for oneself what Crown Heights is really like.
Of course, it doesn’t help that the 2008 Not For Tourists guidebook introduces Crown Heights by saying that you’re better off eating in because there are hardly any good restaurants. As ridiculous a statement as it is offensive.
*On an unrelated note, has anyone else noticed the dramatic reduction in dog poop on the sidewalks around Franklin? This time last year, walking down the street was like a gauntlet of poop-avoidance, (though there was that one guy, bless his heart, who always cleaned up after his dog, even amidst a dozen other slowly ossifying poops). I wonder what happened, and if it has anything to do with the drastically stepped up police presence around here. I wish I had contrasting photos to illustrate.
October 25, 2009 at 4:24 am |
This is great. Just goes to show you, take a few steps to the left or to the right and you will always see some things differently or things you never noticed before. Good job. Keep it up.
November 12, 2009 at 10:39 pm |
[...] Dog poo impunity. (see previous post.) [...]