Second time going to the neighborhood together with Megane. We wanted to go out to get interviews, record sound bites, take pictures and go to Junior’s to try out the famous cheesecake.

Took the D train to Atlantic Av and then switched to the 3 train. Got off at Borough Hall.

Places visited: various deli’s around the area, Junior’s, Adam Yauch Park, and the areas that were more residential than commercial, and the area around Schermerhorn St and Atlantic Av (to name a few).

Weather: 63~70° F. Overall the whole day was rather warm-ish and sunny.

Time: 1:00- 3:30 PM

Megane and I both met up in Court St and then we set off towards a park that she had mentioned she went to last year. While walking there we stopped by a Key Food in hopes of getting an interview with any of the employees. Sadly, all of the employees were busy and did not have any time to talk. At exiting the supermarket, we noticed the flower store by the side of the supermarket and one of the employers agreed to be interviewed by Megane. Overall, she asked him general questions about the clientele of the store which was separate from the actual chain supermarket, which I found to be surprising. Considering that Key Foods was a chain business, and that many of their stores had flower shops (or sold flowers), I thought that that aspect of the business was just integrated into the supermarket. The florist told Megane that the clientele was mostly composed of young adults and that business was pretty good.

As we made our way towards the park by State St, I noticed that most of the buildings were mostly residential townhouses and brick buildings than the other areas that I had previously visited. I also noticed how there were also more modern buildings around the area, mostly new apartment buildings that were built around the last 10 years. These tended to have moving vans outside with plastic wrapped furniture sitting by the curb waiting for their respective owners to move them inside. When we reached the park, it was relatively empty aside from 3 to 4 groups of people around the area playing with their children and enjoying the sun. We approached the larger group of 10 people (2 adult women, 8 children of varying ages) to see if they were willing to be interviewed but they said that they were not from around the area and that they were leaving. We then approached an early 30’s man who was watching his daughter play in the jungle gym set to see if he was willing to be interviewed (alias: Andy). He then agreed and Megane asked him questions about the neighborhood and what’s it like living in Downtown Brooklyn throughout the years. Overall, Andy said that it the neighborhood was pretty well-rounded. When asked about the latest changes in terms of the gentrification that was happening around the area and the commercialization; he mentioned that it was ok since he lived in an area of the neighborhood that was more residential and apart from all of the hubbub of the commercial aspect that Fulton St and Atlantic Av.

After that, we then explored the the area and came across Brooklyn Heights Deli and decided to see if anyone in the establishment was willing to give us an interview. Upon entering, there were two cops who were talking amicably with a male who was behind the counter. It was obvious that they were friendly and comfortable with each other as they joked around. After the cops left, the owner, graciously agreed to be interviewed and we asked him questions in concern to how long the business was open for, how is the overall neighborhood and how it has changed, what were his views on the changes that have taken place throughout the past years (approx since 2004), etc. In general, he said that the area was a pretty good place to live, well-rounded, very clean and safe (his deli has never been robbed before in the past 50 years that it has been opened). The only thing that he told us that was a downside to the whole gentrification of the neighborhood was that it was very hard to find parking and that all of the small businesses were leaving the area in favor of chain shops.

After leaving the deli, we then made our way towards Junior’s through Schermerhorn St where we passed by another on-going construction site of an apartment building when we passed by two men, a construction worker and another pedestrian, who were having a conversation about the future of the neighborhood that we could not help but to overhear. After mustering up some courage, we asked the construction worker if he would be willing to be interviewed. In contrast to the last two interviews that we had which had an overall positive view of Downtown, the construction worker had some critical and negative views about the changes that were taking place in Downtown Brooklyn. He mentioned how Brooklyn was going to be “the new Manhattan” as new office/commercial/apartment buildings were continuing to be built to attract people from Manhattan to come to Brooklyn. And as an onslaught of this, he mentioned how the prices of rent were increasing which then causes people to move due to the fact that the area was becoming too expensive for middle class and lower class residents to live at as they have to compete with the onslaught of more affluent people coming into the area. Additionally, with this movement of people in the area, he mentioned how there would be an increase of storage units around Brooklyn.

Then, we continued our way to go to Junior’s. Upon entering on a Friday afternoon, I was surprised to find the restaurant to be somewhat empty. We were met with excellent and friendly service from the waiter who seated us in a table made up of smooth shiny wood and plush chairs. I then ordered their allegedly famous cheesecake and Megane ordered the chocolate fudge cake. Needless to say, the food was wonderful and the cheesecake was worth its hype. Both cakes were thick in flavor and had a very rich and smooth texture. The atmosphere of the restaurant was warm and welcoming that one would expect of old school american diners: wood tables, plush booth seats, soft music playing in the background amid the chatter of the employees and the diners, the walls were decorated with old Brooklyn/NYC memorabilia that included old baseball posters and newspaper clippings of headlines and news of the restaurant itself.

Analysis:

• Vision: What Sergio said truly ran a bell inside my mind has he said that the neighborhood was clean, despite all of the incoming pedestrian and commercial activity. Remembering back to my first trip to Downtown for the project, it was the day after the snow storm and in some places around Brooklyn (e.g. where I live) some parts of the sidewalks weren’t even shoveled and the snow was a trudged up gray mess, I was surprised to see that the sidewalks in Fulton Mall were clean, functional and pristine with all of the snow shoved to the sides of the sidewalk. And thinking back to what he said, I then started to notice how the overall neighborhood was relatively super clean for a busy area. The streets resembled what I tend to associate with Manhattan sidewalks: they were clean and devoid of any noticeable amount of litter. Which this then adds to the whole atmosphere and aesthetics of the neighborhood as they are trying to not only gentrify the area for the people coming in from Manhattan and the tourists with the building of new shopping malls/stores, condos, modern residential buildings, etc. as they are trying to modernize the area. This modernization then gets incorporated into the pre-existing old municipal buildings, brick townhouses historic buildings that were probably built in the last century. With all of this on-going construction as they try to modernize the area, it gives the neighborhood an unfinished and hybrid look to it. On the second field trip, I had noticed all around the skyline the dominance of scaffoldings and tarps surrounding buildings that were either being built or renovated, sidewalks that were either blocked by construction sites with their wooden walls that hide the construction process from the public, and of the mix of old buildings with their weathered glass and aged brick that stand in stark contrast with the new, empty, shiny buildings of steel and glass that stretch up into the sky. Certainly this is something that I have come to associate NYC with, the mixing of old and new, but with all of the ongoing construction sites and eerily empty sidewalks around these areas all around the neighborhood, I just can’t help but get a sense that the overall place as an unfinished and incomplete look around it which gives it an air of emptiness and vacancy.
• Audio: This then goes on to the sounds that I’ve been hearing around the neighborhood. Although it is quite busy and it is a commercial district, it is also eerily quiet in a sense. If you go away from the Fulton Street Mall and go to anywhere in Downtown Brooklyn, there is really nothing to hear but the sound of traffic and construction. Of course, with all of the rezoning aspects of the neighborhood, it is to be expected that there will be these sounds permeating the air. But where are the other sounds that I have come so used to hearing in other parts of NYC? Rarely in my time in Downtown Brooklyn do I hear the commotion that I hear when I go to other places such as Sunset Park and Chinatown. There is a lack of human noise. There is no predominant sound of human interaction in the streets of Downtown Brooklyn. Could it be that the presence of the new high rise buildings and latest construction sites have driven away all of the people that is missing from the neighborhood? Of course, from my observations I know that that a lack of people is not the case as there are people out and about in the streets. But why are they so quiet? Where is that sense of familiarity of the noise hubbub that one gets used to when they go into a neighborhood? It seems to my observations that the construction machines are more the inhabitants of Downtown Brooklyn than the residents of Downtown Brooklyn themselves.
• Smells: And with this dominion of construction sites in the neighborhood, it brings to mind all of the smells of car exhaust and motor by-products that I encounter whenever I go to the neighborhood. Surprisingly, I do not encounter the  common smells of cigarette smoke as in other places of New York City (and this is a very interesting thing to develop further on). In fact, the overall neighborhood is quiet odorless until you go to certain areas. Where it is the more commercial areas of Downtown Brooklyn, the only things that smell is the vehicle exhaust that is just a by product of the nature of the area it self since it is a popular area of commerce and pedestrian traffic with the amount of vehicles that pass through the main streets of Atlantic AV, DeKalb Av, and Court St for example. This is granted. Within these areas, a smell that is quite prevalent and enjoyable to the nose is the smell of Halal food trucks and hot dog carts. These are mostly situated in these areas because of the fact that more people frequent these areas and they have greater prospects of gaining business revenue. But with all of the volume of activity, it surprises me that there is either an overall lack of cigarette and marijuana odors. Go you can go to any part of the city and there is bound to be some traces of these drug vapors in the air. But in Downtown Brooklyn, I find that there is a lack of this. There are people who do smoke, but it is not quite so prevalent as in other areas of Brooklyn (or the city for that matter). Could this be that the people who frequent the areas that I frequented are non-smokers? Or is it that the trees and the greenery of Cadman Plaza Park helps in absorbing the fumes? Or could it be that the people who do partake in these activities are not present in the neighborhood? Has the neighborhood changed in such a drastic manner that there is now a lack of cigarette smokers?
• Taste and feel: Upon entering Junior’s Restaurant, was overwhelmed and amazed at the expanse of the bakery section of the restaurant. I could feel my eyes widen trying to take in all of the visual information that was presented to me. As we were led to our table, I appreciated at how soft the chairs and booth seats were and of the smoothness of the wooden table that could only be achieved by year’s worth of wear. It had a “worn in” feeling that I had come to associate with comfortability and hospitality. Truly, the restaurant and the service that they provided did not fail to deliver as we were treated with such great service that left me truly floored. The 2 deserts that we had ordered were also fantastic as they were very rich and decadent. They had a thick texture to it that was very palpable and enjoyable to feel in the mouth and in one’s taste buds that has earned them their reputation and history ever since they opened their doors to the public.