Dawn of a New Era

Brownsville has come a very long way from what it once was; a terrifying, dark and deadly neighborhood where no one was safe. Brownsville was once controlled and occupied by the notorious organized crime family 'Murder Incorporated', many people suffered terrifying uncalled for deaths. With over 800 contract killings, 'Murder Incorporated' went door-to-door as sales men but instead of handing out encyclopedias they handed out death sentences. Brownsville was not always this deadly, in the 1700's it was the Dutch who first settled and tried to build a positive community. They built houses for their families and businesses so they could survive in their new surroundings.

Adding on to the misery and downfall of the Brownsville community from the 'Murder Incorporated' killings, a blackout in 1977 caused massive bank robberies and riots which helped the failed economy of the Brownsville community to plummet. Soon after the community became like a grave yard. Everyone was moving away trying to escape being swallowed up by the dark cloud of emptiness. In the 1980's and the 1990's Brownsville began to re-establish itself. Families was moving in and building single-family homes. There was construction of churches and new businesses. To reduce poverty and attract families with little money, the government built low income houses.
A new era has dawned on the face of Brownsville.

A Smell To Behold

Can you imagine what people in the stones ages used for seasoning? How their food would have tasted? Do you think they knew what salt, pepper, cinnamon, garlic, onion, basil and thyme was? Well thank goodness that I did not live in those days; I am addicted to flavor. The exquisite flavor of the seasoned food makes my taste buds jump for joy. I consider myself to be a good cook and even my friends and family members have complimented me. I must not take all the credit, for without the seasonings the food I prepare would not have tasted as delicious. A certain seasoning or spice that I use is my secret to the marvelous dishes I create. I guess that my passion for seasonings and spices comes from smelling it ever so often in my area.

Standing feet's above the ground in the dusty atmosphere lies one of the oldest buildings that one could find in my area. Can you believe that this old run down building is still in use? It packages seasonings and spices that are shelved in some of our local supermarkets. On evenings one could smell the exuberant aroma of seasonings and spices coming from the brownstone building that lies in the residential area. The droopy, vandalized building is said to have been built way back in the late Nineteenth Century when Brooklyn was an industrial site. It is rumored that this old industrial building would be used in an episode of the infamous drama show "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit." I hope that I am walking down the cracked, dusty sidewalk that houses the old building when the show is being shot so that I could be on Television.

Looking at the building one can see the rusty bars that protect the windows from intruders, but capture those inside as if they were imprisoned. Some people in the community have treated the building's walls a bit unfairly. They have tarnished its once prestigious look by a display of ugly drawn graffiti images like that of a fully tattooed body of an old man. A window on the second floor of the building has been boarded up using card board as a protective shield from the outside world. The building itself is not like one would have imagined a building in the old days to be. It has a rectangular shaped frame unlike the chapel like buildings that once was the norm.

I was told to never judge a book by its cover; I hope that you did not do the same to this photo. Inside this rusty, dirty, rundown building is a blend of thousands of seasonings and spices; it is as if you were biting into a stack of Friday's baby back ribs with the barbeque sauce dripping off.

Annotated Bibliography 2

Manbeck, John. “Forgotten NY Neighborhoods.” The Neighborhoods of Brooklyn.
Yale University Press 1998. Retrieved 9 Sept. 2007
http://www.forgotten-ny.com/NEIGHBORHOODS/brownsville/brownsville.html

It was the Dutch who first settled in Brownsville and East New York in the 1700’s after the Flatbush community began to get crowed. Brownsville is named for Charles S. Brown, who subdivided it in 1865. Like many other parts of NYC, Brownsville has been occupied by many nationalities. In the 1920’s Brownsville had become the home base of Murder Incorporated, the organized crime family that included Meyer Lansky and Lucky Luciano. Brownsville hit rock bottom after the lootings and riots during the 1977 blackout but it has been on a slow comeback trail for the past 80 years.

Annotated Bibliography 1

Bleyer, Jennifer. “At Long Last, Developers Show an Interest.” 17 June 2007. The New
York Times. Retrieved 9 Sept. 2007.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/17/realestate/17livi.html?pagewanted=1&ei5
090&en=3ba7ef6480e5be10&ex=1339732800&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss>

Brownsville became more residential in the 1980’s and 90’s. Its streets are not lined with charming cafes and whimsical boutiques. Low income houses were built to help decrease poverty in the area. Land was also used in the construction of churches and single-family homes. Hundreds of new homes have budded there recently, anchoring even more homeowner in the area.

Brooklyn Public Library

Where do I go to find books about horror, drama, science fiction, news, maps, media and information? Oh look a Public Library! I am quite sure this building was not around before 1950. It was in 1950’s that education exploded from the high demand of high school and college education. I remember learning about slavery and how slaves we not allowed to read nor write. They were severely punished if they were found with any learning materials. Presently there are numerous amounts of libraries found in each of the boroughs here is New York City and are readily available to everyone.

A bright, sunny, humid day and I could hardly keep my eyes from squinting in the sun. Sweat is running down my face and my hands, making the camera a bit slippery. I paced up and down the side walk looking for something to photograph, then ‘BAM’ the Public Library hit me in my face. It was a rather small and was being squashed between two other tall buildings, but do not be fooled, the vast amount of information found inside would have surely filled those two other buildings and more.

From the outside the building looks run down. It was built from some kind of brownish brick. The roof is some what curved in two different shades of brown with green highlighters around the edges. It has old fashioned glass windows with curtains peeping through them. There is a yellow board with the library hours plastered on the brick. There is a large front entrance and a small side door that is only used for emergencies. Directly in front of the library, there is a black and gray street light that looks as if it has just landing from out of space. Looking at it, the street light seems to be taller than the library itself and miraculously touches the cloudy, blue sky. How convenient is it that not more than twelve feet away from the library entrance is a bus stop? Look at the atrocious sight, the black pile of smelly garbage bags are lying right at the bus stop, maybe it is waiting for its ride.

I pulled on the library’s black front door and felt the blast of cool air coming from the air conditioner. A bit nervous, I entered the building and saw students of all ages, tutors tutoring, adults reading to their young children and bookshelves packed with books, books and more books.

Brownsville

The photograph displays a busy morning on the streets of Brownsville. Everyone looks as if they are in a hurry to get to work. They all seem to be studying their own business and not aware of each other. Among the pedestrians in the photo you can see two nurses; one going and the other coming from the nearby Brookdale Hospital located a few feet away. The streetlight controlling the traffic looks old and about to fall on the lady’s head as she slowly walks across the cross walk. There is an old flier still stuck unto the streetlight’s post that no one has cared to take off. The one vehicle in the picture is patiently waiting on the lady to cross the street so he can make the right turn. You can hear the exhausted vehicle crying from all the years of use that its owner had put it through.

Fair enough, every image in the photograph is eaten up by the building in the background. The building is not made of the beautiful cobblestone bricks that were once used years ago but it looks as if it has been through a rough patch in its life. It looks residential from the white curtains visible through the broken windows however it could also have been part of the Brookdale Hospital. The old fashioned air conditioners stuck in the windows are lifeless and needs to be replaced. The building itself needs a lot of repair starting with the ground floor. The glass walls are out of date, broken and dirty. The metal panels above the glass walls are rusted, discolored and dangerous; because it could fall at anytime and cause serious damage to the pedestrians walking below.

There is no garbage bags piled up on the street. The street looks as if it has just been cleaned and the garbage can on the street corner emptied. All of which are signs that the street sweeper and the garbage collectors have already been out early this warm and sunny morning, tidying up the streets of Brownsville. The picture shows a typical scene of the Brownsville neighborhood.

Enjoy NYC!!

http://www.brooklyn.com/

http://cityrag.blogs.com/main/ny_graffiti_steert_art/index.html

Gateway To Another World

Have you ever noticed the ground on which you walk? Does it have pot holes, cracks, grass growing through the cracks or even what color it is? Looking through the site www.forgotten-ny.com I realized that I do not look on the ground on which I often walk. I never paid attention and I was quite amused to see how some places were and still are in New York City. The site www.forgotten-ny.com looks directly at New York City in the past and present. The site takes a deeper look at how New York City was and shows memorable photos and notes to teach, educate or just remind people of how New York once was and how far it has come.

One of my loves of New York City comes about in the cobblestone buildings or houses that were built long ago; I had no idea that they had cobblestone roads. Part of the site was even dedicated to cobblestone roads on four blocks of 89th Ave, Jamaica, Queens between Jamaica Ave. and Sutphin Boulevard. Looking at a picture one could imagine being there, standing on one of the blocks on 89th Ave, looking down the block your pupils contracting only take-in the cobblestone bricks. The bricks are a bit tarnished with black spots but that makes it look even more enticing. Your eye wonders around and you notice most of the houses on the block are also made of cobblestone bricks. On our left hand side the house windows are banned up and shut tightly, not wanting us to come in. There are also fences around the houses making sure that we keep our distance. On the right hand side however there is a tree shading one of the few cars on the block. I even think the tree looks alive and happy shading the car. The colors on the block are dull but yet they flow into each other. The grass on the edges of the side-walk intertwines perfectly with the brownish red of the bricks. There is no one in sight and not many cars are on the brick road but yet it looks full and inviting. It seems quite and peaceful, the ideal place to raise a family. It is like a gateway to another world.