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January 27, 2008
Brooklyn: Fort Greene
For more than 10 years I worked in Ft. Greene at The Brooklyn Academy of Music. I love it there and I love the neighborhood. I saw this jewel in the rough get discovered and changed and re-populated by its new inhabitants. And yet it's maintained some of its old traits and class as well and grown into a new rejuvenated place.
With growth in residential luxury condos going up, hip new restaurants, bars and wine stores. I saw the price of a four story corner brownstone across from Ft. Greene Park on one of the best tree lined, brownstone lined streets go from 399,000 to about 2 million and now comfortably resting at 1.8. I saw buildings erected in what seemed like over night. Traffic patterns change from one day to the next. I saw the new inhabitants buy up everything and move in. A welcome change in the night life and night dwellers has brought a hip and happening scene.
Businesses were forced to clean up, polish up their acts or hit the road. The Bodegas gave way to nice clean markets; Chinese fast food places gave way to Mediterranean
Cuisine, empty commercial spaces were filled with Real Estate businesses, demands were met and all that you want is right here.
BAM went from some place way out in Brooklyn that you could see cutting edge, innovative performing arts from around the world if you could get there with out getting mugged to a force to be reckoned with that is. A sold out performance is now a common occurrence. Big names and productions and new upcoming artist make their debuts and join the tradition of BAM. The BAM Rose Cinema plays important films from the best directors starring the best actors; offering Q&A's, Movie Premieres and a wonderful Cinematic program. The BAM Cafe that year round is bringing in the up and coming musical artist as well as a younger and fresher audience.
So here are a few photos from Ft. Greene that I took on a walk the other day on my lunch break. I hope you like them. I will post the next set soon.
Posted by Victor at January 27, 2008 11:58 PM