Crown Heights, a tale of two cities at least

Thanks to Facebook I've learned of an episode of gunfire in Crown Heights on Crown St. near Utica Avenue which makes it the Eastern side of Crown Heights to some or as long term residents would recognize the part of Crown Heights furthest from the warm glow of the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens.

Yesterday I learned from reading the IloveFranklinAve blog of a shooting that wounded a man on Franklin Ave & St Johns Place.

Two shootings in one area in less than a week may very well provoke the worn conversation among new comers of whether Crown Heights is "going back" to something dangerous and negative. I hate that conversation. it's simplistic, reactionary not supported by facts and I hate the what it implies and what the conversation omits, namely that for some crown heights residents hard times never ended.

Crown Heights is a large area. It measures two miles long by a mile. Part of it is seeing a boom of new activity shops that were redundant are having their rents raised by their owners in the hopes of attracting the next artisanally prepared cash cow. Vacant spaces are being cleaned up for the same in the areas around Franklin, Bedford & Nostrand Avenues. Personally I think the new consumer options are great and the process by which their made unfortunate and sometimes unfair.

This past weekend while enjoying the sun and sounds of teens playing in Brower Park on Brooklyn Avenue near Prospect Place I noticed across the street on the wall of a school annex a mural created in 2009 by high school students and the non-profit Groundswell dedicated to the problem of gun-violence. Gun violence never stopped being a problem for many in Crown Heights.

Despite all the fuss about things of relative little consequence like bike parking spaces, there are people in Crown Heights who are working class, and spend much of their time trying to make ends meet in a section of the neighborhood that doesn't get the New York Times and New York Magazine coverage so generously bestowed on the Crown Heights just one mile west.  

Meanwhile on commercial strips like Kingston and Utica Avenues (between St. Johns & Atlantic) there is nearly the opposite situation with some addresses looking ready to collapse under the weight of time and disregard.

It's nearly a tale of two cities. Go ahead, google "Crown Heights Shooting" see which comes up first and which has more listings. The Franklin Ave shooting barely comes up. I doubt that's the story anyone wants to tell of gentrified Franklin Ave. The story of the shooting near Utica Ave is hard to miss.

You have one Crown Heights where owners decide to unleash building improvements and investment spurring increases in city services, police protection, beautification, bike racks and the other where many commercial and rental owners haven't made investment possibly because they're waiting for a community different from the current one, to take root. This is a big part of why it's destructive and simplistic to sub-divide Brooklyn neighborhoods as has been commonly done and at a hyper rate for the last ten years. Once there was Crown Heights. Now there is Prospect Heights, Crown Heights and there appears to be attempts at making distinctions between West & East Crown Heights. Before I drag out my soap box to shout about the past when a resident didn't need geographical distinctions to the name of their neighborhood, because they knew their neighborhood, I'll bring up what I think the bigger issue is. Changing the name of the "improved" part of a neighborhood only increases the likelihood that the "unimproved" part of the neighborhood won't get better.

Imagine braking your leg and rather than give aid to it, you cut it off. That's what happens if points East of Kingston Avenue (to pick a street) become unhinged from Washington, Classon & media daring Franklin Avenues. Separating one part of Crown Heights from the other means separating the stories that are told of those places, and those stories become the public realities. So shooting on Franklin get's a certain type of media attention if for no other reason than it's contrary to the expectations now existing (and reported) for Franklin Avenue. While a shooting near Utica is reported as the same old song.

The conversation I've heard after almost every violent crime is committed in this neighborhood of over 150,000 people is "Is it going back?!?" The reality is there are a lot of people who never got to go forward.

Crown Heights will have occasional violent episodes, just like most New York City does. Those tragedies when they occur will less a harbinger of new comer doom than a sign that long term residents are still struggling in crisis.

Artists, teens beautify for women in Bed-Stuy

This is a great story.


The non profit organization Groundswell created a mural for the Bowery Residents' Committee (BRC)'s women's home on Lexington Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant just a stones throw from Clinton Hill.

The mural wraps the interior of the entire vestibule many of the residents complimented the artists and their work at the dedication ceremony held on Wednesday June 3rd.

Many of the residents of the women's home talked about how much the mural has provided them with a lift and greatly increased their mood from the moment they walk through the doorway.





Organizers from BRC as well as Groundswell said a few words of thanks to the women residents for providing input toward the project which in turn increased the value of and focus of the project.


The artists spoke about their motivations and vision.


Pictured: Mural Artists Alex Pimienta & Crystal Clarity

Most uplifting to me were the teenagers who worked under the guidance of the groundswell artists.

The teens were award certificates in recognition of their service in helping the artists to create and add value to the mural effort. It was also mentioned that they demonstrated their own value to the community and to themselves as well.

After all were heard and souls satisfied it was time to sooth and satisfy the stomach...

...and the barbecue was on and popping.

I love that the grill master had a chef hat

The work is beautiful and lush, illustrated with welcoming symbols of femininity and warm embracing strokes of line and color.

Even from the outside a little of the art shines through.

I've noticed the BRC logo for years but never knew precisely what it was about until this event and the subsequent research I did for this piece. BRC is very impressive considering the decades of constant help they've provided to people in need. Check out their site [BRC]. As someone who's family has experienced life's hardships I got the sense in speaking with the residents at 85 Lexington that they had gone through a lot yet remained determined to live valuable lives. The beautiful mural isn't only a tribute to them it's a reflection. It was clear to me how much BRC has helped them rebuild and prosper.

I've followed Groundswell for a few years as their murals have popped up sometimes withing a few feet of my many residencies. Check their site also [Groundswell] Years ago I actually contributed to a Groundswell mural and even though I had the littlest of contributions to it, every time I see that mural, I feel honored to have helped.

happy friday