Brooklyn had a place in our hearts long before it was hip. Sure, it's got rough spots, but that's part of its charm. And with a new decade dawning and big changes afoot, we think there's more than ever that makes Brooklyn the borough to beat.
Its art scene is booming; it's the city's go-to spot for restaurateurs and entrepreneurs; and it's a place where Old World flavor meets cutting edge taste. Most recently the cultural phenomenon GIRLS-The comedy-drama, about a group of twenty somethings, that follows in the stilettoed footsteps of Sex and the City, has given Brooklyn the attention it deserves A canny tourism company is already planning a bus trip around significant sites. But while Carrie and friends frolicked in Manhattan, Hannah lives in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, sharing an apartment that epitomizes the reality of post- collegiate life in NY. The walls are thin, the fridge has seen better days and there's not a designer bag in sight. The girls of Girls love New York for what it is: grimy, expensive, absurdly fun and bursting with potential.
Manhattan has always told the story of aspiration and wealth Brooklyn is telling the story of a really upwardly mobile person.
Brooklyn offers a tantalizing array of locations, from the Victorians of Ditmas Park — which can stand in for any suburban neighborhood — to the working-class-looking streets of Greenpoint to the charming storefronts in Carroll Gardens, perfect for period shoots.
There’s cobblestoned Dumbo; the mean streets of East New York; the mansions of Brooklyn Heights; the tree-lined avenues (and, miracle of miracles, driveways)of Park Slope, the glories of Prospect Park; the soaring container cranes of Red Hook; the unnameable, party-colored, aromatic ooze of the Gowanus Canal.
The borough boasts countless ethnicities, creeds and religions. It’s somehow wildly bustling and unselfconsciously low-key at the same time.
Today we showcase some of our favorite images that capture the borough we know and love…
Marla Hamburg Kennedy is currently working on her newest publication- BKLN- a collection of contemporary Brooklyn photography. See her extensive list of published works here and look for BKLN on shelves soon.
Ysabel LeMay's phantasmagorical nature photographs defy all odds. In a world where nature photography has been done to death, LeMay' creates unique images that radiate with awe.