Havermeyer Park

Williamsburg, 2014

Kind of sad we just got around to visiting Havermeyer Park on its last weekend, along with the hoola hooping, dirt biking, urban farming, teepee-loving masses. I will say I'm glad that as familiar and home-ish as Williamsburg is, it still manages to surprise me.

Sunday

Williamsburg, 2014

A good Williamsburg Sunday. Checked out the El Puente mural near the Domino Sugar factory site, tired Axel out at Ms. J's, watched as Axel did some toddler parkour, stumbled upon a random skateboarding competition, did some gardening, ended up at Spritzenhaus.

Hope you had a wonderful fall weekend, wherever you are.

11211 Love

Williamsburg, 2014

Just a few blocks from home, one of the coolest things I've seen in a long while: Kara Walker's installation at the Domino Sugar Factory. The whole room smells like burnt sugar. Here's a bit more about the Sugar Sphinx.

Neighborhoods change, of course, but after a peek inside the old factory, I have to say I'll be a little sad to see it so transformed. It's such an awe-inspiring venue for large scale art.

Space Ninety 8

Williamsburg, 2014

This morning, Oscar and I took a spin around the new Space Ninety 8 store on North 6th St. (translation: Urban Outfitters' Brooklyn concept store.) It was so trippy...where are we? When I moved to Williamsburg ten years ago, I knew it was changing, but I'm not quite sure I could have fathomed the extent of it.

Yesterday I was wandering around noticing how much the demographic has shifted. You see a lot of off-duty models sipping $12 cold pressed juices, dog walkers with their pack of 6 French bulldogs, European tourists Intagramming things, nannies with double strollers...

I still love it (maybe because I am now the proud owner of one of those double strollers), but it does make you feel nostalgic and a little bit off your game sometimes. Earlier today, at my local coffee shop, there was a group of British students on a school trip interviewing the owner about the neighborhood. "Why is it such a draw for artists?' they asked. He basically told them it hadn't been since the '90s...all the artists had moved to Bushwick.

Obviously, things are going to change even more when the Domino Sugar Factory is redeveloped. Which is why I loved checking out these gorgeous photos by Paul Raphaelson of it in its current state of ruin. I'll be interested to check it out on May 10th, when the artist Kara Walker's installation opens there. So there is still at least a bit of art around these parts, for now.

11211 Love

Williamsburg, 2013

Axel and I headed out this morning to the deli for some milk and I stopped by a nearby cafe for a coffee. This is a spot that's usually packed with neighborhood old-timers, folks who've lived here for generations as well as artists who moved here in the '70s. It's a great place to get gossip.

There's one woman, in particular, who is always loudly lamenting the new developments in Williamsburg to anyone who will listen. I feel guilty, because even though I've lived here for a decade and it feels like home, I know I'm one of the newcomers she finds so alarming. The stroller, the fancy latte, the new condo. And yet I completely understand where she's coming from. Even I sometimes find myself standing on Kent Avenue, near the old loft building that was my first Brooklyn apartment, and wondering where the heck I am.

Today this lady's gripes were all about the proposal for the new developments around the Domino Sugar Factory. There's been quite a lot of talk about gentrification around these parts lately...the film Gut Renovation, for instance, as well as the news that Anthropologie is opening up on Bedford Avenue.

I happen to think that there's a lot of potential in the Domino plans...but would love it if they also opened an arts institution like the Tate Modern in the old factory site. Swanky new buildings and tech companies are fine, but I agree with my fellow coffee shop patron; you do need to leave some room for culture in all the commerce.

Am I even allowed to say that given that I am now part of the new, young, stroller brigade?