BROOKLYN 2009 "Brooklyn Talking"

Brooklyn Talking

May 2009

(or, "Is Brooklyn a Good Place to Fall in Love?)"

Nicky, Sammi and Maddy in Brooklyn

Manhattan Bridge linking Brooklyn to Manhattan

I am proudly a New Yorker to the core. Thirty years in Massachusetts hasn’t removed that slight feeling of superiority that goes along with it. Cousin Nicky (with an even bigger chunk of NY under his belt than me before being called to the wilds of New Jersey) decided to take me on a tour of Brooklyn.

My tour packet included a folder for each neighborhood we would visit and a survey we would approach Brooklynites with.

Our first stop, historic Greenwood Cemetery, where we interviewed Joseph Bertuno, resident gatekeeper and historian.

1) “What do you love about Brooklyn that you would want a stranger to know?” “Right here”.

2) “What is the best place in Brooklyn that a stranger should experience?” “Right here”.

3) “Is Brooklyn a good place to meet someone to fall in love?” “I don’t know much about love.”

Nicky and Joseph Bertuno

He directed us to Boss Tweedy’s tomb and a statue of Minerva, atop a hill, waving along a direct sight line to the Statue of Liberty.

Next stop the Mexican neighborhood near Sunset Park, (15 blocks filled with the aroma of refried beans) and a huge Chinatown, not a non-Asian in sight. We picked up Cousin Sammi (Nicky’s daughter and one of my most beloved humans) at the subway and proceeded with the tour. I had already been warned of the demise of the “egg cream”, the beverage of my childhood.. No eggs are involved, but the correct preparation produces a foamy egg white like head atop the drink.

Each neighborhood included different cuisine, the trendy upscale Brooklyn Heights, Park Slope and Williamsburg of less interest than the ethnic.

-The Yemen Café on Atlantic Ave, lamb falling off the bone, cups of sweet cardammon tea.

-Oriental Grocery, also on Atlantic Ave, bulk tea and spices, while Gary, the owner plies us with samples of pastry, halvah and more sweet tea.

-Junior’s Deli, Flatbush Ave, pastrami sandwiches, pickles and Dr. Brown’s Soda.

-Grimaldi’s Pizza, at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge, best pizza in New York.

-Brooklyn Ice cream Factory (try the coffee) and Jacque Torres Chocolate Company.

We walked the Promenade along the East River – fab view of Manhattan, investigated DUMBO (the new arty “Down Under the Manhattan Bridge” neighborhood, toured the Brooklyn Brewery and finally the oh so young and hip Williamsburg. The hip-ness quotient was so high that even young Sammi (who fit the age demographic) was intimidated. Definition of hipster: listens to indie rock, lives in Brooklyn and is some kind of an artist. I felt very “suburban mall”.

At the end of our tour, Nicky asked a Brooklyn cop for direction to NY so we could return Sammi to her apartment. His response – “Buddy, you must mean Manhattan. This IS New York”.

5 Brooklynites answer the question: Is Brooklyn a Good Place to Fall in Love?