As 2006 comes to a close, I, justiNYC would like to both thank everyone for all of their nice comments and participation with the blog and share a few of the Flickr albums and concepts that I've devoted to change. Currently, I am down south working on the organization of a book that I will be publishing sometime early in the new year. I am very excited about the book project and cannot wait for all of you to see it! Also, I intend to begin my final stretch of school in the up and coming year. It is my hope that sometime within the next 3 years, i will acquire a "Dr." in the front of my name. Urban anthropology and gentrification have become an obsession and a passion which I cannot ignore. As a real estate agent, I have had the rare opportunity to participate and observe while applying anthropological methodologies, hitherto unexplored in such ways. As an artist, I have come to appreciate the ways in which change can be expressed and the effect that visual representation can have to those far removed from the process.
I have learned a lot about change in the past year and even more about the effect that real property can have on families, culture and neighborhoods. In Brooklyn, situations become different so fast, that it is hard to imagine anyone being able to totally keep up. In many ways, I have purposely kept up with the ways that streets and landscapes get altered, by matching them (to the best of my ability) with the intentions of developers, landlords and the tenants that are in a perpetual state of shift. I have mindfully captured instances that reflect the alarming rate which change can alter the dynamic relationship shared between people and buildings. I hope that so far, all of you find that i have done a somewhat adaquate job of doing so- yet, it will not be until you have the book in your hand that you will see the full scope of what i have set out to do.
In the real estate industry, the "active deal" makes it quite difficult to broadcast certain information to the public, as a real estate agent's paycheck will most always (at least in NYC) depend on that information remaining confidential and only shared among priviledged minds. When you have no system of MLS to shared across professional platforms, the deal hinges on the fact that such information remains confined to the buyer, seller and the broker. I am (as most of you are aware) far from being your average real estate agent. Believe me when i say that if i could tell you everything about every deal i have been in the middle of, i would. However, my own shelter and diet depend on a certain amount of secrecy. In other words, if i could just be an anthropologist, i would.
Over the past five years, I have focused on cultural change in North Brooklyn, brought about by gentrification. I have had the privilege to work with many of the very artists who made the areas of Williamsburg, Bushwick and Greenpoint desirable- enough to excite affluent Manhattanites on high enough levels to where they would finally leave their blessed borough and explore a side of New York City that (for the most part) had hitherto never been appealing for reasons other than saving money and survival. Now, Brooklyn has become widely recognized as an epicenter of cultural assent- a place of color and an extension of the New York City that non-natives are no longer warned about, but rather encouraged to hunt.
Goodbye to 2006!
We have seen the fall of the Old Dutch Mustard building at 80 Metropolitan Ave, in Williamsburg
Pass the Hot Dogs [Cuozzo/Post]
· The Final Days of Williamsburg's Old Dutch Mustard [Curbed]
· Dutch Demolition Porn: The Money Shot [Gowanus Lounge]
· The Rubble That Was Old Dutch Mustard Building [jUSTINYC]
condomeant [Brownstoner]
Curbed Found out Old Dutch Sold [justiNYC]
A Peek Inside Old Dutch Mustard Building [justiNYC]
Condomeant Buildings- Hold the Cheese [URbanfoto]
Williamsburg's Old Dutch Mustard Building- Inside and Out [Curbed]
The conversion of many of the war age buildings along the waterfront in Williamsburg and Greenpoint due to rezoning plan.
The 10 alarm fire at Greenpoint Terminal rocked the very foundations of the waterfront as we knew it. It dem
· Greenpoint Burning: End-o'-Day Rumor Wrap [Curbed]
· When Smoke Clears, Greenpoint Towers Set to Rise [Curbed]
A few albums for you to check out from my various explorations throughout North Brooklyn:
1758 photos
2881 photos
361 photos
343 photos
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This massive piece will most definitely not survive very long, but the feat itself is amazing, to say the least. So, in honor of Supine and for sake of giving HUGE props, I figured it appropriate to dig out a few other works that I've gathered along the way.
Bond Street, Manhattan (near the acclaimed 40 Bond)
I've been printing a lot lately and I must say that some of these pieces are among my favorite to see large. Its almost like reliving the moment that I first stumbled upon each of them. Thanks Judith for your hard work! If you'd like to have a print or two to remember yourself by, look me up. I've got the last one hanging in my living room, big as life.
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