cobbled

Which Coast is Best?

New York City has been trying to bring the tech industry to them for the last few decades. It has succeeded in gaining a Google and Facebook along with hundreds of other smaller firms, much to the delight of former mayor Michael Bloomberg. Bloomberg worked hard and fast to make NYC an appealing place for new companies, some of which he hoped would leave their valley on the other coast.

Silicon Valley has held a tight grip on tech firms and isn’t looking for them to go anywhere any time soon. The capital that these firms bring in is enormous and important to the state and region.

Tim D., a developer of a new start-up firm that created a photography application for smartphones has said, “I think its a culture [Silicon Valley] that’s proven to be resilient and adaptable to how things have changed over the last 40 years. It’s not perfect but I think it’s done a lot to shape how we as a society have gotten to where we are today.”

But New York City has been changing over the last 30 years and gentrification has taken hold in certain boroughs. Brooklyn in particular has had an industry change. During and post the World Wars Brooklyn served as an important port and industrial borough. Large factories lined the waterfront and it was mainly used to ferry various things into Manhattan.

The neighborhood of DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) started to change things around the turn of the millennium. Large real estate investors bought a bunch of property and old warehouse buildings and began to gentrify them. Jay Street in particular now serves over 30 different start-ups in converted open space warehouses. But the appeal is easily seen for creative for the small office spaces of NYC. The ability for young developers to create how they please is seemingly more appealing than joining some of the massive corporations in Palo Alto. It is a innovation atmosphere as oppose to being a cog in the machine.

“The Community for it [creative programming] in SV is way bigger, you can’t get a cup of coffee without overhearing a pitch happening or people talking shop…NY is cool because it’s a part of something much bigger, not just tech.” Jen M., a front end designer for a Brooklyn start-up.

It has yet to be determined if New York City’s push for technology firms to relocate will be entirely successful. The small firms can enclave themselves in the old warehouse but the room in which giant tech companies can spread may always give the west coast the upper hand.

 

youtube doing it rightly meta

I thought it would be interesting to choose the new YouTube Advertising campaign as sort of a Meta social media campaign topic. 

I was sort of surprised that YouTube felt it had to launch any sort of campaign all together, and then used its own “over million followers” celebrities to back it.

Which is even more interesting is that one of their first half year chosen ones is also running in a Diet Dr. Pepper campaign. It’s been a good year for Michelle Phan. But women want the easy accessibility to good makeup tips without having to pay $60.00 dollars at Bloomingdales. She’s a genius.

I find this campaign interesting because it speaks down to the core of what most YouTube users want – millions of fans. Or conversely they want a real person helping them with everyday tasks, not an overpaid unauthentic writer from Betty Crocker. This time I’m channeling Rosanna Pansino.

It also allows a cute fashion blogger who doesn’t seem threatening or catty – an important element in the women’s realm. She seems down to earth, relatable and someone who could honestly be your best friend – here’s looking at you Bethany Mota.

Honesty and authenticity. Well played YouTube advertisers. It’s the base line of your brand and its what consumers are quickly eating up.

 I work in Healthcare advertising and the somewhat newest trend is finding and attracting new consumers through our most trustworthy source – happy patients.  Not actors saying they received surgery when they haven’t; but honest people who really enjoyed (to the degree you can) their stay at our Hospital. In some sense the campaign is easier than others we’ve run – the content has written itself, and we know there are no holes in it.

I struggled with whether or not I could be an authentic Brooklyn writer or if I was a transient whose voice wouldn’t – or worse shouldn’t – matter.

YouTube would be an important tool for FREE Brooklyn. It’s a free and open media channel, and it is such good friends with Google. It is a service that has been profitable for many non-for-profits and small business. It can create and grow them. Those lovely ladies are examples of that, and clearly the larger Google seems the potential of letting people know that. Who knows which personalities, business or cats they may choose to broadcast nationally in the future.

I think if we would use YouTube for FREE Brooklyn we would have to focus on the authentic content. I don’t think there would be any reason to stray from it. We would need the real, honest and heartfelt work we would do to push us forward. Investors and the community would need to see we are helping and making a change.  

People like to see other people helping people. There is no reason not to let our possible resources stay under the rug. The more people who know about FREE Brooklyn leads to more people who are willing to help. Where could you go wrong?

where have you been?

So the last month has been a bit wild. With a lot of noise.

But also yesterday I smelled BBQ in this lovely cobbled neighborhood, so I know Spring is here:

Image

 

I’ve been back and forth between the East and West Coast during the month of April because of some life changing decisions. Womp Womp, nothing will be finalized for another six months – so limbo is the fun pace of life right now.

But sometimes you get these gems:

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And you realize reflection is also a pretty good tool to have. I’ll have a serial number of posts up today, and if I need sleep, tomorrow. But I’m trying to do my best and figure out what is what.

-Cobbled (for now)

Wiki, Christ Church

Christ Church (or the Old Christ Church) is a Episcopalian congregation located on 326 Clinton Street in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn. It was founded in 1835 when there was a call for a Christian organization in some of the newly incorporated towns in Brooklyn. It was then consecrated in 1842 and currently has a congregation from Brooklyn Heights, Boerum Hill, Carroll Gardens and Cobble Hill neighborhoods.

History and Architecture

While building finished in the 1840s it was commissioned to be renovated in the 1910s. Christ Church then became well known for its Louis Comfort Tiffany altar, pulpit and windows. Tiffany was renown at the time for his work with Church windows. In 1939 a fire ripped through the church destroying most of its interior forming a need for further renovations. Most of the Tiffany interior, however, did remain in tact.

Along with most of Cobble Hill, Christ Church received historical preservation and landmark status in the 1960s.

In the early 2000s members of the congregation met when lightening first struck the roof causing damage and then met again after an earthquake shook the church in 2011. Concerns over the structure of the church were raised and renovations were made.

In the summer of 2012 heavy lightening storms initially damaged the roof of the church creating the need for further renovations. The strength of the storm caused part of the structure to fall and fatally injure a man in his 60s, once again calling the congregation to met about safety standards.

Then in the fall of 2012 Hurricane Sandy ripped off the part of the roof that was under construction, which cause significant damage to the interior. A group called the Friends of Christ Church help generate support for the restoration of their community parish.

Community Events

Christ Church host a variety of community events and is an active participant of the Cobble Hill Asscoaiton, some of its partners include:

  • The Canoni Chorale
  • The Cobble Hill Tree Fund
  • The Cobble Hill Association
  • The Clinton Street Block Association and annual Block Party
  • Linden Tree Pre-school
  • The Vertical Players Repertory Opera Company
  • The Cosmic Bicycle Theatre and the ClockWorks Puppetry Studios
  • The Cobble Hill Ballet School
  • Opera Feroce
  • The Young Actor’s Workshop
  • Music Together
  • July 4th annual neighborhood BBQ
  • Dalcroze Music
  • Integrity-Brooklyn
  • The Children’s Shadow Puppet Workshop
  • Gymstars
  • Summer Ballet Camp
  • The Cobble Hill C.S.A. Food Co-Operative
  • The Cobble Hill Health Center
  • Long Island College Hospital
  • Alcoholics Anonymous
  • Food and Winter Clothing Collection with C.H.I.P.S. (Christian Help in Park Slope)
  • CHANYS Assemblywoman Joan Millman

Christ Church celebrates all seasonal religious events.  The parish uses a garden on Clinton Street that it maintains with its “Garden Volunteers”.

The parish is a part of the Gotham Early Music Society series, and yearly Christmas caroling through Cobble Hill. 

The church also provides counseling for families, and has an attached school for special needs children.

The church hosts weddings, baptisms and regularly holds weekly services.

As of February 2014, parish services are still being held at the Kane Street Synagogue until the renovations and repairs are fully completed.

Photos:

Church images Church roof

Originals, Bklyntenant 2014

Sources:

http://cchf.tripod.com/index.html

http://www.fccch.org
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887323848804578605850058471288

Walking Brooklyn:, 30 tours exploring historical legacies, neighborhood culture, side streets and waterways. Onofri, Adrienne; 2nd Edition 2009; Wilderness Press, Berkeley, CA

Back to being #Cobbled

So we’re back to the Cobble Hill Towers. Frank Farella sees the possibility of these towers in the late 1970s/early 1980s – at a time when many people had given up on these once important now decrepitating gems.

He buys the Towers then goes into business with these guys, Hudson Inc. This company also saw the potential in revitalizing the New York skyline. And bringing back housing that wasn’t filled with prostitutes or drug users, but most importantly, was affordable.

These buildings were a bit of challenge though. They had gone through several rough decades, and had multiple apartments that were uninhabitable. A big reason for these destroyed apartments was the buildings original layout – it had been designed with open stair layout. This, back in the 1800s, was to prevent fires. In a crowed tenant with only one staircase – fire was a regular visitor and it quickly meant death.

But these apartments were costly “fixer-uppers”.

12scapes-600

But with the combination of a major NYC real estate group and a developer who saw both the potential and historical significance – the Cobble Hill Towers were born again.

The Towers are interesting not only for their long history and importance; but they were also one of the beginning projects for the Hudson group.  Hudson has had a significant impact not only on the Manhattan skyline, but has rapidly been increasing the Brooklyn one as well.

Bringing housing that is affordable, but also has proper living conditions is like giving a neighborhood a ridiculously good makeover – maybe one like Beyoncé would get on her day off.

This is what changes neighborhoods. This is how it begins. So I’m glad we got started. Let’s see what’s next.

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I’m thinking something about food. Anyone interested in a specialty? I’m kind of in the mood for some jalapeño maple corn bread… 

Staples in the Neighborhood

A bird chirped in Brooklyn! Yesterday morning I woke up to a bright window and the normal BQE (Brooklyn-Queens Expressway) noises and then realized some of the sounds I heard had been a bird. I listened further and sounds of tiny little baby birds! Polar vortex surviving baby birds!

Groundhogs can say what they want about the spring coming, but PVS baby birds sing the rest.

So like I said, I had a whole post planned that just didn’t work out. It should be noted that at some point Port Authority history is coming your way. Now that might not sound particularly interesting – I realize its heavily large ship related; but some gangster stuff, some old school political machine stuff (think Tammany Hall) and some other stuff-stuff might be included. These are all just thoughts until the weather allows me to wander around without fear of slipping on cobbled streets.

So I scrambled for something new to say, did some errands and looked around. I had a photographer friend once tell me, look for the shapes that will form the picture. I figured this post could be similar, let me see the shapes in my writing.

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I live near a number of pretty impressive buildings, one of which are The Cobble Hill Towers. Originally built by Alfred Tredway White, who was a developer and architect that created a number of housing buildings (not projects) for city dwellers in the latter part of the 19th century. These buildings were intended to house workers who were in the shipyard, building unions or a variety of other menial jobs in the metro area.

You have to remember the other choices at this time included Lower East Side (LES, going forward) tenements. It doesn’t really seem like a tough choice when these buildings in Brooklyn included backyards and other open air spaces not as easily found in Manhattan during the 1800s.

These buildings were both an architectural statement and a statement that New York City stood for all of its inhabitants; and that they all deserved a decent place to live and play. It was a game changer for both new immigrants, but also those who had faced the dreary life of the LES. These Towers wanted to show there was a place where the American Dream was possible to all those who wanted to reach for it.

These Towers gave their inhabitants hope, and created a neighborhood along with it. Children were able to play in their inner courtyards, a novel feature in the late 1800s for NYC’s poor citizen; and all tenants could lend a hand. There was also protection for the outside dangers and exposure to violence, drugs or other street professions.

Things change.

The 1970s affected Brooklyn the same as the rest of the city. Long time dwellers of the Towers were secured in their rent-controlled apartments (meaning what they paid for rent did not match the inflation value of their apartment), coupled with the rising cost to heat the buildings because of the gas/oil crisis made it difficult to financially cover the routine maintenance. Apartments were empty, residents were cold, there was no money. Squalor had returned to #cobbled Brooklyn.

But where there is a developer with a dream, there is a possibility.

Next we’ll talk a bit more about Frank Farella, the actual architecture of the buildings and what happened to the towers. Pictures included!

Simply wandering,
bklyntenant

 

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I’m definitely looking for constructive criticism on this post – was it boring? Not informative? Too long? Too short? No direction? No theme? Weird transition? No interest in hearing what happened to these staples? No idea why they were/are important to Brooklyn? (well that one will be more clear in the next post)

This was a letter/ Sample writing post

I know we are not suppose to keep this as a diary but this seemed like my most relevant/recent writing sample:

This was an anniversary letter: 

So I was clearly terrified. But this is something that you were well aware of. After a couple years together it was mildly terrifying – because at some point you sink or swim in any relationship regardless. This just might have been the first most tangible time.

A new neighborhood. What does this mean for us? Ticking time bomb, shocking revelations or something even worse – just not clicking?

Patience. All I asked for and so much more than I got.

I knew you were going to experience a number of new things – experiences I was worried you were going to leave me trailing behind in the dust hoping to keep up. Experiences, even worse, that I might have already experienced and had no interest in “holding your hand” through or growing with you through. Experiences, I might not be interesting enough to run with you in.

Food. So much new food, and so much walking (and not driving) to said new food. So much new discovery, in all senses of the word. I wouldn’t call it a quick fix, but more of an easy transition of the direction of the relationship. The easy reliability of two people who lead half separate lives but really enjoy when the two journeys combine. Two people whom the combination is so important to. And the two people who have grown up, somewhat, together.

And all I could think was “let’s do this.” I love you.

Blah this was the end of the letter

 

Short note I left behind at the apartment as I left for work:

I realized at a certain point (pretty sure you realized a long time ago) I had to stop focusing on things that keep us apart but find all the different things that we could experience together.  Food, theatres or weird things neither of us had experiences with (glass as art and bacon duel art/food fest) to keep our lives fairly intertwined.

So lets get weird, embrace what happens and just do us.

 

Transitions take some time but a lot of new experiences are a great result of them.