The beautifully proportioned, sand-colored, two-story Beaux Arts building at 236 President Place in Brooklyn is not as grand as the larger structures of this style one finds in New York City. Yet its purpose was great and historic, in its own way, as those places, and its stateliness reflects that higher good. The late 19th […]
Entries Tagged as 'Brooklyn'
Preservation Triumphs of 2018
January 26th, 2019 · No Comments · Explore New York
Tags: architecture·Brooklyn·historic preservation·Hudson Valley·landmarks·manhattan
July Notes: Daylight, Towers, Prison Ships
July 17th, 2014 · 2 Comments · Beyond Gotham
For early summer, let’s skim the stones across the waters of several Mindful Walker topics. Honoring the First American Prisoners of War: The words “freedom” and “Independence Day” are inextricably linked, but how often on the Independence Day weekend did any of us think about those who gave their lives for the cause of American […]
Tags: Brooklyn·landmarks·manhattan·meditations·nature·new york
Art Deco Jazz in Brooklyn Heights
January 19th, 2014 · 19 Comments · Explore New York
Naomi Fatouros, one of three children of architect H.I. Feldman, once wrote that her father “had no pretensions about being artistic.” Still, architects and builders had high regard for Feldman for creating building plans that minimized construction costs and that provided renters and buyers with good views and high-quality apartment layouts, she said in the […]
Tags: architecture·art deco·Brooklyn·new york
Our Connection to the Prison Ship Martyrs
September 5th, 2012 · 4 Comments · Be a Mindful Activist, Explore New York
The thousands of Revolutionary War prisoners who died in horrible and inhumane conditions aboard ships moored in New York waters form one of the most neglected chapters of American history. Many New Yorkers and Americans do not know about or have forgotten these prisoners, even though a far larger number of those fighting for the […]
NYC’s Sunset Spots: Brooklyn Bridge Park
February 14th, 2012 · 2 Comments · Explore New York
In a city that is perpetually in motion, a sunset is an irresistible invitation to become still. Our days often have an agenda. Our walks are often preoccupied. But then it happens: At dusk the sun, sky, and water begin their dance of countless subtle movements. In New York’s open spaces edged by sky and […]
In Our Midst: The Prison Ship Martyrs
September 30th, 2010 · 38 Comments · Explore New York
To walk thoughtfully around the Prison Ship Martyrs Monument in Brooklyn’s Fort Greene Park is to be asked to delve into a story of unspeakable horror that took place right in New York City’s waters during the Revolutionary War. It’s a story that many of us in the 21st century do not know or one […]
New York Places of Women Trailblazers
March 22nd, 2010 · 1 Comment · Be a Mindful Activist, Explore New York
Traveling in a horse-drawn buggy in the 1880s, Alice Austen carried cameras, a tripod, huge glass plates to record images, and other camera equipment with her so that she could photograph scenes on Staten Island. Sometimes the equipment weighed as much as 50 pounds. During the following decade, Austen ventured farther into New York City […]
Tags: architecture·Brooklyn·manhattan·new york·staten island·women
Coney Island’s Off-Season Vibe
March 8th, 2009 · 3 Comments · Explore New York
Scrawled on the cornice of a dilapidated building on Coney Island’s Surf Avenue is “Shore Hotel. Nature’s Paradise By the Sea.” But paradise this isn’t. On Coney Island’s main thoroughfare, it sits in the midst of a mish-mash of garish-colored patches of buildings, “Stores for Lease” signs, boarded-up windows, and neon that heralds “Eldorado Auto […]
Tags: Brooklyn·cities·Coney Island·new york
Whose Dreams Will Revive Coney Island?
February 27th, 2009 · 81 Comments · Be a Mindful Activist, Explore New York
Say the words “Coney Island” to New Yorkers, especially of a certain age, and you may well get a dreamy kind of pause and a vivid memory: feeling the sensation of a drop on the Cyclone roller coaster, seeing the steel top on the gigantic Parachute Jump from the distance, riding the fast Steeplechase horses, […]
