Интервью о Бруклине на чистом английском
EXHIBITION OF ACHIEVEMENTS IN COMMUNAL LIFE
Kyivan by birth, the New York-based artist Volodymyr Davydenko is an authentic “Big Apple” poet. An interview with Volodymyr in New York inspired the “Cities and Places” column. Today we publish a new conversation about Brooklyn, one of New York’s boroughs.
What brought you here?
“I settled in Brooklyn in 1991 after a few months of wandering around the East Coast; then I spent six months in the Bronx, but I came back.”
What was your first impression?
“The first time I found myself in Brooklyn was my third day in New York (I stayed in Queens). I was brought to Brighton Beach. I remember my first impressions: smell - ocean, color - brown, taste - hangover, sound - elevated railroad clatter. After staying by myself for several hours I went to the Aquarium. It was a good idea, as I could lean my burning forehead against a cold window, from behind which unusual fish were watching me.”
Which neighborhood do you live in?
“I changed districts in Brooklyn four times. Finally, I ended up in Sheepshead Bay, which I am simply unable to leave: it is an absolutely unique space, with the ocean and countless floating objects (boats, birds, sea residents, including prehistoric king crab), reclining street crossings and typical picturesque landscapes.”
By the way, what is Brooklyn actually: a city, one of the New York boroughs or something else?
“Brooklyn is a city, comprising six towns of different size. Before the Grand Consolidation of 1898, Brooklyn was the third biggest city in the USA. Having become a city-district (‘borough’ as the locals call it), Brooklyn is the most populous borough in the Big Apple. Brooklyn yields only to Queens in area, its neighbor on Long Island.”
What are the main sights in the borough? What can you say about the landscape?
“The main sight is the ocean. Moreover, many reserve areas remain intact, practically unimpaired by developers since the 19th century. In regards to the landscape, half of Brooklyn (the one which is closer to Manhattan) is hilly and elevated, while the other is flat. The ocean creates many special perspectives. Actually, the presence of the ocean gives Brooklyn a romantic atmosphere and a peculiar palette. But that is mainly in places where you can see it. Where you cannot, however, there is still a special effect on the climate.”
Let us talk about these places. Which of them do you prefer?
“My favorite route is a cycling road which crosses the whole of Brooklyn, from my home in Sheepshead Bay to the studio in Red Hook. I pass by the old (pre-Hollywood) film studio ‘Vitagraph’ with its obelisk-stack, which is going to ruins in the middle of Midwood. Then come several Victorian blocks, some of which are comparable to the mansions of the New Orlean’s American district. Then, in order to cut the rise, I cross Prospect Park, pass by two waterfalls, an old Quaker cemetery, an Audubon pavilion on the duckweed-filled pond with the egrets, and the Drummers’ Glade, which emanates the beat of various ethnic percussions. After that a short rest in a little round square on the hill-top, surrounded by chestnut trees. Then, going down, hardly touching the pedals, I pass the Civil War-era fortresses, and ancient houses with gardens reaching for the industrial reserve of Gowanus. Later I pass by a drawbridge over the Gowan Indian river, under the ugly 100-year old Calvary railroad and the green speedway (which reminds one of an old futuristic film), through cobbled streets, by a giant abandoned elevator. I go past picturesque warehouses and factories of the 19th century, to the old trams on the Upper Bay bank. There a cup of coffee and a sunset to music in my headphones. Or without headphones, but to the buoys’ chiming: ‘dzen-dzen.’ The Statue of Liberty stretches behind the bay, the Manhattan towers, New Jersey Port, Staten Island mountain, and the roadsters slowly light up.”
But even the brightest impressions end up by fading. What do you continue to like about Brooklyn?
“I like everything abovementioned and the nearness to New York.”
Speaking of which… What impressions?
“Manhattan City Borough differs from Brooklyn in its wealth and global significance.”
How do the people treat such a brazen neighbor?
“Some are terrified, some are thrilled. Many people work there.”
Apparently, there is a feeling of isolation from the rest of New York...
“Yes, in some districts there is even a feeling of being in another country: Brooklyn Chinatown, Russian-speaking Brighton Beach, Creole-Caribbean East Flatbush, Hasidic Borough Park...”
The land first belonged to the Indians. Then came the Dutch, though only the names remain. Finally, the Anglo-Saxons triumphed.
“Many other groups have also made their marks: Italian, Latin American, African, Chinese, Indian, Jewish, Arab, Slavic, Caribbean-Bahamian and Turkish. The local American Indian culture is buried under Anglo names.”
Are there any places in Brooklyn isolated from the rest of Brooklyn?
“There are neglected settlements, like Gerritsen Beach, or the gated communities, like Sea Gate, which are not really part of the city.”
Coming back to an earlier question: does anybody regret losing independence in 1898?
“Old residents and romantics lament over the independence loss, but the majority, to my mind, coexists quite comfortably in a conglomerate.”
But do all the Brooklynites identify themselves as New Yorkers?
“It is quite common for the cosmopolitan youth and enlightened Brooklynites.”
How is Brooklynite pride, if one can speak of such a thing, expressed?
“Brooklynites sometimes remind me of Soviet-time Kyivans, who comfortably accepted that they were not the first capital, so long as they were not the last one.”
How about the more individual level. Which native Brooklynites are the most respected?
“George Gershwin, of course, also Aaron Copland, Joseph Heller, Barbra Streisand, Lou Reed, and the whole myriad of Jewish comedians: Woody Allen, Mel Brooks, Larry David, Jerry Seinfield, Jackie Gleason. Some respect Michael Jordan, Tupac Shakur and Eddie Murphy; others - Al Capone or Churchill’s mother Jennie Jerome (I live in the street named after Jerome, Churchill’s grandfather).”
What is Brooklyn’s main achievement?
“The ‘Melting Pot,’ the absence of the national and religious domination, which cultivates internationalism according to the combined humane needs, not just as propaganda. The absence of dogmas calling for aggression, broadcasted from the bell towers and minarets by the envious.”
What are the most durable and popular myths about Brooklyn?
“The main myth is Brooklyn’s provincialism, which comes from its ethnic cells that contain sticky traditions’ patina, which hardly disenthralls.”
Even so, Brooklyn is clearly a city of newcomers.
“It is the world’s capital of immigration.”
It appears that something like a typical Brooklynite does not exist?
“It is a difficult question. It is necessary to take into account the varied ethnic composition of the Brooklynites, the third of which is African American, a bit more - white (mostly Italian, then Slavic and Irish), the fifth part is Latin American. All these ethnicities generate different behavior models. But, certainly, there are interracial types. For example, a chewing object in baggy pants, in a peaked back cap, whose headphones you can hear through the crashing subway (baggy pants also require a special way of movement - a walk called ‘flexible dude’). There is an interracial type ‘smooth guy’ with a thick chain on a neck, in a Versace jacket or Armani suit, hand in a pocket and a ‘No savvy?’ look on the face; there are also the unpretentious gray mice, a book under the arm, an insinuating smile and the ability to snatch out extra tickets at theaters with a lightning speed; there are hipsters, proletarians, fops and other urban characters of both globalistic and bright ethnic sense.”
Is there any specific Brooklyn self-consciousness?
“Some Brooklynites do not even realize they live on the island. Brooklyn is a city of villages/towns/stops. Although many inhabitants consider Brooklyn a bedroom district, they do not divide the space by mental borders. There are quite a lot of those, who go beyond the borders only for special occasions, or define Brooklyn with understandable standards like ‘work-home’, ‘doctor-grocery-store-home’ or ‘Once-upon-a-time-I-went-to-Williamsburg.’”
Each megalopolis has its own subculture. Can we talk about a specific Brooklyn culture?
“Modern Brooklyn subculture produces many interesting phenomena in music (TV on the Radio, MGMT, Vampire Weekend, Animal Collective, Dirty Projectors, Au Revoir Simone) and street art (Swoon, Elbow-Toe). These are only a few examples which have interested me. How specific they are to Brooklyn is difficult to judge, but they are absolutely at home here.”
Is Brooklyn revolutionary, cosmopolitan, or conservative?
“It would be the most accurate to describe it with all these epithets together.”
If you had a chance to change something here, what would it be?
“I would not change anything. I would keep lots of stuff.”
Are there places in the world, similar to Brooklyn?
“Many American cities look similar, it has something of Europe, too. Some places in Brooklyn clearly remind me of Kyiv. But the Brooklyn spirit of Purgatory-distributor-between-globalism-and-national-identity-traditions differs in its peculiar dramatic character.”
Which season is the best here?
“Fall. It gives the city a special picturesqueness. However, Brooklyn is amazing in spring too - blossoming and fragrant.”
Do you have any stories that are typically Brooklynite?
“Accepting my lack of talent in creating stereotypes, I will nevertheless try to describe Brooklyn with the help of one of my bike trips. By the way, Joseph Heller (well-known prose writer, the author of the cult novel “Catch-22.” - Author) while working as a delivery man for Western Union, explored Brooklyn by bicycle trips…
“I wanted to cross Brooklyn’s longest street Bedford Avenue for a long time. My friend Anton Trofymov (also Kyivan), photographer, was my fellow traveler. Bedford Avenue stretches from Sheepshead Bay to East River strait. The journey is facilitated by the bike path, which, actually, ends halfway - in the Grant square. First we were riding along the well-groomed suburb, inhabited mostly with Italian and Russian-speaking Brooklynites (with a fair amount of Asian house owners - from Turks to Koreans). Having reached Kings Highway, inhabited by the Unorthodox Jews, we turned to the old Dutch Flatlands cemetery. The Dutch cemetery is surrounded by an African American community now. It was Sunday and the community indulged in weekly rituals - religious calls and psalms could be heard from many churches and tabernacles. We ate a Haiti patty each, compared to which Kyiv ‘pukes’ are masterpieces of dietary food, and continued our way. The well-dressed African American families started coming out of the houses of worship - a truly baroque sight. In this surrounding we reached another Dutch cemetery in the ancient to Flatbush, former capital of the Royal district, which, actually, encompassed the entire Brooklyn. Here we were caught by pouring rain. We found a doubtful shelter under a weeping willow among the Dutch graves. The road was seemed to become increasingly perilous. But unquenchable thirst for adventures won. I bought a rain coat in a clothing shop across the street from an ancient church, and, dressed according to Flatbush fashion, was ready to continue the trip. We passed by centennial tenements with proud English names (‘Cambridge,’ ‘Windsor,’ ‘Winthrop’ and so on) mixed together with Jewish ones (Sarah’s Yard), an imposing fortress of the National Guard Arsenal on Crow Hill, the notorious Bedford Corners intersection - legendary breeding-ground of African American criminality, and soon reached the kingdom of the Orthodox Jews. There we felt not only like foreigners, but also time travelers. That is how we reached Williamsburg. A strange hut across the street from a Talmud-Academy attracted our attention. The hovel miraculously did not fall apart before our arrival. Wondering if we would witness its collapse, we looked inside. The hut turned out to be an ethnic ‘manger.’ ‘What would you like?’ a Bokharan Jew behind the counter asked us practically in Russian. We made an order, the Bokharan gave the order to his Latin American assistants, and we were handed kosher food, about the quality of which I will keep silent. While eating, surrounded by the red-haired kids and silent men in black wide-brimmed hats, the hut did not collapse. Large families were walking along the street; the kids were carrying red balloons for some reason. Having refreshed ‘kosherly,’ we went on. Orthodox Williamsburg gave way to Polish Greenpoint. Shirtless Polish men were smoking in the windows. Soon the old urban townhouses made way to industrial scenery. The streets were filled with youth of bohemian appearance. In the openings between the houses the Manhattan towers loomed high. Here the Bedford Avenue meets Metropolitan Avenue - our trip reached its goal. We rode to East River, stared at the towers and went back. Honestly, I still digest the impressions of that trip, not to speak of the hundreds of non-processed photos.”
Based on everything that you described so breathtakingly, who or what would you compare Brooklyn with?
“Brooklyn is the world’s exhibition of achievements in communal life.”
By Dmytro Desiateryk
A VIEW OF BROOKLYN
STREET ARTISTS, INEVITABLE DISASTER AND HER ASSISTANT, IN THE PROCESS OF WORKING
AN ESTATE IN MIDWOOD BUILT IN TIMES OF PRE-HOLLYWOOD FILM INDUSTRY
photos by Volodymyr DAVYDENKO
Kyivan by birth, the New York-based artist Volodymyr Davydenko is an authentic “Big Apple” poet. An interview with Volodymyr in New York inspired the “Cities and Places” column. Today we publish a new conversation about Brooklyn, one of New York’s boroughs.
What brought you here?
“I settled in Brooklyn in 1991 after a few months of wandering around the East Coast; then I spent six months in the Bronx, but I came back.”
What was your first impression?
“The first time I found myself in Brooklyn was my third day in New York (I stayed in Queens). I was brought to Brighton Beach. I remember my first impressions: smell - ocean, color - brown, taste - hangover, sound - elevated railroad clatter. After staying by myself for several hours I went to the Aquarium. It was a good idea, as I could lean my burning forehead against a cold window, from behind which unusual fish were watching me.”
Which neighborhood do you live in?
“I changed districts in Brooklyn four times. Finally, I ended up in Sheepshead Bay, which I am simply unable to leave: it is an absolutely unique space, with the ocean and countless floating objects (boats, birds, sea residents, including prehistoric king crab), reclining street crossings and typical picturesque landscapes.”
By the way, what is Brooklyn actually: a city, one of the New York boroughs or something else?
“Brooklyn is a city, comprising six towns of different size. Before the Grand Consolidation of 1898, Brooklyn was the third biggest city in the USA. Having become a city-district (‘borough’ as the locals call it), Brooklyn is the most populous borough in the Big Apple. Brooklyn yields only to Queens in area, its neighbor on Long Island.”
What are the main sights in the borough? What can you say about the landscape?
“The main sight is the ocean. Moreover, many reserve areas remain intact, practically unimpaired by developers since the 19th century. In regards to the landscape, half of Brooklyn (the one which is closer to Manhattan) is hilly and elevated, while the other is flat. The ocean creates many special perspectives. Actually, the presence of the ocean gives Brooklyn a romantic atmosphere and a peculiar palette. But that is mainly in places where you can see it. Where you cannot, however, there is still a special effect on the climate.”
Let us talk about these places. Which of them do you prefer?
“My favorite route is a cycling road which crosses the whole of Brooklyn, from my home in Sheepshead Bay to the studio in Red Hook. I pass by the old (pre-Hollywood) film studio ‘Vitagraph’ with its obelisk-stack, which is going to ruins in the middle of Midwood. Then come several Victorian blocks, some of which are comparable to the mansions of the New Orlean’s American district. Then, in order to cut the rise, I cross Prospect Park, pass by two waterfalls, an old Quaker cemetery, an Audubon pavilion on the duckweed-filled pond with the egrets, and the Drummers’ Glade, which emanates the beat of various ethnic percussions. After that a short rest in a little round square on the hill-top, surrounded by chestnut trees. Then, going down, hardly touching the pedals, I pass the Civil War-era fortresses, and ancient houses with gardens reaching for the industrial reserve of Gowanus. Later I pass by a drawbridge over the Gowan Indian river, under the ugly 100-year old Calvary railroad and the green speedway (which reminds one of an old futuristic film), through cobbled streets, by a giant abandoned elevator. I go past picturesque warehouses and factories of the 19th century, to the old trams on the Upper Bay bank. There a cup of coffee and a sunset to music in my headphones. Or without headphones, but to the buoys’ chiming: ‘dzen-dzen.’ The Statue of Liberty stretches behind the bay, the Manhattan towers, New Jersey Port, Staten Island mountain, and the roadsters slowly light up.”
But even the brightest impressions end up by fading. What do you continue to like about Brooklyn?
“I like everything abovementioned and the nearness to New York.”
Speaking of which… What impressions?
“Manhattan City Borough differs from Brooklyn in its wealth and global significance.”
How do the people treat such a brazen neighbor?
“Some are terrified, some are thrilled. Many people work there.”
Apparently, there is a feeling of isolation from the rest of New York...
“Yes, in some districts there is even a feeling of being in another country: Brooklyn Chinatown, Russian-speaking Brighton Beach, Creole-Caribbean East Flatbush, Hasidic Borough Park...”
The land first belonged to the Indians. Then came the Dutch, though only the names remain. Finally, the Anglo-Saxons triumphed.
“Many other groups have also made their marks: Italian, Latin American, African, Chinese, Indian, Jewish, Arab, Slavic, Caribbean-Bahamian and Turkish. The local American Indian culture is buried under Anglo names.”
Are there any places in Brooklyn isolated from the rest of Brooklyn?
“There are neglected settlements, like Gerritsen Beach, or the gated communities, like Sea Gate, which are not really part of the city.”
Coming back to an earlier question: does anybody regret losing independence in 1898?
“Old residents and romantics lament over the independence loss, but the majority, to my mind, coexists quite comfortably in a conglomerate.”
But do all the Brooklynites identify themselves as New Yorkers?
“It is quite common for the cosmopolitan youth and enlightened Brooklynites.”
How is Brooklynite pride, if one can speak of such a thing, expressed?
“Brooklynites sometimes remind me of Soviet-time Kyivans, who comfortably accepted that they were not the first capital, so long as they were not the last one.”
How about the more individual level. Which native Brooklynites are the most respected?
“George Gershwin, of course, also Aaron Copland, Joseph Heller, Barbra Streisand, Lou Reed, and the whole myriad of Jewish comedians: Woody Allen, Mel Brooks, Larry David, Jerry Seinfield, Jackie Gleason. Some respect Michael Jordan, Tupac Shakur and Eddie Murphy; others - Al Capone or Churchill’s mother Jennie Jerome (I live in the street named after Jerome, Churchill’s grandfather).”
What is Brooklyn’s main achievement?
“The ‘Melting Pot,’ the absence of the national and religious domination, which cultivates internationalism according to the combined humane needs, not just as propaganda. The absence of dogmas calling for aggression, broadcasted from the bell towers and minarets by the envious.”
What are the most durable and popular myths about Brooklyn?
“The main myth is Brooklyn’s provincialism, which comes from its ethnic cells that contain sticky traditions’ patina, which hardly disenthralls.”
Even so, Brooklyn is clearly a city of newcomers.
“It is the world’s capital of immigration.”
It appears that something like a typical Brooklynite does not exist?
“It is a difficult question. It is necessary to take into account the varied ethnic composition of the Brooklynites, the third of which is African American, a bit more - white (mostly Italian, then Slavic and Irish), the fifth part is Latin American. All these ethnicities generate different behavior models. But, certainly, there are interracial types. For example, a chewing object in baggy pants, in a peaked back cap, whose headphones you can hear through the crashing subway (baggy pants also require a special way of movement - a walk called ‘flexible dude’). There is an interracial type ‘smooth guy’ with a thick chain on a neck, in a Versace jacket or Armani suit, hand in a pocket and a ‘No savvy?’ look on the face; there are also the unpretentious gray mice, a book under the arm, an insinuating smile and the ability to snatch out extra tickets at theaters with a lightning speed; there are hipsters, proletarians, fops and other urban characters of both globalistic and bright ethnic sense.”
Is there any specific Brooklyn self-consciousness?
“Some Brooklynites do not even realize they live on the island. Brooklyn is a city of villages/towns/stops. Although many inhabitants consider Brooklyn a bedroom district, they do not divide the space by mental borders. There are quite a lot of those, who go beyond the borders only for special occasions, or define Brooklyn with understandable standards like ‘work-home’, ‘doctor-grocery-store-home’ or ‘Once-upon-a-time-I-went-to-Williamsburg.’”
Each megalopolis has its own subculture. Can we talk about a specific Brooklyn culture?
“Modern Brooklyn subculture produces many interesting phenomena in music (TV on the Radio, MGMT, Vampire Weekend, Animal Collective, Dirty Projectors, Au Revoir Simone) and street art (Swoon, Elbow-Toe). These are only a few examples which have interested me. How specific they are to Brooklyn is difficult to judge, but they are absolutely at home here.”
Is Brooklyn revolutionary, cosmopolitan, or conservative?
“It would be the most accurate to describe it with all these epithets together.”
If you had a chance to change something here, what would it be?
“I would not change anything. I would keep lots of stuff.”
Are there places in the world, similar to Brooklyn?
“Many American cities look similar, it has something of Europe, too. Some places in Brooklyn clearly remind me of Kyiv. But the Brooklyn spirit of Purgatory-distributor-between-globalism-and-national-identity-traditions differs in its peculiar dramatic character.”
Which season is the best here?
“Fall. It gives the city a special picturesqueness. However, Brooklyn is amazing in spring too - blossoming and fragrant.”
Do you have any stories that are typically Brooklynite?
“Accepting my lack of talent in creating stereotypes, I will nevertheless try to describe Brooklyn with the help of one of my bike trips. By the way, Joseph Heller (well-known prose writer, the author of the cult novel “Catch-22.” - Author) while working as a delivery man for Western Union, explored Brooklyn by bicycle trips…
“I wanted to cross Brooklyn’s longest street Bedford Avenue for a long time. My friend Anton Trofymov (also Kyivan), photographer, was my fellow traveler. Bedford Avenue stretches from Sheepshead Bay to East River strait. The journey is facilitated by the bike path, which, actually, ends halfway - in the Grant square. First we were riding along the well-groomed suburb, inhabited mostly with Italian and Russian-speaking Brooklynites (with a fair amount of Asian house owners - from Turks to Koreans). Having reached Kings Highway, inhabited by the Unorthodox Jews, we turned to the old Dutch Flatlands cemetery. The Dutch cemetery is surrounded by an African American community now. It was Sunday and the community indulged in weekly rituals - religious calls and psalms could be heard from many churches and tabernacles. We ate a Haiti patty each, compared to which Kyiv ‘pukes’ are masterpieces of dietary food, and continued our way. The well-dressed African American families started coming out of the houses of worship - a truly baroque sight. In this surrounding we reached another Dutch cemetery in the ancient to Flatbush, former capital of the Royal district, which, actually, encompassed the entire Brooklyn. Here we were caught by pouring rain. We found a doubtful shelter under a weeping willow among the Dutch graves. The road was seemed to become increasingly perilous. But unquenchable thirst for adventures won. I bought a rain coat in a clothing shop across the street from an ancient church, and, dressed according to Flatbush fashion, was ready to continue the trip. We passed by centennial tenements with proud English names (‘Cambridge,’ ‘Windsor,’ ‘Winthrop’ and so on) mixed together with Jewish ones (Sarah’s Yard), an imposing fortress of the National Guard Arsenal on Crow Hill, the notorious Bedford Corners intersection - legendary breeding-ground of African American criminality, and soon reached the kingdom of the Orthodox Jews. There we felt not only like foreigners, but also time travelers. That is how we reached Williamsburg. A strange hut across the street from a Talmud-Academy attracted our attention. The hovel miraculously did not fall apart before our arrival. Wondering if we would witness its collapse, we looked inside. The hut turned out to be an ethnic ‘manger.’ ‘What would you like?’ a Bokharan Jew behind the counter asked us practically in Russian. We made an order, the Bokharan gave the order to his Latin American assistants, and we were handed kosher food, about the quality of which I will keep silent. While eating, surrounded by the red-haired kids and silent men in black wide-brimmed hats, the hut did not collapse. Large families were walking along the street; the kids were carrying red balloons for some reason. Having refreshed ‘kosherly,’ we went on. Orthodox Williamsburg gave way to Polish Greenpoint. Shirtless Polish men were smoking in the windows. Soon the old urban townhouses made way to industrial scenery. The streets were filled with youth of bohemian appearance. In the openings between the houses the Manhattan towers loomed high. Here the Bedford Avenue meets Metropolitan Avenue - our trip reached its goal. We rode to East River, stared at the towers and went back. Honestly, I still digest the impressions of that trip, not to speak of the hundreds of non-processed photos.”
Based on everything that you described so breathtakingly, who or what would you compare Brooklyn with?
“Brooklyn is the world’s exhibition of achievements in communal life.”
By Dmytro Desiateryk
A VIEW OF BROOKLYN
STREET ARTISTS, INEVITABLE DISASTER AND HER ASSISTANT, IN THE PROCESS OF WORKING
AN ESTATE IN MIDWOOD BUILT IN TIMES OF PRE-HOLLYWOOD FILM INDUSTRY
photos by Volodymyr DAVYDENKO