Photo by Jenna Bascom
Wow. I guess I knew it would happen eventually with all the gentrification in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. But the picture above is the sad sight that was formerly my home from 1998-2005. 140 South 4th St., Brooklyn, NY, 11211.
I feel strangely like crying for some reason. Maybe it's because it represents the last vestige of my old life in Brooklyn that I miss badly on some days. Ok, lots of days. The building was nothing special -- basically an old shell that my cheapo landlord renovated. I may have been the only tenant to occupy the second floor front space, because last time we were in New York we stopped by and it was empty then, too.
But it's special because Zadi and I renovated it by ourselves completely. 1500 sq. ft. of open space that we converted into six rooms. There's something special about building your own home with your bare hands. You leave part of yourself behind. Here's what it looked like when we finished our second round of renovations, circa 2002:
As they say, the only thing that's consistent in life is that everything changes. I'll pour one out when this building comes down. If anyone lives nearby, shoot me an email so I can stay posted on its demise...
rick rey said:
Definitely sad to see something like that demolished. You guys did an amazing job on the remodel. I would love to live in a space like that. Hopefully they will put up new housing in its place and the space will thrive again.
Zadi said:
Those were some of the best years of our lives. What a great experience to have actually built six rooms out of nothing. I can't wait to have a house - we will kick ass. :)
But it'll be sad to go back to Brooklyn and not see our old building anymore. :(
missb said:
God, that is sad. What an amazing job you did!
I worry about this town, I really do. It's so hard to live here now. I feel pretty hopeless about it. It's just not the new York I used to know and love. It's become an expensive cookie-cutter playground for the extremely-well-off. (sigh)
Clintus McGintus said:
Wow, that is sad. The closest thing to that I have is my old elementary cool got torn down. They built a new one but it's not the school I went to, thats for sure.
mike said:
This is sad. But a part of me loves to hear these stories - I have a fascination with abandoned houses and factories... there's so much tiny history thrown on the floors and left hanging on the walls...
You both did an amazing job with it! That place kicked serious ass :)
I wish for every abandoned house in Detroit, I could know the history... see pictures from when people lived there. I even want to know the stories of the homeless people who crash in the emptied out apartment complexes... I like that stuff :P
Al Martia said:
I too, feel sad when I think about NYC of yesterday. I sometimes spend hours on the web looking at images of NYC.
forgotten-ny.com is my favorite. There are many links that will keep you hooked for hours.
My wife and I miss our 1st apartment on W. 144th Street and Riverside Drive. They were the best years of our lives too.
+Al
TheFemGeek said:
Wow you guys did a great job. Now you're on the west coast with a great group of friends and I hope when I make it out there, I get the chance to meet you all. You guys are awesome.
