Full Description
Bill Helmreich walked every block of New York City--6,000 miles in all--to write the award-winning The New York Nobody Knows. Now he has re-walked Brooklyn--some 816 miles--to write this one-of-a-kind walking guide to the city's hottest borough. Drawing on hundreds of conversations he had with residents during his block-by-block journeys, The Brooklyn Nobody Knows captures the heart and soul of a diverse, booming, and constantly changing borough that defines cool around the world. The guide covers every one of Brooklyn's forty-four neighborhoods, from Greenpoint to Coney Island, providing a colorful portrait of each section's most interesting, unusual, and unknown people, places, and things. Along the way you will learn about a Greenpoint park devoted to plants and trees that produce materials used in industry; a hornsmith who practices his craft in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens; a collection of 1,140 stuffed animals hanging from a tree in Bergen Beach; a five-story Brownsville mural that depicts Zionist leader Theodor Herzl--and that was the brainchild of black teenagers; Brooklyn's most private--yet public--beach in Manhattan Beach; and much, much more.
An unforgettably vivid chronicle of today's Brooklyn, the book can also be enjoyed without ever leaving home--but it's almost guaranteed to inspire you to get out and explore one of the most fascinating urban areas anywhere. * Covers every one of Brooklyn's 44 neighborhoods, providing a colorful portrait of their most interesting, unusual, and unknown people, places, and things* Each neighborhood section features a brief overview and history; a detailed, user-friendly map keyed to the text; and a lively guided walking tour* Draws on the author's 816-mile walk through every Brooklyn neighborhood* Includes insights from conversations with hundreds of residents
Contents
Introduction ix Greenpoint 3 Williamsburg 15 DUMBO 33 Vinegar Hill 39 Brooklyn Heights 43 Cobble Hill 51 Downtown Brooklyn 57 Boerum Hill 63 Carroll Gardens 71 Red Hook 81 Gowanus 89 Park Slope 97 Windsor Terrace 107 Fort Greene 117 Clinton Hill 125 Prospect Heights 135 Bedford-Stuyvesant141 Crown Heights 151 Prospect Lefferts Gardens 161 Bushwick 171 Cypress Hills181 Brownsville187 East New York 195 Canarsie203 East Flatbush 213 Flatbush 223 Prospect Park South 231 Midwood 237 Flatlands 245 Marine Park 253 Bergen Beach 261 Mill Basin 267 Sunset Park 277 Borough Park 289 Bay Ridge 299 Dyker Heights 309 Bensonhurst 315 Bath Beach325 Gravesend 333 Sheepshead Bay 339 Gerritsen Beach 349 Manhattan Beach 357 Brighton Beach 363 Coney Island 371 Acknowledgments 381 Appendix 383 Notes 387 Bibliography 391 Index 397
