Bushwick, Brooklyn
My first experience on this side of Bushwick (which was referred to as the ‘dark side’; a problematic nickname nonetheless and a conversation for another day) was in 2003 when my uncle moved to the Decatur & Knickerbocker (Wilson stop on the L train). I was 17 but because of how desolate the station would get at night, I wasn’t allowed to walk around alone and needed to have someone meet me at the station to walk over to the apartment.
When I think about it now, it’s weird but that feeling of being unsafe was real. I didn’t want to walk alone even if I had a choice. It’s wild at how much the neighborhood has changed in just a few short years.
In 2005, another family member decided to leave her 2 bedroom apartment on Lorimer & Metropolitan Ave in Williamsburg after a spike in rent and relocated around the corner from my uncle. I spent most of my time at 1312 Decatur living with them on and off until around 2014. Another rent increase would cause my family to leave it behind. Currently the entire building sits empty. A shell of a building that holds so many good and bad times, important family moments echoing through the halls. Sunday dinner parties and Friday disco nights that consisted of wine, Uno and Donna Summer and Barbara Streisand’s “no more tears” at full volume. We were so happy with what we had just being together.
It hurt whenever I drove passed this block. I felt like my world kept changing around me to make way for out of towners. Our corner store turned fancy looking liquor store was dead proof of who’s replacing us.
As I considered producing a pop up, I thought first about activism. Thought about having it somewhere that was accessible but mainly that would reach folks that may not skate right now. Luck would have it that my first choice Maria Hernandez park (as suggested by my partner Suce) wasn’t possible. That place stayed packed! Plus the court wasn’t cared for, there were too many lumps, bumps and cracks for skating. I decided to keep scouting while riding my bike around. After a few more park stops, I realized how close I rode to my hold hood on cooper and knickerbocker and remembered the basketball court being pretty big. I was afraid to go back there for fear of seeing even more changes happen in the landscape but determined to find the perfect place.
I entered an empty but beautiful park full of potential. As soon as I rode inside I knew it was it. I worried though, would the neighborhood be too different. I had zero interest in producing anything that would cater to gentrifiers. So I made sure to team up with DJs and skate groups I knew represented my communities.
Still, what happened that day (at the skate event) was only of a dream. I felt like New York showed up. I still get chocked up when I think of how beautiful the crown looked, so happy to be there. For Bushwick to be there. Our Bushwick.
This event was my most expensive to produce to date. Spending over $2,2k to produce. If you know me you know how important transparency is. Def not sharing to get donations but to highlight what it may take for those interested in making something happen from scrtach. It’s not always necessary to come out of pocket though. Surely, there’s always away to get community involved but I didn’t want to chance it especially during a pandemic. And I was still pretty traumatized from doing everything myself in 2017. This event was the polar opposite in terms of how smoothly everything went. It wild how much capital it requires to do things in this capitalistic world.
This was also my best event yet.
I’m so grateful to be privileged enough to be able to support artists and other small business, local businesses at that, in a monetary way. From DJs to Food to generator, it all cost to get. The peace of mind it brought me of not having to look for things or cook anything, and especially the joy it brought every single person was worth every single dime. After such a rough year, I just really wanted to give back to my community and this was it. If it were up to me, I’d do it just the same every week! It is very difficult to explain the feeling I get when I make others happy. I guess that’s not meant to be explained. Maybe it’s just for me to feel. But I am so happy it happened and worked out the way it did.
Now when I pass by my old block I can smile extra big because we helped leave a mark from that experience. I know I won’t be the only one that will think of the crazy good vibes we created in that park summer of 2020. And I hope we can do it all again soon.
All my love, Amz
All images by Mario Ruben Carrion | @Mario_Ruben_; All rights served, Hood Relics LLC © 2020