A new New York perspective

Except for a 13-year residence in DC and Virginia, I've been a New Yorker, specifically a Brooklynite, all my life. I love Brooklyn, and I'm happy that it's been rediscovered as a desirable place to live. Judging by housing prices, the number of fans has grown considerably. By the same token, I chuckle at people who still think of Brooklyn as a hotbed of crime, decay, and crassness. I have news for them--the 1980s are over.

If you went into a corner deli on Fifth Avenue in Park Slope in the 1980s, a junkie pushing crack wouldn't even faze you. Clearly times have changed. A few weeks ago, in that same corner deli, I heard a woman ask for a case of San Pellegrino. When the clerk said he was out, she looked at him earnestly and asked, "Not even lying around in the basement?"

I try not to take my hometown for granted, but it's tough because the scenery is so familiar to me, but the flavor is so different. To remind me how awe-inspiring Gotham is, I regularly check out Joe's NYC, a photoblog of mostly New York scenes, many in Brooklyn (where Joe lives). His shots are artful, breathtaking, sometimes even miraculous. It's amazing how he captures little, candid New York moments and redefines the familiar. I'm grateful to him for sharing the view through his lens.