Kevin Ayala's ePortfolio

For all the time i have been in New York, I have always restricted to the Bronx, I have been in the Bronx for all of my life, as if i was trapped in a box with no opening, as if the Bronx was all i knew, it’s the one and only New York i know. But that all changed once i was accepted to New York City College of Technology, located in Brooklyn.  It all started when i took that one step out of the two train on Borough Hall in Brooklyn. When i came up from the station, i was unfamiliar with the area, but somehow, i still felt at home as if i was still in my New York, seeing all the tall buildings mashed together with busy streets and crowds of people. One of the first thing i took notice of was Columbus park behind the station i got off on. It was just a wide open space with some lavenders surrounding a fountain that seems to not have much water pressure like most fountains, as if it were just leaking from the top and overflowing towards the bottom. Also from time to time, there would be a small market taking place in the center of the park during the afternoon. But the one thing that stood out more than that was the building that also sat in the center of the whole park, the Supreme Court of New York. which would also explain why there were so many people dressed in suites in the area, most likely they were lawyers or just people who work their.

Going up from Columbus, you would get to the pier by Brooklyn Bridge, which would soon become my favorite area of Brooklyn. The Pier was the most relaxing area you could go to in Brooklyn. With the water surrounding the pier, and the view of the statue of liberty from afar and the sun gazing down during the afternoon. its a heavily populated area, full of tourists, not as bad as Time Square, but its still a pretty big number. Despite that, it would never spoil the great view the Pier has to offer. You could see another part of Brooklyn from across the bridge, going into Manhattan i can presume, but looking past the left side from the statue of liberty, it just seems to be a wide landfill that is under construction. Does this mean that they are adding on to the area, or was something being removed or replaced for something better? i guess if i asked around, people would tell me different things about whats happening, but until then, i guess i’m just gonna have to wait and see.

Going back to Columbus park, if you went down towards Fulton, there’s a huge shopping district that goes on for blocks, its bigger than most shopping districts I’ve been to. That’s another thing that I noticed differs when going from one area of Brooklyn to another, is the poverty in the area. some stores in Brooklyn are cheaper than other stores, depending where you went, if you went up towards the Brooklyn Bridge like i mentioned earlier, prepare to pay a pretty penny for most things (Especially Food), since it seems to be a popular tourist area, the prices are rather high. Throughout the streets, you will always see a food cart of some kind. Halal, Hot dogs, Smoothies, you name it, Brooklyn has them. Brooklyn also has to be one of the most cleanest parts of New York I’ve ever seen compared to the rest. Well…..at least some parts of it that is. It still has that musky air of cars mufflers and food carts, combined with some litter of trash and leaves here and there. being in the area for a little over a month now, i have grown to get used to it rather quickly, since it doesn’t feel too much different from the areas that I am used to.

But no matter where i go, each part that i visit has its own charm to it. When it comes to Brooklyn, its charm has to come from within the area and its landmarks, kind of like if Borough Hall is its own Time Square of Manhattan, only less busy and more welcoming. I always Wondered about the Borough Hall building across the street where I get off the train to get to Brooklyn. It always seemed like an old, but important building to me. Who goes in there? What is the building used for? What importance does it hold to the rest of the area? Perhaps one day ill go inside, but until then, it will always be a curiosity in my head filled with all these questions. It reminds me of Colson Whitehead’s essay, “City Limits”. He talks about that everyone has a different interpretation of New York, as if it was their own. the inspiration of his essay combined with my new curiosity of Brooklyn makes me wonder how everyone else saw Brooklyn before i arrived here.

Some buildings like the Borough Hall building and the movie theater i can safely say that they have been there for years. But what about everything else? What buildings have come and gone since then? What was the building by the station before it started become a construction for Duane reads? Whats was added? what was lost? Little things like this I begin to piece together by myself as i walk around Brooklyn, comparing buildings to buildings and the people who surround the area as well. Perhaps the change was for the better, or even for the worse. Some things ill probably never live to know about Brooklyn, but if i know one thing, it’s that  the Brooklyn i see today is the Brooklyn i will know. From the Beautiful view of the Pier by the Brooklyn Bridge, To the massive historical buildings near Borough Hall, its something that will always be apart of New York for years to come, especially through the eyes of my New York.