https://catalog.archives.gov/id/6880436

I choose this piece of work because it gives a clear plan on how the Brooklyn Navy Yard was designed. The topic of this picture is the general plan of the Navy Yard. The plan shows the Navy Yard showing roads, buildings and docks. It was created on June 30 1906. The creator of this photo is Department of the Navy. Bureau of Yards and Docks. New York (Brooklyn) Navy Yard. 1862-9/18/1947. This photo is from Series: Photographs of the Construction and Repair of Buildings, Facilities, and Vessels at the New York Navy Yard, 1903 – 1920. Record Group 181: Records of Naval Districts and Shore Establishments, 1784 – 2000. It fits in with my topic because it gives a plan of how the yard was laid out and it could be compared to a modern-day plan of the Brooklyn Navy Yard. I could try and see what buildings still exist in the Navy Yard.  The question that comes up is who created this plan and why did they choose this format. To answer this question, I would try to find a more detail plan with an explanation.

LIB2205 Blog 1

Site report 2 – Mohammad Rasouly

https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47dd-6914-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99

Image from 1929 of 82^nd street in Queens facing the elevated train station, I.R.T – B.M.T subway lines. A neighborhood that I pass by just about every other day. What I find interesting about the 1929 photo is how empty it looks. When compared to a photo of recent years you can see the amount of people and businesses that have grown in 90 years. The 1929 image was taken by the Brown Brothers and in my opinion it really has nothing special to it. What it does is it reminds me a lot of is how empty and dead Vinegar Hills was in my two visits. I think there always a fine balance between change and no change because you want to keep the identity of an area. Furthermore, based on my past research it seems some people are fearful of a drastic change in Vinegar Hill because of that reason. My advice to improve Vinegar Hill is to take and use some ideas from the 82^nd Jackson heights neighborhood to grow because even with 90 years of difference you can still identify the area, yet now the area is blossoming more than ever. Question that always arise is what exactly did 82^nd street do to improve and grow while preserving its identity? How much was invested and how would that work with Vinegar Hill.

I used the NYPL digital collection as my source since it is one of the largest digital collection on the web. I first tried to search for Farragut houses on all these digital archives which we were given to choose but none of them has any information on Farragut houses. So I did my blog search on “public housing” New York since i can related to Farragut houses and Pruitt-Igoe. I found a picture and it showed some information on why they built public housings and what it was meant for the people who were going to live there.  It basically meant to get rid of the slums from the neighborhood and give people living there to move to a better, newer, cleaner, tall buildings with facilities and recreational areas as well as wee see at Farragut Houses and also in the ” The Pruitt-Igoe Myth”. In general, it is meant for the well being of the people and the neighborhood. But it is not always a success as we saw in Pruitt-Igoe, and in Farragut houses case, i have to rate it 6 out of 10.

https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/006c96f0-45c0-0132-169d-58d385a7b928

One of the reasons I decided to take this class was because of my genuine curiosity to learn about places and the culture within them. Its one of the things that drives my passion for traveling. Within the last few weeks I’ve been able to learn more in depth about both Dumbo and Vinegar Hill, its history, the community as well as its past and present, how it all came to be. Ive  learned that Architecture definitely has a hand in how people within a community interact with each other and how it drives it. History tells us that in cases like Vinegar Hill, political decisions, zoning laws, architecture and striving for a change, are reasons enough to make or break a neighborhood. Fortunately people also have a hand in this, through art, food, and other means of leisure and self expression, they have been able to create a sense of community and belonging, giving life to some of the most forgotten neighborhoods within NYC. Dumbo was a subject, will Vinegar Hill follow through?

blog 1 understanding the city Stacey Battice