The Life and Death Cycle?

A Walk Around the Neighborhood
When I moved to Brooklyn in 1991 it was the peak of the homicide rate in New York City history. You can only improve from there, I guess. I never could have imagined the wave of gentrification that was to come, however. Buildings went up at record speed, empty lots were filled, new stores and restaurants opened along Court and Smith streets. Brooklyn became the hip place to be. We are now post-peak and rolling down the other side, gathering steam. Being away for the better part of a year has made the deterioration obvious. First Court St - this is the former mom and pop video rental store. Internet killed it.

Not so the Japanese restaurant - this is a victim of the economy. We had restaurant turnover during the high times, sure - but you'd never see one sit idle with a "for sale" sign on it.

Even scarier - the Chinese place couldn't survive? That shows you how tough it is - they can usually weather any storm. Then again, maybe they moved back to China.

The former used book store. Another internet victim? Most likely.

Not sure what this was - but at least it appears to be on its way to something else. Dollar store?

Wow. The paint store died? I guess nobody is moving and if they do, they learn to like the color they got.

This used to be a tea salon with free internet. I never was sure how it survived - it always appeared like everyone there was nursing a day-long cup of Earl Grey while they surfed the web. At least there is a "rented" sign but there doesn't appear to be any imminent tenant.

Over to Smith St, where the lofty arc of progress has succumbed to an even deadlier gravity. It looks harder hit than Court St. Someone scrawled a poem on the nearby door: Wind Beaten, Weather Beaten, Time Beaten Couple, See Them Smile.

The newspapers covering the windows of this place were over a year and a half old.

This place is a construction site, supposedly. We'll see. The big flower seems to imply that it may take a while.

I thought dentistry was recession proof. I guess if you don't have a job, you don't have dental insurance either.

This large restaurant moved to Manhattan almost a year ago. As if they imagined the coming storm would be more easily weathered on the big island.

In what may go down as a horrible case of bad timing, a brand new condo was being born. Hope they have a really long-term outlook.