Author Archives: Michelle Gross

A Look Behind The Fence: The Brooklyn Navy Yard

Posted on by

It’s an unassuming albeit daunting stretch of Fort Greene Brooklyn. But behind the walls and barbed wire, history, technology and innovation can be found. It’s called the Brooklyn Navy Yard and was once considered the world’s premiere ship building facility.

At it’s peak during World War II, the Yard encompassed a workforce of over 70,000 employees. After the city repurchased Navy Yard land in 1967, it has since reemerged and today is now home to over 275 businesses and state of the art green buildings.

A new museum, called the Brooklyn Navy Yard Center at Building 92, encompasses achival footage, oral histories, and relics from an active Navy Shipyarp. Opened on Veterans Day, BLDG 92 is allowing the public onto the ground of the shipyard for the first time in the Yards 200 year history.

Brooklyn Navy Yard Survey

Posted on by
Brooklyn Navy Yard

Photo By: Michelle Gross

The Brooklyn Navy Yard is quickly emerging as a leading place of business in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. With over 300 businesses, including a variety of industries including construction, theatrical set design, Steiner Studios and B&H Electronics, the Navy Yard is capable of handling any type of business. This Veterans Day, The Navy Yard opened their doors to the public for the first time in their 200 year history, with the opening of Building 92-A state of the art museum detailing the Past, Present and Future of “The Yard.”

With the inception of Building 92 and the emergence of The Navy Yard as a major place of business, I was interested in gauging what people know about this burgeoning area of Brooklyn, and what they think the Navy Yard can do help propel the local community surrounding it.

Photo By: Michelle Gross

My findings for this survey were varied. I reached out to a large network of people including my immediate network of colleagues and friends on Facebook. This was not received and I only received a handful of responses. My next step was to email my survey to an extended network of people. This was far more successful. I received a plethora of responses and was pleasantly surprised to find that many people who had limited knowledge of The Navy Yard were interested in learning more about it.

I also reached out to a broader community. I posted my survey on Thebrownstoner.com, a hyper localized website that cover issues and areas in and around Brooklyn. I was pleasantly surprised by the enthusiasm of which my survey was received. Since many people who subscribe to this website are in some way affected by the Navy Yard, people were quick to post their comments.

The question I was most interested in hearing about was “How do you think The Brooklyn Navy Yard could help boost business in the local community? Please be as specific as possible.” Most people provided valuable suggestions to this question.

To view the survey click here or see link below.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?hl=en_US&formkey=dHBHcVBvWnNDZGNha0sxbm94S3lHeXc6MQ#gid=0

 

 

 

Lights, Camera, Auction!

Posted on by

By: Michelle Gross

If the world of sustainable upcycling were compared to big budget movie hits, Film Biz Prop Shop is this year’s up and coming rag tag indie. Founded by Eva Radke, 40, the self-proclaimed “Queen of Reuse,” in 2008, Film Biz­­­, a not-for profit operating out of an 11,000 square foot warehouse in Gowanus, Brooklyn, maintains a ‘take no prisoners attitude’ on their mission to repurpose materials destined for the dumpster, and turn them into usable everyday items.

“I saw that there was an egregious, ugly underbelly to the industry that I love most which was an enormous amount of waste, so I took it upon myself to make that change,” Radke said.

Film Biz hosted Lights, Camera, Auction, last Thursday, an event run by a compendium of volunteers and apprentices, in an effort to raise what Radke described as a “winters nest egg.” Auctioneer Al Baker of County Style Auctions, hosted the evenings festivities, as items ranging in prices from a $20 Native American bust to a $400 original chalk-board went up for grabs. “It’s not garbage its opportunity,” Radke said. “We live in Brooklyn, one of the most progressive places in the world, and people see the importance of sustainable use in these materials.”

A former art department coordinator, and eternal lover of all things film, Radke grew up on the sets and soundstages of movies since the age of 19. Now, 20 years later, after years of watching beautiful props and production items tossed carelessly into dumpster after dumpster, Radke took matters into her own hands.

“What started out as a listserv of only 30 close friends in the art department in 2007, now has almost 1000 people. It helps people get jobs, it diverts a ton of waste, and what were realizing is that reuse, saves people money,” Radke said.

The Auction, which grossed over $6,800 in profit, will donate 60% of the money to various charities throughout Brooklyn, including a women’s shelter in Park Slope, Blissful Bedrooms- a volunteer based not for profit supporting children with disabilities, the Sean Casey Animal Rescue Shelter and a Senior Center in Fort Greene, Brooklyn.

“A lot of these materials can change lives. Gym equipment that we donated would have been just put inside a dumpster, is now fortifying the muscles and bones of our seniors,” Radke said.

Breaking Stereotypes

Posted on by

By: Michelle Gross

I met 27-year-old Nailah Limus, outside of the Masjid Abdul Muhsi Khalifah in Bed Stuy, Brooklyn. The mosque is a historic religious and cultural institution, founded by Malcolm X in 1959. As the call to prayer was sounding outside of the Mosque, congregants came together to pray.

A Brooklyn native, and a single mother, Limus it at the start of a blossoming new fashion career, with her line, Amira Creations, making its debut during the New York 2011 Fashion Week.

Sisters and congregants of the Masjid Khalifa in Bed Stuy Brooklyn

Now with her fashion line up and off the ground, Limus is continuing to build her brand. The line, a combination of her love of vintage and “the whimsical power of femininity,” is a testament to herself both as a designer and as a practicing Muslim. In addition to selling her clothing, Limus is also on a mission to break the stereotypes associated with contemporary practicing Muslims, especially in the way they express themselves through fashion.

In this interview, Limus shares her thoughts on breaking down the stereotypes attached to Muslims, especially pertaining to the cultural differences and expectations of how women of the Muslim faith are expected to dress.

Breaking Stereotypes by ShellyBee

Dekalb Market Promoting Local Job Growth

Posted on by

Created with flickr slideshow.
The Dekalb Market on Flatbush Avenue and Willoughby Street is anything but average. With the installment of 20 shipping containers last July, the once vacant lot has since transformed into a fully functioning place of business. Attracting local artists and entrepreneurs from the Brooklyn community and beyond, this Saturday, the Market hit a milestone with the addition of 20 new vendors.

But Eldon Scott, owner of Urban Spaces—a company dedicated to the economic renewal of under utilized space for retail, and community uses—likes to think of it more as an urban shopping destination, where community, sustainability and affordability collide.

“Brooklyn is full of creative people. And creating a place where people can meet and intercept is fantastic. You never know what to expect,” Scott said.

International collector and California native Sana Keefer, 30, was particularly interested in the use of containers for her first pop-up shop location. “I had read about the (Dekalb) Market online and thought this would be the perfect fit for me,” Keefer said. Inspired by the book and movie Great Expectations, Keefer’s company, Pip & Estella, sells eclectic vintage décor for the home, ranging in price from $6 antique scissors to a $400 street lamp from Boston.

Another Dekalb Market debut, the Dumpster Project, is a hodgepodge collection of trinkets and objects inside a standard size dumpster. Creator and collector, Mac Premo, 38, couldn’t tell you how it got started, but said that this was his way of telling a story that everyone could interact with. “We all have a way of defining ourselves. The way I do that is by keeping mementos,” Premo said. Equipped with a mobile site, dumpster divers are able to locate each of the 400 catalogued items within, including fallen teeth and a red skiing patch Premo saved from when he was three-years-old.

What really sets this market apart, is it’s commitment to the economic and environmental sustainability within the local community. “Everyone’s interested and excited,” Scott said. “The community has been very supportive.

Tyagi Schwartz, owner of Dog Tag Designs, a company that takes repurposed items and turns them into furniture and vintage jewelry, started as a weekend vendor who is now a permanent staple in the Dekalb Market. “This is a great Market for Brooklyn and there’s a lot of growth here,” Schwartz said. “We’re just excited about the whole thing.

For more information, or for a complete list of vendors, food and artists, visit www.dekalbmarket.com

Created with flickr slideshow.

Survey Says: Success!

Posted on by

By: Michelle Gross

Following the response from my previous post, or lack of response thereof, I was pleasantly surprised by the reaction I got from my survey. I feel people were open to answering the questions I posed in this format because of its fun and engaging demeanor. I also got some very positive feedback which I am now congregating to formulate for my next story pitch. I wanted to keep the questions as open as possible. I was very interested to see what preexisting information people actually know about the Brooklyn Navy Yard and likewise what they are curious to know about. I was not surprised to find out that many people don’t know a lot of about the Navy Yard, however I was surprised to learn that people seemed genuinely interested to learn more. I was also surprised to see the comments in reaction to this question:

“How do you think the Brooklyn Navy Yard can better integrate themselves into the local community?”

People had some fascinating ideas, and I will definitely be delving deeper into when I begin pooling the information together for my story.

I was also more strategic in how I advertised this survey. I realized following my last post, that putting a link onto your Facebook wall or even a random tweet isn’t enough. While I did received a couple comments in those forums, it wasn’t enough. So I went straight to the source. Directly from the survey document I linked to all of my social media platforms including: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and even yahoo (which I now have an account for). After that, I emailed people directly from my gmail. This was the money-maker. I was able directly send the survey to over 50 friends, family and even a couple colleagues who work in the Navy Yard. I noticed that the response I received was more immediate. Friends were also a little confused as to why I was surveying the, (this was a first for me) but understood when I explained its purpose.

You can view my Brooklyn Navy Yard survey here or see below.

Brooklyn Navy Yard Survey

 

This survey is to gauge what the general population knows about the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Where it is, what it does, and how it functions. Your comments are greatly appreciated!

Not Interested Whatsoever Extremely interested

  •  

 

Social Media Diary

Posted on by

This social media diary is in response to an article I wrote a couple weeks ago titled “Brooklyn Navy Yard: Helping of Hindering the Local Economy?” In this article I posed the question at the end: how do you think the expansion of the Navy Yard will help fuel the local economy? You can view the article in its entirety here.

I was not totally surprised by the lack of responses I received from this blog entry. On the one hand, The Brooklyn Navy Yard is an enclave within Brooklyn that many people are unaware of, so unless you are specifically looking for something pertaining to the Navy Yard, which many people as it turns out probably aren’t, then you wouldn’t be pressed to respond. It seems, and reasonably so, that people only response to something that effects them on a personal level, and seeing as how the Navy Yard is not a private residence, and functions first and foremost as a business, it doesn’t affect many people personally. However the community around the Navy Yard is who I was targeting for a response.

After playing around with several different headline options including: Brooklyn Navy Yard Expands Their Horizons, Behind The Fence: A Sneak Peak Inside The Brooklyn Navy Yard, Breaking Down Barriers: Is The Brooklyn Navy Yard Helping or Hindering The Local Economy?  I saw no change in response despite tricky SEO tactics.

My first post for my article was on Facebook.com.

I was hoping to gauge amongst my inner-circle of friends and colleagues online, a response to my question, and even asked in the post that people please respond. I got no responses. I waited a few days, still nothing. My next attempt was to post to Twitter. Twitter is a new social media site to me, and one that I’m still slightly unfamiliar with. I only have 15 followers on Twitter, none of whom as far as I know live around the Brooklyn Navy Yard, so again I was not surprised by the lack of response.

So I tried thinking outside the box and garner responses from outside of my immediate network. I posted my blog post and my question to a couple of sites. The first is TheBrownstoner.com, which provides a forum that allows you to post question to the local Brooklyn community. From there I linked my blog post and my question to yahoo, linkedin, and google. I was pleasantly surprised, I got three responses! Here is the first:

greenmt

DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN

As a tenant at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, seems like a softball question, but I don’t think Michelle works for the PR dept, neither do I.  We grow the economy by expanding existing buisnesses, about 300 now inculding some not yet listed on brooklynnavyyard.com.  We also ad jobs by attracting new businesses.
Michelle, are you thinking of starting a new business here?  Contact the leasing dept at brookynnavyyard.com
No? Just a project for your Masters at Brooklyn College?  Great topic.  External Affairs: brooklynnavyyard.com
Looking for a job?  Employment:  brooklynnavyyard.com
As Mel Brooks said when asked why the Navy Yard, not Toronto for a new film studio:  Brooklyn…”for the bagels alone…”  You know CUNY is opening a film school here, and Brownstoners:  You can find your home improvement contractors, your cabinet makers, your door fabricators, your architecural metal, plumber, art handler, furniture designer, upholsterer, counter top manufacturer, and your tile setter for your vetibule, bathroom, shower or kitchen (me) right here in the  Brooklyn Navy Yard.
So, if your ship or your shower stall springs a leak, go to brooklynnavyyard.com. The new museum on naval and industrial history of Brooklyn, opening soon, brookynnavyyard.com
Although this response was somewhat taunting, comparing me to a PR flack and calling my question a “softball question,” I still appreciated the response. I will also continue to reach out to other outlets in the local community and will hope the following weeks survey will see a rise in responses.

Breaking Down Barriers: Is The Brooklyn Navy Yard Helping or Hindering the Local Economy?

Posted on by

Photo By: Michelle Gross

On Friday I had the rare pleasure of taking a sneak peak behind the fence and enter into a world most New Yorkers are not only unfamiliar with, but unaware even exists. The Brooklyn Navy Yard, founded in 1801 following the American Revolution, was purchased by federal authorities becoming an active navy shipyard from that day foreword. At its peak during World War II, “the Yard,” as it is now more casually referred to, employed over 70,000 people at its peak.

Located on a semicircular bend of the east river on the outskirts of Fort Greene, Brooklyn, the Yard  today is comprised of nearly 300 acres. After temporarily closing up shop in 1966 under the orders of  Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, the property reopened in 1971. It took over 30 years, but the Navy Yard now hosts over 275 industrial businesses, employing more than 5,800 people, a figure that’s up from 3,600 in 2001.

The history of the Navy Yard, is just as important today as it was 200 years ago. As the property continues to change and expand with the ebbs and flows of a volatile economy, it has remained a thriving place of business. In a statement made by The Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation (BNYDC) recently, “From it’s days as a naval shipyard facility, to its modern incarnation as an industrial park, the Yard has been a major source of employment for the surrounding communities, Brooklyn, and New York City.”

Amongst some of the heavy hitting businesses in The Navy Yard are Steiner Studios-the largest sound stages on the East Coast, B&H Photo and Electronics, and Gilt Groupe-a members only fashion, travel and design website and one of the fastest growing e-commerce businesses in the country. Additionally, in an effort to foster the development of green manufacturing, the Yard has become a national model for sustainable urban industrial parks and hosts over 30 green manufacturers.

Photo By: Michelle Gross

In November, the Brooklyn Navy Yard will literally be tearing some of their walls down for the first time for a new museum installment called Brooklyn Navy Yard Center at Building 92. Museum archivist, Daniella Romano said in a statement “We are tapping into this extraordinary history of industry, innovation and creativity. The name is a national icon. But the real significance of the site was almost forgotten or only known to a very few.”

Until now, most people, especially within the Fort Greene/Clinton Hill communities have mostly negative connotations with the Navy Yard. This is due to the fact that it is also the home to another major local business; the Tow Yard. Located on the corner of Sands Street and Navy Street, the Tow Yard is the only publicly accessible area of the Navy Yard to date, so its understandable that most people coming here have a begrudging association with the place.

However there is something truly unique about the Brooklyn Navy Yard, a microcosm seeped in history, immersed in creativity and teaming with innovation. But what is curious is the fact that many people, especially within the local Brooklyn community are completely shut out.  Do you think the opening of the Museum at Building 92 will help to break down these barriers between the Yard and the surrounding area? Why or why not? Also, do you think the expansion of the Navy Yard will help fuel the local economy? This blogger looks forward to your comments.

What To Do if You’re Unemployed in NYC

Posted on by

Following President Barack Obama’s uplifting “American Jobs Act” speech on Thursday night, two things became clear. The first is the undeniable fact that the Obama 2012 re-election campaign has officially begun. The second, is that American’s need jobs. But what does that mean for nearly 8.9 percent of out of work laborers vying for jobs in New York City? With the recent statistics released last month of no jobs gained nor lost in August and the unemployment rate across the country remaining at a stagnant 9.1 percent, people are forced to go out of their comfort zone and explore their options. Below is an accumulative “To Do” list for the savvy out-of-work New Yorker looking to get by in their downtime.

  1. If you have been “released,” “fired,” “let go,” or told to “take a permanent vacation,” the first thing you should do, even before calling your mom, is file for unemployment. Do this immediately, do not even continue reading this blog post before doing so. It’s important. It is equally important to determine whether or not you qualify for unemployment. You can read that here.
  2. The next step is to wake up and smell the coffee. Or the strudel or whatever other clever expression you can think of that floats your boat. You’re unemployed now and that can be kind of awesome. It means you’re finally free to do the things you would normally spend your Saturday’s doing-but now you can do it all the time. Take advantage of it. If you find yourself sitting in your apartment desperate and with nothing to do, a good idea would be to sign up for a subscription to Time Out New York. This news daily provides a “Things To Do” list, siting all the best daily deals in arts, music, restaurants, and bars the city has to offer. You can even sign up without a subscription and have the list forwarded to your email each morning, so by the time you wake up around 11 or noon, there will be a list of activates waiting for you to fill your day up with.
  3. Read a book. Or if thats not your forte, go for a walk. You live in one of the most diverse cities in the world. Take advantage of it, or better yet, visit a near distant burrow you’ve been meaning to go to and sample some of the local cuisine.
  4. Travel. If you have the means, maybe a little money stashed away somewhere and you’ve always been meaning to plan a trip but never had the time, now’s your chance. Go for it! If thats not the case, and you aren’t planning on joining the workforce anytime soon, consider teaching english abroad. This is a solid option, and you won’t be the first (or the last) to do it, but the opportunities are endless and you are sure to return changed and for the better.
  5. Learn a new talent. It’s important to keep your senses sharp. Maybe try photography or learning a new language. Now is the time to try your hand at a new skill. Maybe that will develop into a new found career.
  6. Once you’ve had enough time off or you’re sick of your French tutor, begin updating your resume and revisit your rolodex. Start reaching out to colleagues and friends to see what else is out there. You can visit free resume building sites and begin plotting your future.
  7. Get A Job. By now, you’ve explored all five New York boroughs, rode the Cyclone on Coney Island, read Ayn Rands The Fountainhead cover to cover (ok maybe not, that book is a beast), traveled the world like Ferdinand Magellan, taught English to underprivileged youth in Bratislava, and are ready to put your skills to good use. Good for you, now get out there, show ‘em what you’ve got, and don’t take no for an answer. If you need inspiration for how to conduct yourself successfully in a job interview, view this clip here from one of the most memorable (in this bloggers opinion) Will Ferrell moments to date. For the record: Tuxedos were a good choice.