BPL's flagship podcast, Borrowed, is at work on a mini-series about five communities that made Brooklyn into the vibrant, diverse borough it is today. Drawing from oral history collections at BPL’s Center for Brooklyn History, as well as present-day interviews with Brooklynites, Building Brooklyn tells the story of the past and present of our ever-changing borough.
Each episodes tells a story about specific Brooklyn neighborhoods. We’ll be talking about the history of these places, and we want to see your photos of what these neighborhoods look like today!
We’d love to see your pictures of the following neighborhoods/locations in the last twelve months. Winning photographers will receive a $50 gift card to BPL's shop and a chance to be featured on our website and in various press outlets.
- Gowanus & Boerum Hill - the story of Mohawk ironworkers from Kahnawake, Canada who had a strong community in what was then "North Gowanus" and downtown Brooklyn, concentrated around Atlantic Avenue and Pacific Street, from the 1920s to the 1960s
- Navy Yard - the story of women who worked at the Navy Yard during WWII
- Sunset Park - the story of the emergence of NYC’s third Chinatown along 8th Avenue and early Scandanavian and Finnish influence in the neighborhood
- Canarsie - the story of Canarsie's Black residents in the 19th century and the neighborhood’s anti-integration school boycotts in the 1960s
Guidelines: We're looking for documentary-style photography or video no longer than 30 seconds. By "documentary style," we mean videos and photographs with natural lighting in real environments without image manipulation, filters, effects or excessive editing.
Contest is open to photographers ages 14 to 25. Contest closes Monday, August 16. Email podcasts@bklynlibrary.org with any questions.