"Brooklyn Is" Accessibility Page

The Highlights of the "Brooklyn Is" Exhibition for people with visual impairments

"Brooklyn Is" Exhibition

This is a brief glimpse into our "Brooklyn Is" exhibition.

It tells the story of Brooklyn broken into 6 regions of the borough: North, Northwest, South, Southwest, East, and Central. It also includes two short sections on Prospect Park and the subway. On this page we have taken some highlights of the visual content from each region in combination with the written content and condensed it into a brief tour of the exhibition for your enjoyment.

 

A heads up that some of the alternative text for the images on this page is on the longer side than what is standard because the purpose of this page is to describe some of the exhibition's visual elements.

 

Introduction

Welcome to "Brooklyn Is," an exhibition that explores the people and neighborhoods of Brooklyn through images and maps held in the Center for Brooklyn History's vast collection. Throughout the exhibition, you can explore an ever-changing selection of submissions that include photographs, stories, and reflections from the community.

Maybe it's fitting that Brooklyn's most famous symbol is a bridge. If Brooklyn can be summed up by one idea, it’s bridging divides. Making connections. Native people built trails that help connect waterways, crops, and one another. Each morning subway doors chime as underground passengers speed between neighborhoods. Above them, the sounds of children at play echo across blocks and over centuries. This exhibition also makes connections, stretching across the archives of the Center for Brooklyn History. Our collection offers thousands of primary sources. Each unlocks a story of Brooklyn. "Brooklyn Is" offers just a taste. We use some of our favorite maps and photographs to paint mini-portraits of different neighborhoods. We asked some Brooklynites to share their thoughts on the borough. We're asking you, too. Upload a photo or a written reflection using the QR code below. We'll add it to the projection wall in the Great Hall in our building at 128 Pierrepont Street. While history tells us what Brooklyn has been, what Brooklyn is we create together.

Click here to make a submission to the "Brooklyn Is" exhibition

We are also asking folks to answer questions about their Brooklyn to include their responses on the projection wall as well:

Click here to answer "Who is the quintessential Brooklynite?"

Click here to answer "Where in Brooklyn do you love bringing people?"

Click here to answer "What's the best-kept Brooklyn secret?"

Click here to answer "What neighborhood has the most Brooklyn pride?"

Click here to answer "What's the one thing that goes in your Brooklyn time capsule?"

Click here to answer "What was the best time to live in Brooklyn?"

Click here to answer "What word best describes your Brooklyn?"

 

North Brooklyn

North Brooklyn Neighborhoods

Our North Brooklyn region includes the neighborhoods of Bushwick, Greenpoint, and Williamsburg.

North Brooklyn Introduction

A recent immigrant wakes up on his first morning in Brooklyn to the sound of seagulls. "That was my very first impression-- to realize Brooklyn was on the sea." Today's neighborhoods of North Brooklyn have been shaped by waterfront possibilities. Native communities built livelihoods and traditions on the landscape and wildlife of the shores. The waterways carried boatfuls of Europeans to what had always been Native land, bringing a drive for profit and devastating disease. Later, industrial manufacturing created plentiful jobs for generations of immigrant New Yorkers... and seeped toxic pollution, devastating the environment. The twenty-first century promises a fresh wave of newcomers to North Brooklyn's shores, along with fresh questions about repair, redistribution, and respect.

North Brooklyn Photograph

A black and white photograph of a football practice taking place on a dirt lawn under a bright daytime sky. The photograph is over exposed to create great contrast between the white sky and backlit players.

Photograph citation: Football practice in McCarren Park, [circa 1988], Gelatin silver print, GOLD_0007; Anders Goldfarb photograph collection, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.

North Brooklyn Map

A map of New York that carefully dissects each borough by districts utilizing clean black lines to accurately depict space and small numbers as a categorization device. The neighborhoods have each been color-coded white, yellow, orange, brown, rust, and dark brown to indicate the number of Polish immigrants living in different neighborhoods across the city.

Map caption: In 1970, Polish immigrants made up the second-largest immigrant group in the city of New York. Many of these immigrants escaping post-WWII found a home in Brooklyn, especially in Greenpoint's "Little Poland." The neighborhoods still show many of the historic ties to Poland, including churches, restaurants, and grocery stores."

Map citation: Map of New York City indicate density of Polish residents, and poverty areas, in each census tract in 1970. Map indexes state: This map is a part of the book: Polish-Americans in the city of New York, 1979, published by Polish and Slavic Center, Inc.; Prepared by Francis P. Vardy at department of City Planning in 1978, based upon U.S. Census of 1970.

North Brooklyn Narrator

A woman, with golden brown skin and dark brown hair, sits on a red couch in a strapless baby pink cocktail dress. A white faux fur jacket drapes around her thin frame, falling off her bare left shoulder. The sitting woman has a stoic expression with a down-turned side-eye, avoiding making eye contact with us directly.

Narrator Bio: Jenny Zhang is a Williamsburg-based writer, poet, and essayist. She and her parents moved to New York City from Shanghai when she was four.

A few words from Jenny Zhang: "I was twenty-seven and I wanted to be the kind of person who is twenty-something living in Williamsburg. I had my own fantasies that this is what an artist does. I guess I wanted to be a good cliche of the writer living in Brooklyn!"

Northwest Brooklyn

Northwest Brooklyn Neighborhoods

Our Northwest Brooklyn region includes the neighborhoods of Boerum Hill, Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn Navy Yard, Carroll Gardens, Clinton Hill, Cobble Hill, Downtown Brooklyn, DUMBO, Fort Greene, Gowanus, Green-Wood Cemetery, Park Slope, Prospect Heights, Red Hook, Vinegar Hill, and Windsor Terrace.

Northwest Brooklyn Introduction

This cluster of neighborhoods represents the first place called Brooklyn in the New World, named by Dutch settlers after the town of Breukelen in the Netherlands. Over the nineteenth century, the various villages, towns, and cities of Kings County consolidated into one city, which became the borough of Brooklyn when the city was annexed into Greater New York in 1898. Although the area's proximity to Manhattan has always made it lucrative for modern development, much of Northwest Brooklyn comprises "Brownstone Brooklyn," a moniker referring to streets full of low-rise rowhouses, presenting passersby with a stone façade of varying shades of rich brown. Many of these brownstones are now part of protected historic districts. The waterfront areas of Northwest Brooklyn have also been important hubs for Brooklyn commercial, martial, and social history, especially Brooklyn's long history of queer communities.

Northwest Brooklyn Photograph

A black and white photograph of women elegantly dressed in long skirts, decorative hats, and large winter coats mill about the sidewalk in front of Loeser's department store on Fulton Street.

Photograph citation: [Women in front of Loeser's department store], [194-?], Gelatin silver print, DEPT_0141; Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.

Northwest Brooklyn Map

A map of the neighborhood drawn out like blueprints; thin lines depicting the outer perimeter of buildings laid between the grid of interconnected streets. The map's lines seamlessly transition from greens, reds, yellows, and blues on a black background. Bold green letters at the bottom of the page reads "Fort Greene Clinton Hill Service Directory".

Map caption: In the mid-1980s, the neighborhoods of Fort Greene and Clinton Hill were becoming known as a creative hub for a new generation of African American Artists. This new "Black bohemia" in Fort Greene is often associated with pioneers in filmmaking, including director Spike Lee and cinematographer Ernest Dickerson. Meanwhile, neighboring Clinton Hill became known as a central hub for progressive hip hop and spoken word poetry, from artists like Digable Planets, and Saul Williams.

Map citation: Fort Greene Clinton Hill Service Directory, April 1985, Map, MAP_1985-01-01; Brooklyn Maps collection, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.

Northwest Brooklyn Narrator

A close up of a man's head and bust. He looks directly at us with dark brown eyes, a light brown complexion, and a neatly trimmed black beard. His hair is hidden under a light beige beanie. His expression is soft, with a hint of a closed-mouth smile.

Narrator Bio: Javaka Steptoe is an author and illustrator. His book Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat won the 2017 Caldecott Medal. Javaka moved from Manhattan to Brooklyn as a teenager in the 1980s.

A few words from Javaka Steptoe: "My first year in high school was at Brooklyn Tech. After school there was Spike Lee's Joint and Fort Greene Park. Spike's Joint was like a doorway to a far-off land. It was just a storefront, but you know, he has movies out! Do the Right Thing. School Daze. He's Spike Lee. His office was right upstairs. You would never know who would pass by because they were on their way to his office or just wanted a '40 Acres and a Mule' T-shirt. So there was some excitement about it."

Central Brooklyn

Central Brooklyn Neighborhoods

Our Central Brooklyn region includes the neighborhoods of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Crown Heights, Ditmas Park, East Flatbush, Farragut, Fiske Terrace, Flatbush, Kensington, Prospect Park, Prospect Lefferts Gardens, Weeksville, and Wingate.

Central Brooklyn Introduction

Central Brooklyn is a study in contradictions. Newly arrived immigrants ride the train alongside newly arrived college grads. More than a million people gather for the West Indian Day parade every Labor Day weekend just a few blocks away from the site of Weeksville, a small historic enclave of African American freedpeople in the early nineteenth century. And at the center of it all, Prospect Park, "Brooklyn's Backyard," stretches more than 500 acres, welcoming more than eight million visitors annually to enjoy the landscape and each other's company. Our photographs of Central Brooklyn have one thing in common: motion. Whether it's turning the phone cable wires that serve as double Dutch ropes, protesting with Brooklyn CORE, or celebrating a Dodgers win at Ebbets Field, Central Brooklyn is a place where people gather, and when people gather, movement grows.

Central Brooklyn Photograph

A black and white photograph of skaters at the roller disco. A Black man stands in the foreground, brightly lit under a disco ball, with a sign reading "Empire Roller Disco" in the background. He points an index finger up to the ceiling with his right hand and places his left hand on his hip. He wears a cap, white sleeveless tank top, dark bell-bottom pants, and medium gray roller skates.

Photograph citation: Man skating at roller rink.,, 1980, Photographic print, PAGN_0002; Patrick D. Pagnano photograph collection, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.

Central Brooklyn Map

An illustrative map of Brooklyn browned with age. The organic wavy lines of the land mass appear hand drawn as does the neatly printed calligraphy that labels part of Brooklyn including Green-Wood Cemetery, Kings Highway, and Coney Island.

Map caption: "Een Draght Mackt Maght" reads the upper left hand corner of this map, translated from Dutch: "Unity Makes Strength." This motto of Brooklyn foreshadows the consolidation of the townships pictured here, including Flatbush, Gravesend, and Bushwick. By 1896, they had united to form the city of Brooklyn, which was added to the City of New York in 1898. The hand-drawn map also highlights where 19th century Brooklynites would go to hunt, fish, and gather oysters.

Map citation: Hooker's map of the village of Brooklyn 1820, built over map by Young & Currie, and others.,1820, Map, MAP_1820-01-01; Brooklyn Maps collection, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.

Central Brooklyn Narrator

A family portrait of four adults all with dark hair and warm brown skin smile at us. A man seated in the foreground wears a white polo shirt. To our left stands a smiling woman who has long straight black hair that reaches just beyond her shoulders. She wears a marigold-colored dress with abstract organic patterns on it. Behind the couple are two younger adults, a tall man with a scruffy black beard and a shorter woman with a warm smile and a vertically striped black and white dress.

Narrator Bio: Annie Ferdous was born and raised in Bangladesh. In 1988, shortly after marrying, she immigrated to Brooklyn and settled in Kensington. She founded the Bangladesh Institute of Performing Arts and is president of the Bangladeshi Ladies Club.

A few words from Annie Ferdous: "Kensington is very diverse, very multicultural. Chinese, Mexican, Puerto Rican, Indian, Bangladeshi. It is such a great feeling that we made a Bangladeshi community. I see people in saris walking around outside. I see men wearing lungi going to mosque for early-morning prayer. I love people holding the phone talking to people in Bangladesh, thinking they have to speak loudly! Whenever I see the vegetable gardens in the front yard, or the clothes hung out to dry, or smell the cooking, I know that Bangladeshis live here."

East Brooklyn

East Brooklyn Neighborhoods

Our East Brooklyn neighborhoods include Brownsville, Canarsie, Cypress Hills, East New York, New Lots, and Ocean Hill.

East Brooklyn Introduction

Eastern Brooklyn has always been a place of vibrant life, thanks to the neighboring Jamaica Bay. Today, egrets streak across salt marshes and the waters of the bay feed a large ecosystem of wildlife. For centuries, Native Canarsee people fished and hunted there. But the rich soil of East Brooklyn also made it attractive to Dutch plantation farmers, who brought enslaved and kidnapped Africans to cultivate fields of wheat, corn, and other grains. Their harvest was sold in Manhattan street markets, feeding the fledgling city of New York. Today, the fertile soil of the land off Jamaica Bay is some of the most contested in the entire city. Plans to rezone the area for housing and what some term economic development have brought debate about the massive changes, gentrification, and unequal access that might result. Longtime residents like Stephanie Abreu, one of our East Brooklyn narrators, have hung on for decades. What happens in East Brooklyn will affect families like hers for generations to come.

East Brooklyn Photograph

A black and white photograph of multiracial children, around the ages of 8 to 10, dancing outside on a grassy lawn in front of a brick building. Paired in twos, the children clasp each other's hands and sway on stiff footing. Many of the children wear A-line dresses with full skirts, all wear aprons that tie around the waist like make-shift skirts.

Photograph citation: [Photograph of children dancing], circa 1981; Recreation Rooms and Settlement collection, ARC.088, Box 1, Folder 14; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.

East Brooklyn Map

A map of Brooklyn from 1944 composed of delicate line drawings of landmark locations and neat dotted lines indicating the different neighborhoods set on a light brown background. The land mass is surrounded by a sea of cross-hatch lines and grand ships with billowing sails floating about. The map is framed with a border illustrating the history of transportation in America including a horse and rider, a covered wagon, train models that grow in size and grandeur, and a street car.

Map caption: This 1944 map of Brooklyn traces the outlines and landmarks of the old "townships" of what would become the borough of Brooklyn. 1944 was a time when global capitals like Paris and London were being destroyed and occupied by enemy forces. It is perhaps notable that Brooklyn mapmakers like G.V.S. Ryerson were carefully documenting the borough's history, and, with a small dot, carefully marking which historic buildings still endured.

Map citation: Map of the old townships in Kings County: by G.V.S. Ryerson, 1944, Map, Map No. B A-17th century-19th century (1944). Fl; Map Collection, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.

East Brooklyn Narrator

A young Black woman with a medium brown complexion roams down a sunlit hallway in a motorized wheelchair. She wears a bright pink jacket and a light pink scarf; her curly black hair is tied up into a ponytail. She faces us directly but playfully turns her head away from us and toward the soft natural lighting.

Narrator bio: Ketrina (Trina) Hazell was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at nine months. She was named Mrs. Wheelchair New York in 2018. In 2020, she graduated from Kingsborough Community College. She is now an advocate for people with disabilities and a certified life coach.

A few words from Ketrina Hazell: "I was born and raised in Brooklyn. My parents are from the Caribbean, St. Vincent in the Grenadines, near Barbados. We've been living in Brooklyn ever since they came here-- in East New York. People don't realize how much young people are capable of, especially people of color. They carry a stigma. When you come from East New York or Brownsville, people think you're not going to make it very far. I'm a leader not only of people with disabilities, but also people of color."

South Brooklyn

South Brooklyn Neighborhoods

Our South Brooklyn neighborhoods include Barren Island, Bergen Beach, Brighton Beach, Coney Island, Flatlands, Gerritsen Beach, Gravesend, Manhattan Beach, Midwood, Mill Basin, Sea Gate, and Sheepshead Bay.

South Brooklyn Introduction

To understand how important the waterfront is to South Brooklyn, one need look no further than the neighborhood names: "Sea Gate" and "Marine Park" and "Sheepshead Bay." They all conjure images of what visuals you might expect to find there: seagulls, crashing waves, and fishing piers. Many of these neighborhoods are much quieter and more residential than the bustling downtowns elsewhere in the borough. But these neighborhoods are still home to vibrant longstanding communities like Coney Island, once a fun getaway for the wealthy and now an indelible symbol of Brooklyn summer for millions of people every year.

South Brooklyn Photograph

A black and white photograph of folks standing along the edge of a cement floored pier fishing in docile dark waters.

Photograph citation: The Rex, 1949, Gelation silver print, NEIG_1886; Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.

South Brooklyn Ephemera

A black and white illustration that stretches across a centerfold with a title that reads "Vincent Saint's Brooklyn Belle" with our cartoon beauty who is shaped like a mermaid, seen from behind, lounging topless across the two page spread. She is surrounded by goofy little cartoon men that smile and leer at her, with quotes coming from them saying things like "I don't mind the housing shortage," "A forced landing-- I hope!," and "Smile please." One man is labelled "Her zoot suitor from Brooklyn." There is a larger, bolded caption at the bottom reading "'Mary had a little lamb' she knew the butcher."

Ephemera Citation: [Vincent Saint's Brooklyn Belle: Mary], 1946, Brooklyn Digest; Brooklyn Ephemera collection, BCMS_0007, Box: 11, Folder: Newspapers & Periodicals: Brooklyn, The Different Digest / Brooklyn Digest Magazine; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.

South Brooklyn Map

A map of New York City in a lemon yellow highlighting the five boroughs and some surrounding areas. The map is busy with black text highlighting the many fun summer activities that can be enjoyed in the region such as bathing beaches, bridle paths, golf courses, picnic areas, and softball fields. On the top left of the map a title reads "Vacationing in the City," in a vintage 1950s-esque font.

Map caption: This 1956 map, on the surface, informs people where they can go swimming, fishing, or picnicking during New York City summers. But the map also reveals another story: in the 1950s, the city was experiencing a large postwar economic boom, allowing New Yorkers, many for the first time, to enjoy some leisure time and disposable income.

Map citation: Vacationing in the City., 1956, Map, MAP_1956-03-01; Brooklyn Maps collection, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.

South Brooklyn Narrator

A man sits on a light gray loveseat situated between shelves of books and just below a chalkboard full of scribbled words in neat columns. The sitter looks up from their iPhone and gives us a tight-lipped smile. He has beige skin, short buzzed dark hair, and a light gray beard and is wearing a black sport coat, white collared shirt and blue jeans.

Narrator bio: Lucien Zayan moved to Brooklyn from Marseille, France in 2008. The following year he opened the Invisible Dog Art Center in Boerum Hill.

A few words from Lucien Zayan: "In the summer I go to Coney Island every morning, every single day, because I grew up at the beach. Having the beach accessible by the subway is incredible. I have my coffee, I work on the way because the subway is above ground. I do my emails. And then I spend three hours there. I swim. I sleep. I read. I look at the sky."

Southwest Brooklyn

Southwest Brooklyn Neighborhoods

Our Southwest Brooklyn neighborhoods include Bath Beach, Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst, Borough Park, Dyker Heights, Fort Hamilton, Kings Highway, and Sunset Park.

Introduction to Southwest Brooklyn

To walk through Southwestern Brooklyn is to swirl a kaleidoscope of cultural signifiers. A call to prayer echoes through the streets. Immigrant children play soccer with the faint outline of the Statue of Liberty visible in the background. Sunday mass held in Vietnamese and Spanish conclude within minutes of each other. A bright, crackle-topped pastry needs a second look to identify. A pineapple bun? A concha? The neighborhoods of Southwest Brooklyn have long enjoyed a quiet, residential feel, with small farms and family homes dating back to the founding of "New Utrecht" in the seventeenth century. Much of this early residential life was facilitated by the system of slavery, with nearly a third of New Utrecht's population listed as enslaved at the beginning of the nineteenth century.

Southwest Brooklyn Photograph

A photograph of a Hasidic Jewish man pushing a stroller under an above ground train platform. Seen in profile from a distance of about 20 feet, he is neatly dressed in a long black coat, crisp white collared shirt, and black brimmed hat with a ringlet framing his face. An opened navy blue umbrella is precariously balanced on the stroller.

Photograph citation: [Hasid with baby carriage], [circa 2004], V2008.013.61; Lucille Fornasieri Gold photographs, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.

Southwest Brooklyn Photograph

A black and white photograph of a young girl at evening prayers with her father during Ramadan. The adults in the room stand in rows with their heads bowed and their arms crossed. Only the young girl in the foreground us, also with arms crossed. She wears a hijab around her head and an indifferent expression on her face.

Photograph citation: Young girl at evening prayers with her father during Ramadan., 2010, Photographic print, GERH_0001; Robert E. Gerhardt, Jr. photograph collection, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.

Southwest Brooklyn Narrator

A photograph of LJ Vogel wearing a black graduation cap and red gown decked with white sashes and cords draped across his shoulders. He has a creamy light complexion, round face, and bright beaming smile. He stands next to his grandfather who sits on a white plastic chair with his hands folded in his lap. The two men are in front of two ornate silver doors and below a banner that reads "2018" in large cartoon-ish letters.

Narrator bio: LJ Vogel is a 26-year-old trans man and one of the organizers of Gay Ridge, a group that brings together queer people in South Brooklyn for events and support. His maternal grandparents moved to Bensonhurt from Southern Italy. His Jewish father grew up in Midwood. LJ was born and raised in Bensonhurst where he continues to live today.

A few words from LJ Vogel: "At the end of the day, I'm a Bensonhurst person all the way. When I was about ten years old, the neighborhood, which was Italian and Jewish when my family moved here, changed entirely. Chinese people moved in; Italians moved to Staten Island or New Jersey. There were and still are a lot of big feelings about that. My childhood memories of Bensonhurst are especially about Chinese culture, because that's what the neighborhood started to become. When a family next door had kids, they would come to our side of the driveway. If we were barbecuing on the Fourth of July, we'd share hot dogs, and they'd share curried fish balls."

Prospect Park

Introduction to Prospect Park

The younger and smaller sister of Manhattan's Central Park, both Prospect and Central parks were the brain children of  Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux in the mid-1800s, imagined and designed as a green oasis for New Yorkers. These days, Prospect Park is frequently referred to as "Brooklyn's Backyard" and contains a multitude of vibrancy and diversity of life: human, animal, and plant. Bordered by an array of contrasting neighborhoods such as Flatbush, Windsor Terrace, and Park Slope, among others, on a typical day strolling around its paths you encounter that vibrancy at every corner: musicians performing under the bridge near Grand Army Plaza, bikers racing at full speed along its bike lanes, ducks swimming across the lake, bushels of flowers dotted throughout its grasses, and friends playing volleyball on the lawn.

Prospect Park Photograph

A black and white photograph of a Black man playing the trumpet on a hexagon-tiled pathway in a sunny park. The musician is seen only in profile, body turned to face our right, wearing a pair of high-waisted wide-leg plaid pants. His long slender body gently curves as he leans back and plays his horn. Behind the musician is an old white man with a balding crown. The older man sits cross-legged on a park bench and turns his body to look at us with a grumpy expression on his face.

Photograph citation: [Prospect Park trumpeter], [circa 1975], Photographic print, V2008.013.81; Lucille Fornasieri Gold photographs, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.

Prospect Park Narrator

A selfie of a woman with short wavy brown hair and peachy colored skin next to her dog. The mid-sized black dog, with a graying snout, affectionately licks their human companion as they cradle the dog's head with their well-manicured hand.

Narrator bio: Alana Casanova-Burgess is the co-creator, host, and producer of WNYC's La Brega: Stories of the Puerto Rican Experience./em> She grew up in the Dominican Republic and Manhattan. She moved to Brooklyn in 2010 and currently lives in Flatbush with her dog, Kane.

A few words from Alana Casanova-Burgess: "The Church Avenue stop is always bustling, both the 2, 5, and the B Q. You emerge from the subway and it's like fish being sold, and a bunch of people waiting for the bus, so many people selling stuff on the sidewalk on Church. And so it has this very open, public, marketplace feel to it."

The Subway

Introduction to the Subway

Of the MTA's 23 different subways, 18 of those train lines make the journey into the borough of Brooklyn, connecting Crown Heights to Flatbush via the 2 train, Greenpoint to Park Slope via the G train, Bed-Stuy to East New York via the A/C trains. It transports people along diverse landscapes, from the urban skyscrapers of Downtown Brooklyn directly to the beaches and boardwalks of Coney Island. The subway (and its stations), however, is not just a means of transport, but contains diverse landscapes within itself. In some ways, it is its very own destination, its own separate world of sorts where connections are formed between commuters from all walks of life.

Subway Photograph

A black and white photo of two nuns, wearing habits and dark robes, read from pocket-sized books on the subway. Both riders are older women with light complexions and wear large wire frame glasses.

Photograph citation: [Two nuns], [circa 1960], Gelatin silver print, HERZ_0800; Irving I. Herzberg photograph collection, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.

Subway Photograph

Two young Black women stand back to back in a subway car with playful and flirty expressions.

Photograph citation: Fly girls, 2005, Gelatin silver print, SHBZ_0091; Jamel Shabazz photograph collection, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.

Subway Map

A map of the New York City subway system. The land masses are white geometric shapes, all typography and landmarks removed, leaving only a silhouette of the city. Running throughout the map are thick colorful lines, each representing a trainline, with corresponding stops dotted along. The map is clean, graphic, and efficient in its aesthetics.

Map caption: While subway maps can be a mundane part of daily life, they can also instigate passionate responses. The subway map pictured here is often called the "Vignelli" map, named after map designer Massimo Vignelli. Vignelli sought to streamline the information by de-emphasizing New York's signature geography and eliminating above-ground landmarks. But the approach was met with public outcry at the time. Many New Yorkers preferred a map with more of their city on it. By 1979, a new design was on display throughout the system.

Map citation: The Metropolitan Transportation Authority revised map of rapid transit facilities of New York City Transit Authority: New York City Transit Authority, circa 1974, Map, Map No. NYC-1974a.Fl; Map Collection, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.

Subway Narrator

An older woman with pastel green hair and a light complexion playfully peeks out from behind the wild blooms of a vibrantly green garden.

Narrator bio: Artist Elizabeth Sweetheart (Elizabeth Eaton Rosenthal), a.k.a. The Green Lady of Brooklyn, moved with her husband to a house in Carroll Gardens 42 years ago. For almost 30 years she has dressed entirely in lime green. In 2017 she launched an Instagram account, which now has 287K followers.

A few words from Elizabeth Sweetheart: "I get on the F train and the A train. All the amazing people you see me with [in Instagram posts] are from all over Brooklyn. I meet them on the train."