The incident of nearly getting my face pummeled / coffee spilled all over me notwithstanding, I had a great time in Crown Heights. Its one of those places I had never been before, but will definitely go back to.
Stayed
With Liz, a family friend who used to work at Cass Flowers in Watertown for my aunt. She has a huge library of great books, no TV, and a lot of space. I pretty much had my own room which is always nice. Liz has spent a lot of time in Indonesia, specifically Bali, and performs in a gamelan group that travels the World. If you are interested in gamelan (like I am after hearing Liz talk about it, and actually messing around with one of the instruments used in the ensemble), there is a show coming up at BAM in Brooklyn on October 14th – 16th.
Liz is someone I did not know very well before my week long stint in Crown Heights, and although we didn’t see a great deal of each other, it was a really fun when I did.
Ate
Caribbean food at Gloria’s. Pretty awesome curry goat and pumpkin roti.
Excellent pastries and nice coffee from Breukelen coffee.
Explored
Old, amazing homes on the Crown Heights house tour which takes you around the neighborhood and into a dozen different historic homes in various states of repair. There are some amazing homes in this neighborhood. Here are a few photos. For more, check my Flickr Page.
This was the highlight of the tour. A huge project with four floors and lots of work.
a 19th century “man cave” and billiard room. The detail is amazing.
Met
Liz’s roommate Abe, who is from Mexico, and his friends Lindsey and Armando who are also from Mexico and live in East Williamsburg. They are going to host me the week before Christmas. I only have one week left that I need to fill to finish out the calendar in December.
Chile Fest
Not technically Crown Heights, but close enough. I walked to the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens and took in some great music and excellent beer. The gardens are one of my favorite places and membership is quite reasonable ($50).
Saw
Clay Shirky speak, not in Crown Heights, but in Soho (a nabe I’d like to check out so Email me!). It was at Daylife’s HQ and I was really happy to see him speak. He wrote “Here Comes Everybody” and “Cognitive Surplus.”
Ran
Along Eastern Parkway, a beautiful tree lined street in Crown Heights conceived of by Olmstead.
What did I miss?
Related posts:
- This Weekend In and Around Crown Heights
- The NYC Nomad is Cheating! (2 Weeks in Park Slope)
- The NYC Nomad Almost Gets "Knocked the F&$% Out"
- A look at Crown Heights from a couple of different perspectives. From what I have been told, and what I have read people do not get along as well as this short film would lead you to believe. It’s still worth a look to get a sense of the neighborhood though.
- The NYC Nomad on 118th between Amsterdam and Morningside (Morningside Heights)
