Housing Projects dominate the skyline as one looks North East from the end of the Rockaway Avenue Subway Station on Livonia Avenue. Brownsville, Brooklyn, 2023
I first photographed in Brownsville in the Spring of 2021 when I was commissioned by GQ Japan magazine for a story on the neighborhood. But I quickly realized there was more going on than could be covered in a few visits.
In the early fall of 2022, I began my project in earnest. I want to show the lives of those who live there, the issues that are faced by the community, those who work to try and correct the problems they can, and how the neighborhood is more than the sum of its problems.
Brownsville hosts the largest proportion of public housing in the city while also facing encroaching gentrification. It has major issues with gun violence, drugs, and gangs. The neighborhood lacks access to fresh food, has high poverty rates, and faces major issues around homelessness. Many of the root causes of these problems can be traced back to the city governments’ ignoring the neighborhood and marginalizing it over decades.
But there are those working to fix the problems faced by the neighborhood. Groups like Agape Food Rescue, Brownsville In Violence Out, and the Bethesda Healing Center face the issues head on in the hopes of making the neighborhood better for all those who live there.
In the end, I want the project to tell the story of what life is like for those who call Brownsville home and that there is more to the lives of people in the neighborhood than just the bad news that is all that ever seems to be reported.
Joey taking a break from his work at a deli along Pitkin Avenue. He is a former crack addict who quit cold turkey eight years ago after being confronted with the toll it was taking on his family. However, he still has issues with alcohol that he is unable to kick alone. He is looking to get into a recovery program as soon as he can get the paperwork he needs. Brownsville, Brooklyn 2022
Brownsville Mural at the corner of Mother Gaston Boulevard and Pitkin Avenue. Brownsville, Brooklyn, 2023
Older hispanic men playing dominoes on the sidewalk outside a bodega on Rockaway Avenue. Brownsville, Brooklyn, 2022
Andrew and Scotty outside of the ACI Treatment Center on Rockaway Avenue before heading into the center. Brownsville, Brooklyn, 2022
Birthday girl at a Halloween costume give-a-way and neighborhood BBQ at Shoppers World on Pitkin Avenue. Brownsville, Brooklyn, 2022
A mural to those killed by gun violence in Brownsville. Watkins Street and Belmont Avenue. Brownsville, Brooklyn, 2023
3 Train running along Livonia Avenue. Brownsville, Brooklyn, 2023
Juan feeding the pigeons on Pitkin Avenue. Brownsville, Brooklyn, 2022
"Brownsville never ran, and never will." Panama, on the corner of Blake Avenue and Rockaway Avenue. Brownsville, Brooklyn, 2023
Dumpster with "Kill" written on the side behind the NYCHA Tilden Houses on Rockaway Avenue, Brownsville, Brooklyn, 2022
Young Boy at a Halloween Party hosted by Agape Food Rescue on Halloween on Belmont Avenue. Agape Food Rescue works to help people in food insecure areas by providing residents with programs that provide food, promote the value of nutrition, increase self-sufficiency, and positive direction. Brownsville, Brooklyn, 2022
Emmanuel and Buddha flashing gang signs for the Crips street gang on Mother Gaston Boulevard outside of the Van Dyke Houses. Brownsville, Brooklyn. 2023
Mervin Victory, his wife Tomekia Victory, and son Joshua Victory on their way home from a church service. Rockaway Avenue. Brownsville, Brooklyn, 2023
The subway stop at Junius Street on Livonia Avenue with some of Brownsville's public housing projects in he background. Brownsville, Brooklyn, 2023
Shawn, a homeless man, on Rockaway Avenue near Pitkin Avenue. He lives in a shelter not far from where he was photographed. He is wary of straying too far East of Rockaway Boulevard for fear of the gang violence that tends to happen on those blocks. along Mother Gaston Boulevard. Brownsville, Brooklyn, 2023
Ayoub watching as his grandfather Salah says some prayers privately before Asr prayers on a Saturday afternoon at Masjid Al-Huda. Brownsville, Brooklyn, 2022
Kids starting an Easter Egg Hunt at Hilltop Playground, organized by Love City Church. Brownsville, Brooklyn, 2023
Arthur, a heroin user, sitting on a bench outside of a basketball court on the corner of Sutter Avenue and Mother Gaston Boulevard . Judging by the wound on the back of his left knee, where he injects, along with the visible side effect of his nodding off during our conversation, his heroin is mixed with fentanyl and xylazine, otherwise known as "tranq." Brownsville, Brooklyn, 2023
Bryant sitting in the drivers seat of his car with his friend. Rockaway Avenue near the intersection with Livonia Avenue. Brownsville, Brooklyn, 2023
Steve, who told me his arm was hurt during an attempted mugging when the mugger splashed acid on him, shows off his wounds. Pitkin Avenue, Brownsville, Brooklyn, 2023
Gas Station Mural. Mother Gaston Boulevard and Sutter Avenue. Brownsville, Brooklyn, 2023
A 3 subway train rides above East 98th Street past the C Town Supermarket, one of the few in and around Brownsville. The neighborhood is considered a food desert, with a lack or large supermarkets, leaving many in the neighborhood to shop at more expensive bodegas or small groceries with a lack of access to fresh fruits and vegetables. Brownsville, Brooklyn, 2023
Women help to prepare meals for the community at the Bethesda Healing Center on East 98th Street. The Church and Community Center holds a soup kitchen and clothing give away on Saturdays from 10:00AM to 2:00PM. Brownsville, Brooklyn, 2022
IMF (L) and iBorn (R) on Rockaway Ave near the Rockaway Ave Subway Station. Brownsville, Brooklyn, 2023
Rasako Charles outside of a corner store on the corner of Mother Gaston Boulevard and Belmont Avenue. He told me the cops stand around and do nothing. 'We fight each other, fight friends, and fight the cops.' Brownsville, Brooklyn, 2023
Construction Site for a new high end apartment building going up on Mother Gaston Boulevard. During the last couple of years, there have been many new building going up in Brownsville, worrying the locals who fear that the neighborhood is going to be gentrified, and the makeup of the neighborhood changed. Brownsville, Brooklyn, 2023
Basketball Players in a park on Blake Avenue and Bristol Street. Brownsville, Brooklyn, 2023
Antoine sitting in the doorway of his shop on Pitkin Avenue. Brownsville, Brooklyn, 2023
Public Housing Projects as seen from the Rockaway Avenue subway station. The 3 buildings in the front are the Tilden Houses. The 3 building farther back are the Van Dyke Houses. Brownsville has the highest concentration of Public Housing of any area of New York City. Brownsville, Brooklyn, 2023
Blood (L) and Donald (R) in front of Blood's van on Rockaway Avenue near the Rockaway Avenue 3 Train Subway station. Brownsville, Brooklyn, 2023
Jordon watching a basketball game in "The Hole" behind the Van Dyke Community Center, between the Van Dyke and Brownsville Houses. Brownsville, Brooklyn, 2023
Women Standing in Praise. "Back To Church Sunday" at Bethesda Healing Center. The day was started in 2009 in response to smaller congregations at churches. Church members are encouraged to invite others to come to church with them. The service is held outside so neighborhood can hear them. Brownsville, Brooklyn, 2023
Steve Johnson serving up shaved ice in the playground on Bristol Avenue between Blake Avenue and DumontAvenue. He has been serving the icy treats for 3 years. He wants people to not be afraid of the neighborhood, and come and enjoy themselves in the open spaces without fear. Brownsville, Brooklyn, 2023
New apartment buildings going on on Mother Gaston Boulevard and Belmont Avenue. The rise in new construction and the speed at which the new buildings are being put up in Brownsville has many in the neighborhood worrying about gentrification. These two building went from demolition of old buildings to this stage in roughly 9 months. Brownsville, Brooklyn, 2023
Christmas Toy Giveaway hosted by Risen Christ Lutheran Church. Brownsville, Brooklyn. The Church is currently fighting to regain access to it space and is currently in court over lease issues. But Church members continue to host events outside the building and do out reach in the Brownsville community. Brownsville, Brooklyn, 2023
Martin Luther King, Jr. Mural on the side of the Food Bazaar supermarket at the corner of Dumont Avenue and Junius Street. Brownsville, Brooklyn, 2023