My best Brooklyn experiences: 10 reasons to visit the best borough in New York

Entering BK via Brooklyn Bridge in 2010

Now that The Barclays Center, an indoor entertainment and sports arena, officially opened its doors on Friday (Sept 28) in downtown Brooklyn– with an inaugural performance by the King of BK (thanks Jay-Z), it has given the borough and surrounding businesses more publicity than usual, which is giving tourists and native New Yorkers alike more reason to head downtown.

Usually passing the construction site for the Barclays Center on my daily commute, until this year I’d lived in various parts of BK since early 2009. From Bay Ridge to Lefferts Garden, to Greenpoint to Flatbush, living in Brooklyn was probably the most exhausting yet exciting three years of my entire life! From DJs rocking out in parks to a musical legend giving a free show in Coney Island –every day of the week was something new and special to experience.

But don’t get it twisted, as a military veteran who was stationed in Arizona, Alaska, Nebraska, Haiti and Japan over an eight-year span, living in BK was by choice rather than by circumstance.

That being said, I decided to craft my top 10 list of favorite Brooklyn moments during my time as resident. Included are concerts, film screenings, a restaurant, a bookstore and a few fan moments. This is by no means a complete catalog of events; I have New York stories for days but this is sort of my PR moment love letter to BK.

Lastly, IF you are planning a visit to New York for the first time (or second or third), definitely check out Times Square, 34^th Street, Soho, The West Village, etc. but do take the time to visit Brooklyn! It’s a whole other experience.

So without further ado …

1.  Greenlight Bookstore in Fort Greene – At the corner of Fulton and South Portland stands the independently-owned Greenlight Bookstore. For nearly a year I worked at (and had many flirtatious encounters) at this little shop. Started by Jessica Stockton-Bagnulo and Rebecca Fitting in late 2009, it’s a great place for good reads, sweet author events, and the occasional “family-member-of-a-celeb-spotting”. While there I met rapper Talib Kweli’s mom and actor Steve Buscemi’s brother. But I also met Jennifer Egan, author of the 2011 Pulitzer Prize-winning book A Visit From the Goon Squad and noted music journalist and cultural critic Touré.

2.  Aretha Franklin in Coney Island – Stood in line for nearly two hours just to witness the Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin give a free performance at Coney Island’s Asser Levy Park during the 2011 Summer Concert Series. Setlist included “Respect,” “Chain of Fools” and “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman.”

Vinyl version of Odyssey’s “Inside Out” (Twitpic photo/ND McCray)

3.  DJ Spinna and Dam-Funk at Fort Greene Park – Spike Lee filmed many scenes from his 1986 feature film She’s Gotta Have It in Ft. Greene Park. However, on a warm summer day in 2010, soulful house producer DJ Spinna and electro-funk-boogie king Dam-Funk brought out many music lovers for their summer concert in the park.

Bonus memory: There was a song in DJ Spinna’s set that I’d loved for years but never knew the song title or artist. So the next day I hit him up on Twitter and described the song and the point at which he played it in his set –and lo and behold, minutes later he tweeted me the artist and song title, which was Odyssey and their funky 1982 R&B tune, “Inside Out.”

4.  Fela! in HD at Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) – Seeing Fela, the story of famed afrobeat musician Fela Kuti in HD at BAM last year was just as fascinating and riveting as I’d always heard. However, catching Family Stand singer-songwriter Sandra St. Victor and Grammy-nominee Maiysha at BAMcafe Live was equally fascinating.

5.  Zen Vegetarian House in Flatbush – When I lived in the neighborhood, I’d eat at this vegetarian Chinese restaurant at least once a week. Whether delivery, dine in or take out, my food always arrived fresh, hot and with the quickness. My favorites were the veggie spring rolls or the crispy soy chicken nuggets served with their homemade BBQ sauce. Their smoothies and soy ice cream are quite delicious too.

6.  Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings at Prospect Park Bandshell – Though my friend Amelia and I could only hear Sharon Jones from our viewing point at this packed out Celebrate Brooklyn! show at Prospect Park’s Bandshell, it was a memorable night nonetheless. Not only did we have a good time and a backdrop of great music by the retro soul act – but we had some awesomely cheap wine to sip on too!

7.  Jamie Lidell at Music Hall of Williamsburg – London-bred, formerly Brooklyn-based, now Nashville-settled Jamie Lidell is a cross between alternative neo-soul and eclectic electro-pop artist. I saw him perform live for the first time two years ago at a sold-out show at Music Hall of Williamsburg, when he was promoting his newest album Compass. Full on charm and personality, Jamie is definitely a performer.

FYI: Williamsburg is the hipster capital of Brooklyn but their music venues host some of the best performances around the borough. Anyway, here, the electro-producer and beatmaker messes around with a Native Instruments app to remix “A Little Bit More,” from his 2005 LP Multiply.

8.  Saying “what’s up” to indie singer-songwriter Citizen Cope as well as Emmy Award-winning actor Jeffrey Wright as I walked towards Atlantic Avenue in downtown Brooklyn. Two separate occasions, same geeky smile.

9.  Making Do The Right Thing screening and discussion at Billie Holiday Theatre at Restoration Plaza in Bedford-Stuyvesant – This was a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Spike Lee’s seminal 1989 film Do The Right Thing –which was filmed in Bed-Stuy. It featured a post-screening Q&A with Sam Pollard, a noted filmmaker and frequent Lee collaborator on such films as Jungle Fever, Mo’ Better Blues, Girl 6 and 4 Little Girls. Here’s the official trailer for Do The Right Thing.

10. Columbia Street Waterfront in Red Hook – Across the street from Fairway grocery store (one of my faves in the borough) and tucked into a nice corner of the industrial section of BK called Red Hook, sits the Columbia Street Waterfront. With great views of Lower Manhattan, this was my go-to spot to think, to write, to eat a meal, meditate or just relax the afternoon away. There is no official website for Columbia Street Waterfront but if you head to the Waterfront Museum, they’re literally in the same location.

Bottom line: Visit Brooklyn!

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