A Child Grows in Brooklyn

Hello from Brooklyn!

Thanks to a good friend and local Brooklyn resident, I spent seven hours seeing Brooklyn from the seat of a single-speed bike. 19.5 miles later, I never cease to be amazed how much ground you can cover on a bike, photographing the whole way...

Here are a few interesting tid-bits from the day:

1. I've biked in Boston, Denver, Seattle, Minneapolis and now Brooklyn. Full disclosure: I was biking on a holiday (Labor Day) so traffic was not as intense as is possible, and I wasn't biking with children on my bike or in tow. That said, I felt that the streets were relatively safe, particularly those with separated bikeways, and even those with simple bike lanes. Janette Sadik-Khan, the Transportation Commissioner for New York City, has done an incredible job of increasing the bicycle facilities and it certainly shows. Frank Bruni of the New York Times reported on this nearly one year ago in an article titled Bicycle Visionary. My local tour guide noted that while cycling is still a relatively small share of the transportation modes used in NYC, she has noticed more women riding. We even noticed a few people biking with their young kids on their bikes in either handlebar seats or over-the-rear-tire seats. Alas, most were too speedy and eluded my camera! But here are some cycling-related shots from the day.

A mom and two kids biked to Brooklyn Bridge Park for an evening of outdoor fun.

A two-way cycle track in Brooklyn. Notice the family on the sidewalk?

Extra-cycle in Brooklyn at Underwood Park.

2. It is no surprise that New York and Brooklyn are home to many immigrant populations that begin to craft unique neighborhoods around their particular cultural traditions. Nowhere is this more visible than in the Hasidic Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods of Brooklyn, including Williamsburg. They have very large families, averaging 6-8 children each and live in dense urban neighborhoods, connected by their religious values. In many cases, the neighborhoods are recognizable not from residents in traditional Hasidic clothing, but in the architecture. Families enclose their porches and balconies so that children cannot fall but still have access to the outdoors.

Can you spot the 3 strollers and 2 balcony play areas in this photo from Williamsburg in Brooklyn?

Children's clothing store in Williamsburg. 

Hasidic families send their children to gender-specific Hasidic schools, such as this one in Williamsburg. 

More to come!