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June 11, 2010
Answers From a Brooklyn Blogger, Part 2
City Room
Following is the second set of responses from Louise Crawford, the founder of Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn, and creator of the annual Brooklyn Blogfest.
...Blogfest is a highly democratic and diverse event. Sometimes it’s like a see-saw that goes this way and then that.
There have been years when the Develop Don’t Destroy crowd dominated the Blogfest. Although I agree with their views on the Atlantic Yards project, there was criticism from other kinds of bloggers that Blogfest is not just for political activists.
...Sure, the inclusion of Borough President Marty Markowitz may have put some people off. He is a highly divisive figure in Brooklyn due to his support of the Atlantic Yards, but his purpose was to give me one of those proclamations, and I was happy about that.
To paraphrase what I said in my opening remarks: Brooklyn is a place where people strive to know their neighbors, their politicians, their artists, their educators, their shop owners, their developers, their social activists, and those they agree — and disagree — with.
Related coverage...
Atlantic Yards Report, Absolut and authenticity
So, why did the clever but heavy-handed Absolut Brooklyn marketing campaign strike such an awkward chord with some people?
I think it has to do with contested term authenticity, which got a lot of play in February, thanks to sociologist Sharon Zukin's new book Naked City: The Death and Life of Authentic Urban Places, and subject of a major New York Times article.
...So the Barclays Center markets "brownstone" and "loft" suites, and a canvas bag distributed at the groundbreaking places the giant arena next to the Brooklyn Bridge.
A nondescript new residential tower is dubbed The Brooklyner, and its advertising fudges the neighborhood description to encompass more amenities.
Posted by eric at June 11, 2010 9:36 AM