Afro-Punk became a touchstone of a cultural movement strongly reminiscent of the early days of Hip-Hop. Alternative urban kids across the nation (and across the globe) who felt like outsiders discovered they were actually the core of a boldly innovative, fast-growing community.

With the temperature in the 90′s and little-to-no breeze, I was surprised to see the festival already buzzing along. The BMX “Battle For The Streets” had gathered a crowd on the street course — complete with stair-set, rails, and grind boxes. The contest ended on a high note with one overachiever doing a backflip off of the ramp and out of the course.

The local vendors were out in flux. There were bikers and skaters riding around, and graffiti artists tagging a wall that had been built for the event. It was a really great day in Brooklyn. Though I don’t identify myself as an afro-punk or even a punk for that matter, I did not feel ostracized by the scene (as can often be the case in scenes). The music was great, and as diverse as the crowd, from hip hop to punk, pop to hardcore, soul to funk-infused metal.

Martin Luther (left) 24-7 Spyz (right)

J* Davey (left) K-OS (right)

Cool Kids

Mos Def, headlining the festival (above and below)

I’m not alone, either. Frank over at New York City Garden begs for rain, Kitty at New York Portraits heads to the dog beach at Prospect Park to cool off, and Marie at 66 Square Feet opines, “Make it stop!”

But my fire escape plants? They’re undeterred. This morning I discovered a single lovely yellow globe on my sun gold tomato plant and the other clusters are well on their way. My four types of basil are all going bonkers and the rosemary is stretching taller and taller each day. The gardens and parks in my South Slope neighborhood are looking lovely, and it seems that lilies are sprouting up everywhere I look!

While I heft the umpteenth gallon of water from my faucet to the fire escape, check out the photos below!

Sweet basil seeks ripe tomato, preferably of heirloom varietal, for match made in heaven. Willing to discuss open relationship with ricotta or mozzarella.

There have been lots of additions to this growing fire escape garden since I last photographed it — nasturtiums, sage, oregano, thyme, and even my succulents are out and enjoying the heat!

On 6th Avenue at 15th Street, the community garden is in full swing. Stop by on the weekends for a stroll through the beautiful flowers!

Even this little park off the Prospect Expressway gets some love. It’s so green right now, it’s an oasis!

Despite the baking heat from the sidewalk, these resilient lilies enjoy direct southern sun along 19th Street.

Until I went to Prospect Park.

The park was teeming with people; smoke from the barbecue grills rose all around us, and hundreds of people blasted festive party music. On a roundabout walk with our picnic blanket in tow, we ventured across the park to the dog beach to watch the puppies romp and the kids light up with joy. Of course I brought my medium format camera along to play, too! Enjoy some shots below of Prospect Park over Memorial Day, and I hope you had a fantastic holiday wherever you were!

Many thanks to Lucy and Vitaliy for contributing this photo essay; can’t wait to see more from them!

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Half marathons, at 13.1-miles, are quickly becoming my favorite distance to run, but it is especially great, and such a treat to run it in Brooklyn. Saturday’s race began with cheerful greetings from Brooklyn President, Marty Markowitz, the President of the NY Road Runners, Mary Wittenberg, and Councilman Domenic Recchia, Jr., who ran the race and finished at a respectable 2:58. The course took us from a double loop in Prospect Park to the tree-lined Ocean Parkway and on to a finish at the iconic Coney Island Boardwalk. The winners were Belay Kassa at 1:08:02, and Kelly Chin at 1:19:51 followed by more than 7,000 fabulous runners. I shot the race from the road (with a very light point & shoot), while Vitaliy caught the scenes from the sidelines.

First off: Warming up inside Prospect Park before the race!

Remember: Hydration is important.

Out of the park and on to tackle the road…

Sprinting down the boardwalk toward the finish line!

While hundreds turn out to support the runners…

… and give kisses at the finish line.

Evidence of one awesome race…who’s ready to go again!?!

Check out some shots below, and many thanks to Gothamist for featuring one of these shots on Friday!

Nothing like a cold, dark, and rainy winter to make you appreciate the nice weather. It is so amazing to be able to ride my bike down to the water after work and still have a bit of sunshine. The Brooklyn Bridge Park Pier 1 opened just in time for us to soak up some some beautiful spring sunsets. Adding 6 acres of park and 1,300 feet of promenade to Brooklyn’s waterfront, Pier 1 provides not only good people watching, but also some sick views of the Harbor, Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan Skyline.

With views like that, you’re bound to run into other photographers, but don’t start turf wars — they just might be fellow ForTheLoveofBrooklynites. Here are some other shots from Pier 1 that have been spotted in the FTLOB Flickr pool.

“New Paths,” by Krugerlive:

“Watching the Sun Set,” by Barry Yanowitz:

“Brooklyn Bridge Park,” by Jackie Weisberg:

Untitled, by This Charming Broad:

Vintage bottles on the beach at Dead Horse Bay.

As part of this massive day dedicated to exploration, I trekked out past Floyd Bennett Airfield to explore Dead Horse Bay, a fascinating inlet just this side of the Rockaways. The Bay had piqued my interest ever since reading about it on Nathan Kensinger’s blog last year. The fantastic folks at Underwater New York had organized the visit in tandem with Atlas Obscura, and they brought loads of historical articles to read through as we explored the beach.

Beautiful seaside grasses hide secrets of the industrial wasteland past.

It turns out that the bay is actually a former island (“Barren Island”) which was the primary trash processing facility for the New York metro area beginning in the 1850′s. The bay acquired its gruesome name as an ode to the past; at one point, there were as many as two dozen animal processing facilities operated by a colony of settlers who turned the remains of fish from fish oil plants, streetcar horses, and the city’s dead animal population into fertilizers. The island supported a population of as many as 1,500 residents at its peak, though the lack of sewage and electricity, when combined with the stench one could reportedly smell from two miles away, made it a blight on the Brooklyn landscape.

Fragments of bone and glass litter the beach.

In the 1920′s, once automobiles had started to replace horses and NYC had begun dumping its trash into the sea, the island population declined. In the late 1920′s, nearby Floyd Bennett Airfield was built and landfill construction connected Barren Island to the Brooklyn mainland. Now, the topography of the area has once again changed into the beautiful Gateway National Recreation Area, though relics of the past remain at Dead Horse Bay (especially at low tide). Despite its bizarre past, Dead Horse Bay is truly one of the most interesting places I’ve visited in Brooklyn, and a strangely beautiful glimpse of post-industrial anthropology.

Vintage ephemera hint at the morning routines of my great-grandparents. Now where is my toothpaste…

I was struck by how peaceful the beach is.

Washed ashore: old boats, cast iron sinks, driftwood, you name it.

A coconut? In Brooklyn?!

I can’t even speculate.

Beautiful shells from hundreds of miles away litter the beach, often in better condition than the glass!

Vintage bottles are a scavenger’s dream.

Long walks on this beach are more than memorable.

As Peter said, it was cold as hell in Coney Island Thursday night. So cold my freshly charged battery died after 4 shots. I think I need to get a new battery to keep warm in my pocket. With 30mph winds and temperatures near zero, my battery wasn’t the only one dying. It was kinda creepy to be the only people out in Coney Island with the near full moon. The wind was creating a sand/garbage storm that made this shoot feel a bit like warfare. Get in, get your shots and get out alive.

Scenes from a Coney Island Thursday night. Since neither Matt nor I have been shooting in Brooklyn at night recently, we decided to take a drive to Coney Island. We really underestimated the wind. It was about 20 degrees out, but close to zero with windchill. We didn’t last long in that weather (mainly on account of the sand flying into, and getting stuck in the cracks of the lenses and camera gear), but a few photos were snagged before mother nature got the better of us.