← All Of It with Alison Stewart
All Of It with Alison Stewart
Your Favorite Brooklyn Storefronts
00:25:04
A new book of illustrations and writing pays homage to some of the most beloved stores around Brooklyn.
Loading summary
Transcript84 lines
- [00:01]
Alison Stewart
Oh my gosh. Have you been to Marshall's lately? They have all the brand name and designer pieces you love, but without the jaw dropping price tags. Alright, so here's the you should never have to compromise between quality and price. And at Marshall's you don't have to. Marshall's believes everyone deserves access to the good stuff and that's why their buyers hustle around the clock. To make it happen for you, visit a Marshalls store near you or shop online at marshalls.com@rxbar they believe in simple nutrition without the BS. That's why they said NO to artificial ingredients and yes to deliver intentional transparent nutrition. Try their original 12 gram protein bar, the Nut Butter and Oat bar or Minis Rxbar, the proud sponsor of no BS. Use code RXBAR on RXBAR.com for 25% off, subject to full terms and conditions and to change. Valid until September 30, 2025 and may not be combined with other offers. See rxbar.com for full details and limitations. Listener Support WNYC Studios this is all of it. I'm Alison Stewart live from the WNYC studios in soho. Thank you for spending part of your day with us. I'm really grateful that you're here. On today's show, we'll speak with neurosurgeon and author Theodore Schwartz about how brain surgery has changed over the years, something I've been thinking a lot about. And actor Ruth Wilson and journalist Emily Maitlis joined me in studio to talk about their new Amazon prime series, A Very Royal Scandal. It's about the lead up to Prince Andrew's explosive 2019 BBC interview in which he talked about his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. That's the plan. So let's get this started with some love for Brooklyn.
- [01:57]
Caller
Sometimes I feel like my only friend.
- [02:01]
Alison Stewart
Is the city I live in. It's beautiful Brooklyn known as I live.
- [02:08]
Joel Holland
Here believe I'm gonna fly cause it's.
- [02:12]
Caller
The B the all the O the.
- [02:14]
Alison Stewart
Okay L Y N is the place where I say the be ticket all.
- [02:19]
Caller
To the O the okay best in.
- [02:21]
Alison Stewart
The world A O U S A.
- [02:23]
Caller
Is the B Tigger of the O.
- [02:24]
Alison Stewart
The OK L Y N is the place where I the beats to get off to the O the okay place.
- [02:31]
Caller
Where I rest this on my born day bus.
- [02:33]
Alison Stewart
That's Most Def's love letter to his hometown, Brooklyn, which is mentioned in the introduction of a new coffee table book devoted to Brooklyn's storefronts. Local businesses, new and old, are what turn a neighborhood into a community and we have all of your favorite spots. Illustrator Joel Holland has drawn more than 200 storefronts around Brooklyn, accompanied with short entries about each place from writer David Dodge. There are illustrations from classic institutions raising from Sahadi's to Ginger's Bar to the New York Transit Museum. The book is called Brooklyn Illustrations of the Iconic NYC Nateboro's Best Loved Spots. And ahead of their book launch event at Greenlight Bookstores on September 25th at 7:30pm Joel Holland and David Dodds are in studio with me. Welcome back.
- [03:20]
David Dodge
Thank you so much.
- [03:21]
Joel Holland
Thank you for having me.
- [03:22]
Alison Stewart
Listeners, let's get you in on the conversation, especially of those of you in Brooklyn. What are your favorite Brooklyn storefronts and why? Our number is 212-433-WNYC 212-433-9692. Maybe it's a place you always pass in your neighborhood that brightens your day, or a place that you pass in a different neighborhood that you always admired. Why do you think Brooklyn storefronts add charm to the borough? Call or Text us at 212-433-WNYC 212-433-9692. It could be a storefront that served customers for more than 100 years. It could be a storefront that's newly opened. We want to know. 2124-3396-9221-2433 wnyc. Joel, tell me about your drawing process. Do you visit a space before you draw it or do you have pictures? How do you start?
- [04:12]
Joel Holland
It's a very good question. I for this book, we, David and I crowdsourced a bit to fill out our list of places to include. So sometimes I will go by a place and draw it. Sometimes I'll just take a picture myself if I have a good but for this book, sometimes that was being supplied to me and then someone lives in Bay Ridge and they're sending me their favorite Knish spot or something. And then they sent me the images as well.
- [04:45]
Alison Stewart
What does crowdsourcing look like? When you were crowdsourcing all of these.
- [04:48]
David Dodge
Storefronts, it was actually a lot of fun. So the first book that we worked on together, New York City Storefronts, was really a compilation of Joel's favorite places in Lower Manhattan, mostly, which I live in the same neighborhood. So I was familiar with the lot of them. But they were, like Joel was saying, they were handed to me. And I was able to just, you know, research the ones that were on that list. This one we were able to Start from scratch. So we put out a really wide call to, you know, throughout social media, we relied on some very trusted Brooklynites to give us their favorite places. And yeah, it was, I would say, you know, Brooklyn on its own would be the fourth largest city in the country. So it was. The crowdsourcing was a challenge, but it made it a lot of fun.
- [05:32]
Alison Stewart
You mentioned people in the book Tongue in Cheek that you lived in Manhattan for 20 years. So what was the experience like for you, getting to know all of these different storefronts around the borough?
- [05:43]
David Dodge
It was great, I will say. I will admit, as you know, I've lived most of my time in New York over the last 22 years. Ish. In Manhattan. I did have a stint in Clinton Hill, so I'm going to claim that I just rolled his eyes at you. That's so funny. Yeah. Joel has a 10 year history in Brooklyn over me, so I'm willing to admit that. But when I first moved here, I feel like everything I did was in Manhattan and that's just changed so much. So much of the interesting art and culture nightlife. I'm in Brooklyn constantly now. A lot of my good friends live in Brooklyn, so it was great to dive deeper into some of the places I've known for a long time and then discover countless places that I am a little bit embarrassed I didn't know.
- [06:24]
Alison Stewart
Before I did this book to draw a storefront. What kind of detail are you paying attention to, Joel?
- [06:33]
Joel Holland
Everything, really. What we include in these books tends to be story based. Like, what is the story behind this place? Not so much the aesthetics. And one thing that I've really enjoyed is capturing the tiny, tiny details of like a little piece of fabric hanging off a chair that no one really notices. And then when I go to see it, I see that piece of fabric and to me it resonates. And I know what that means to the owners or to the people that go there. So, like, those kinds of details that are like personal touches help the stories kind of blossom.
- [07:12]
Alison Stewart
Let's take a call. Let's talk to Liz, who's calling in from Brooklyn. Hi, Liz, thanks for calling all of it.
- [07:21]
Caller
Hi. Wow. Allison. Yeah, I'm calling from Brooklyn. I'm from Park Slope and I'm calling about Ankiro Books, which was opened in the 90s. And as a kid I would go there. The woman was an African American proprietor. It was like on Flatbush Avenue, where it meets 6th Avenue and there's like a little island there and most deaf and Talib Kweli Work there.
- [07:47]
Alison Stewart
Nice.
- [07:47]
Caller
And it was just, yeah.
- [07:52]
Alison Stewart
Excellent story. Thank you so much for calling. Liz.
- [07:54]
Joel Holland
Well, actually, I used to live around the corner from that spot and once or twice I saw Telebukweli walking by. And to me it was like this groundbreaking moment, but it was, you know, nothing to anyone else in the street.
- [08:08]
Alison Stewart
Listeners, what's your favorite Brooklyn storefront and why? Maybe it's a place you always passed in your neighborhood that brightens your day or a place you've passed, a different neighborhood that you always admire. Tell us. 2124-3396-9221-2433-WNYC. Our social media is Olive NYC. Tell us why you think Brooklyn storefronts add to the charm of a neighborhood. 212-433-969-2212, wnyc. My guests are David Dodge and Joel Holland. They are the authors of the book Brooklyn Storefronts. David, how could we use this book? We're going to get into some details, but how can we use this book almost as a guide to know New York better, To know Brooklyn better.
- [08:50]
David Dodge
That's interesting you bring that up. Joel and I were just talking about this and kind of came to the conclusion that it shouldn't be used so much as like a, like a guide that you would go on like a walking tour with. But, you know, I think we both view this as a love letter to Brooklyn storefronts. And even though you might have, you know, lived in your neighborhood for decades, there's gonna be things in this book you've never heard of. You're gonna discover new restaurants and shops and institutions. Then you'll fall back in love with the storefronts that you've known your whole life and discover a little bit of lore and tidbits of information about it. So, yeah, so I'd see it more as like a flip through it. Find a couple spots you've never heard of or you want to learn a little bit more about and go check them out.
- [09:30]
Alison Stewart
When you're looking at a storefront, Joel, you're looking obviously at the size and the shape. What are some qualities that you think make for a great storefront?
- [09:40]
Joel Holland
I come from an illustration, hand lettering, background. So my number one interest is the typography, the signage, whatever is featured. In that sense, I like a good old sign biased for that. From there, it's, it's whatever they offer. I often say that the best places in most of the ones in here, they kind of draw themselves. I am a little bit partial to an awning? I don't know. I like a good awning but it's, it's all over the place. I lean towards the hand painted stuff, the neon signs like those things and.
- [10:13]
Alison Stewart
You write blurbs to go along with the pictures. What kind of research did you have to do?
- [10:19]
David Dodge
I do a pretty deep dive into news articles, other types. I mean the neighborhood based online newspapers were super helpful like Black owned Brooklyn. I used to source that a ton to find out not just some storefronts to include but also little bits of their history. One of my favorite things to do is go into reviews of, of these places and find just like a crazy or interesting or a little bit of information about someone's very unusual or particular experience at these storefronts. So yeah, and then you know when I'm able to conversations with people that actually work there or own the store. But yeah, which is a little bit hard to do. And there's over 200. We would love to be able to touch base with each and every one but that's. Yeah, it's a tall order.
- [11:07]
Alison Stewart
We got a good text here. It says I learned a piece of family history recently. My great grandfather worked on the Nathan's famous storefront sign in Coney Island. I've been researching trying to find more information on the construction of Nathan's. I don't know if the story is truly or just a piece of family lore, but it gave the iconic Nathan's storefront a special layer of meaning for me.
- [11:28]
David Dodge
That's great.
- [11:29]
Joel Holland
That's awesome.
- [11:30]
Alison Stewart
We also got one that said vegan storefront at Fulton and South Portland in Brooklyn, notable for its great mural of Biggie above it. Another favorite storefront of mine is the Brooklyn School House Preschool in Clinton Hill. It's just cheerful and welcoming with the sound of kids playing in the yard. The kids art projects are on display and it's impossible not to smile when you walk by it. Thank you for those texts. Let's get into some pictures in the book. Let's start with Greenlight Bookstore where you'll be hosting your event on September 25th at 7:30pm I understand that actually drawing the drawing the bookstore, the outside of it was a challenge. Yes.
- [12:08]
Joel Holland
Well what I'm, what I focus on is primarily the storefront, right. So we have the signage, we have whatever kind of door system they have going on. Bookstores often present their own unique challenge where like I need to show something in the windows. Like it's kind of infinite somehow capturing all of that is a challenge because you want it to be timeless. It shouldn't necessarily be very specific like it's Stephen King books, but you want it to be diverse. I think that that storefront in particular, there's also a ramp in the front, which I just had some kind of problem. That's a me problem.
- [12:48]
Alison Stewart
Let's talk to Kimberly calling in from Brooklyn. Hi Kimberly, thanks for calling all of it.
- [12:54]
Caller
Hi. So I thought I would share my absolute favorite. It's like an I spa every day on my run when I go past a place called the Long Island Bar on Atlantic Avenue and Hicks. I don't know if you're familiar with it, but it's a 50. I think it opened in 51 and it was a family run business. It still is. It sort of looks like an old diner signage. And then across the street is a place called Montero's that was started by another family member and that signage is still there and it's got the old neon and it's just so good looking because it's so authentic.
- [13:36]
Alison Stewart
You know, we got a little detail for you here.
- [13:39]
David Dodge
You will find this bar on page 67 of our book. Both Jo and I were just rapidly flipping through this because we started with so many. It's hard to remember what actually ended up in the book and not. But it's a great story. It was opened by, as you said, a man named Ramon Montero in 1951. And afterwards his daughter Emma and her husband Buddy took over the business until 2013. And it continues to be a very frequented, popular bar and it does have a pretty iconic storefront.
- [14:09]
Joel Holland
Yeah, the Long island bar is on 67. Montero's is also in there on page 97. Long Island Bar has been renovated recently, Montero's has not. But they're both exquisite examples of old school Brooklyn establishments.
- [14:26]
Alison Stewart
Let's talk to Kate who's calling in from Boreham Hill. Hi Kate, thanks for calling all of it.
- [14:31]
Caller
Hi, thanks for taking my call. I've lived in Boreham Hill for 43 years and seen loads of changes. But the block, it's another shout out for Atlantic Avenue. The block between Hoyt and Bond, kind of one of the key blocks with so much clothing and homewares. And there's a new for a year art gallery at 369 Atlantic Avenue. It's called Studio 369. And they have art for all kinds of tastes and prices. They also on the weekend have a young woman who paints on the premise and they also sell art supplies and books and they have a thing set up where you can go in with. You can just draw and paint in there. And they're just so welcoming. It's really a wonderful addition to the block.
- [15:18]
Alison Stewart
We love that. Thank you so much for calling in. Next on our list, we have the African Record center in Prospect, Lefferts Gardens. It says the owners, they say they are credited with introducing African music to the world. Tell us a little bit about the space.
- [15:35]
David Dodge
Yeah, this place is pretty incredible. It was started by four brothers, Roger, Rudy, Roland and Roy, in 1969. And their mission was just to try to introduce New York and the rest of the country to African music from across the continent. And they very boldly claimed in a New York Times interview recently that they introduced African music to the United States. But really very few people would rebut that claim. They were the first to stock fellow Kuti in the country, and they worked with him on several of his albums. And a lot of people credit this center with helping turn him into the global sensation that he became.
- [16:16]
Alison Stewart
We are just talking about Brooklyn Illustrations of the iconic NYC boroughs. Best Loved Spots. It's a new book out by David Dodge and Joel Holland. We'll take more of your calls after a quick break. This is all of It. You were listening to all of it on wnyc. I'm Alison Stewart. My guests in studio are David Dodge, he's a writer. Joel Holland, he's an illustrator. They have a new book called Brooklyn Illustrations of the Iconic NYC Borough's Best Loved Spots. Let's go to Williamsburg and discuss a museum that we actually talked about on this show last week, City Reliquary. It's interesting. You're walking down Metropolitan, you look over, you're like, hey, wait, that's a museum.
- [17:05]
David Dodge
I love this place as well. And an interesting part about doing the research for these storefronts is just how many of these small kind of community institutions are centered around, like, iconic kind of eccentric person. And this one was started by a man named Dave Herman in 2002. And he actually wasn't really setting out to start a museum necessarily. He would just display some random objects in his mirror, things like antique statues of liberty, and people started to take notice. So he started to develop it even further and eventually turned it into a permanent collection which includes just New York City ephemera from all over, like early subway tokens. He has paint chips from train platforms. And he. He also has what the museum's website claims to be a very old shovel.
- [17:55]
Alison Stewart
And they also have an exhibit about tattoos based on the Statue of Liberty.
- [17:59]
David Dodge
Yeah, currently.
- [18:01]
Alison Stewart
Let's talk to Natasha online too. Hi, Natasha, thanks for calling, all of it.
- [18:06]
Caller
Thank you, guys. Hi, nice to be on the air.
- [18:09]
Alison Stewart
Nice. Tell us what you're like.
- [18:12]
Caller
Sure. So I wanted to talk about, for the record, this is a coffee and vinyl shop. It's opened, I think only about like three plus years. Independently owned. The owner is a guy named Lucas Desine. These guys opened it as a coffee shop. They roast the beans themselves. The storefront, I don't know how terribly iconic it is, but this is in like this heart of Greenpoint on Manhattan Avenue, you know. And this has just been part of the sort of evolution of this neighborhood. And just a friendly, very community based, very youthful. I wouldn't even. I mean, young, of course, but youthful. So like, kind of all walks of life are welcome. And they have thousands of vinyl records there. Just you can go in and browse, you can buy and you can just enjoy the vibe.
- [19:03]
Alison Stewart
I endorse her on that, by the way. Thanks for calling in. While we're in Greenpoint, let's talk about Peter Pan Donuts. Who does a. Who doesn't love a donut? But why is their storefront. So I guess it's iconic. I hate using the word too much, but it actually works for Peter Pan. What do you think?
- [19:23]
Joel Holland
Well, if you look, they have an awning. It's beautiful, right? The colors are really smart. I lived in Greenpoint a while ago for a minute, and I was struck by the inside. Right. The donuts were really good. I enjoyed sitting at the counter. To me, that's where it started. And then when this project got going, I had to include them because it's everything. It's the combination. Kind of like city reliquary where David detailed a great story behind it. But it also hits all the notes. That museum is beautiful. Like, it has a beautiful awning, old school bodega kind of look. Peter Pan donut. Like, it just. It looks perfect to me.
- [20:05]
Alison Stewart
And Spider man too. You know?
- [20:07]
Joel Holland
Spider man too.
- [20:08]
Alison Stewart
Let me ask you about your. The actual.
- [20:10]
Caller
The.
- [20:10]
Alison Stewart
The way the book is laid out, some pages have, like, on this one, I'm showing you guys. And imagine this at home. It's got eight different storefronts. And then, as opposed to the one before, which is John's sharpening Service has one page. How did you decide on the layout?
- [20:26]
David Dodge
Oh, Allison, it was a journey.
- [20:28]
Alison Stewart
It was a journey.
- [20:30]
David Dodge
It was dictated a lot by just how much of a story, like how, you know, how in detail. I needed to get with the writing. So the Writing and the story behind it kind of dictated a lot of it. We were also looking to be. Again, we're not claiming that this is fully representative of a borough that speaks 200 languages and et cetera, et cetera. But, you know, we. We tried to. Yeah, tried to. Anything add Joel.
- [20:55]
Joel Holland
We were trying to figure out how to break it down. We did it in, like, small, medium, large. That's how we kind of labeled it. And that was the nomenclature we used, having no idea how it would be depicted. And our editor, Ali, worked with us, Ali Gitlow, on figuring out which ones fit into those categories. But also the designer of all of our books, Alex Stieckleather, just did an amazing job. I remember when I saw the layout for the first time, I was blown away. Like, somehow it works in a way where you just not to. I'm not. I don't mean to talk about the book. My own book in that way.
- [21:33]
David Dodge
I'm here.
- [21:33]
Alison Stewart
I mean, to talk about it. It's okay.
- [21:34]
Joel Holland
I'm kind of like a sucker for it where it's like. So I'm like, this is. It looks so fresh.
- [21:40]
David Dodge
But it was. Yeah, it was a long process to get to the final spread, but. And there's a lot of shifting. Some would start large and end up medium. Again, just trying to make it as representative as we.
- [21:50]
Alison Stewart
Well, as long as we're on. John Shoppering service. Tell me about John's in Dykern Heights. The store. What is interesting about the store that says scissors, knives, nippers, surgical instruments, wholesale.
- [22:02]
Joel Holland
If I could go first. So I was. I learned about this place from a friend who recommended it. I looked at it. It was beautiful or whatever. The thing that I really enjoy about these projects, working with David is when the book comes out or I. Obviously, I see the. The proofs and we. We edited and everything. But in the process, I'm learning all kinds of new things about places that someone else has a personal history or connection with. So, like, when David busts out all of the facts that he decided or decided upon, like it was. It's really fun to read these things.
- [22:33]
David Dodge
This. It's just another example of, like, such a character. A store that's kind of been built around a big personality. So John's sharpening service is a knife sharpening center. But also he was a hairstylist as well and had several, like, salons in the. In the neighborhood. But he also decided to branch out into beauty, dental and podiatry products as well. So this was all being sold from the Same storefront. And so, you know, he would have people coming in to sharpen their nails and maybe walking out with some serrated forceps. It was kind of. He's since passed, unfortunately, but his. His family continues to run it as his three sons, Vinnie, Joe and Dominic, and they're trying to keep it in the same spirit that it's always been.
- [23:16]
Alison Stewart
All right, you guys think about your favorite pictures or stories, and I'm gonna go to a call and I'll come to you guys in a minute. Let's talk to Jackie on line one. Hi, Jackie. Thanks for calling, all of it.
- [23:27]
Caller
Hi, thanks for taking my call. So, yeah, I wanted to talk about little things because I grew up in Park Slope, Brooklyn, and my mom used to take me to little things. And they still have, like, the purple awning with the same kind scripted lettering. And like, now I take my kids there and it's just like, super exciting. And they love to, like, look at the toys in the window and just, you know, it's just. It's a fun toy shop and like, the purple really draws your eye to it.
- [23:58]
Alison Stewart
Well, you'll be very happy to know that it's on page 129 of this book. Thanks for calling in, Jackie. All right, final questions. What are your favorite? What's your favorite in the book, Joel? Jeez, I gave you warning.
- [24:12]
Joel Holland
I know it's hard to pick just one. My favorite would probably be Di Farra's, visually and also deliciously. I knew, like, the first time I heard about that place, I wanted to taste the pizza, went there. And the whole package of the food being delicious, it looks like you want it to. And I remember the first time I went, it was when Dominic was still alive and he's cutting the basil with scissors from a bucket in the window. And I was like, smitten with the whole thing.
- [24:48]
Alison Stewart
How about you, Dave?
- [24:49]
David Dodge
So, yeah, also, it would be a struggle to pick a favorite, but I'm going to go back to Greenlight Bookstore, actually. Not just because they are hosting our book launch on Wednesday 25th at 7:30, free to the public, but they have a great story behind them too. So many of these storefronts, as I was researching them, really, it's clear that they operate as so much more than just the services providing or whatever they're trying to sell. They're really hubs of the community. And Greenlight is definitely that. For Fort Greene, it was started by Rebecca Fitting and Jessica Stockholm Bagnolo, who met at Barnes and Noble when they were working there and then tried to start their own independent bookstore, but they couldn't get a loan from any bank because at this point this is like 2009. It's like a losing bet to try to get a loan for any sort of independent bookstore. But they didn't give up and they managed to crowdfund $70,000 from within their own networks and the surrounding community who just trusted enough that they were going to create something that was going to be worthwhile to the community. They managed to pay all this back to everyone within five years with interest, and it's now a thriving part of the community.
- [25:55]
Alison Stewart
The name of the book is Brooklyn Illustrations of the iconic NYC borough's best loved spots. Writer David Dodge and illustrator Joel Holland. They have written the book. Thanks to all our callers who called in and thanks to you guys for coming to the studio.
- [26:08]
David Dodge
Thank you so much.
- [26:09]
Joel Holland
Thank you for having us.
- [26:12]
David Dodge
This is Ira Flato, host of Science Friday. For over 30 years, the science Friday team has been reporting high quality science and technology news, making science fun for curious people by covering everything from the outer reaches of space to the rapidly changing world of AI to the tiniest microbes in our bodies. Audiences trust our show because they know we're driven by a mission to inform and serve listeners first and foremost with important news they won't get anywhere else. And our sponsors benefit from that halo effect. For more information on becoming a sponsor, visit sponsorship.wnyc.org.