factories in my backyard
Summer 2023 –
About two summers ago, I went to IKEA located in Red Hook, Brooklyn with my partner to go pick up some items I had ordered.
On our drive there, I noticed that the closer we got, the more convoluted the roads became and warehouses and bus stations became more prevalent. There are many parts of NYC where accessibility is limited and the only way to get there is through a bus or car. As we continued to drive through the neighborhood, I noticed that the only people who were there were locals, majority Black and Puerto Ricans. It struck me that these very communities have probably pre-existed the gentrification located only a few more miles North of them such as Dumbo, Bushwick, and Bed-Stuy.
How did they survive this change? Were they against it? Or were they purposely left out? Questions such as these crossed my mind as we eventually pulled into the parking lot. But the one big question that came to mind was, why was IKEA, a popular and modern department store located in the most desolate place in NYC?
It seemed awkward for the executives to have left IKEA in this so-called isolated destination, where the only way for customers to get to the store is to set aside a day to trek all the way down to Red Hook, Brooklyn. When I used to live in Bushwick, I remember a block away from me were factories with high walls topped with barbed wire and security checkpoints….
August 31, 2026
what happened Astoria?
Summer 2026 –
film & oral history project about the gentrification occurring in Astoria, Queens and what happens to a family oriented neighborhood when real estate and business investors start catering to more transient lifestyles.
updates will be posted here!
