PEOPLE: The Flavor of Fort Greene & Clinton Hill

“We sometimes encounter people, even perfect strangers, who begin to interest us at first sight, somehow suddenly, all at once, before a word has been spoken." -- Fydor Dostoevsky

I’ve lived in Clinton Hill most of my life; and I’ve met some incredible people. Some famous, some infamous and some are just plain folks. When creating the first edition of Plenty, I focused on the stuff, because there was so much of it.  Now there’s even more, but this time around I’ve given great thought to what really makes a community, its people.  Like the restaurants and coffee shops, our people offer flavor from every corner or the world.  Like the architecture, our people provide layer upon layer of intricate interest.

I’ve been watching, talking and listening.  When Plenty enters your home this summer it will bring along some of Clinton Hill/Fort Greene’s interesting people and their equally interesting stories.

Recently I took advantage of the weather, the SONYA Studio Stroll and the Queen of All Saints Church Street Fair, to watch, talk and listen. Visiting the artists provided the same intimacy you experience when entering someone’s home.  I learned more about who they are, not to mention their preferences in wine and cheese.  The street fair, the first of many events the church will host leading up to its 100th Anniversary in 2013, offered the opportunity to create my own stories, my own art, if you will, simply from what I observed.  Local artisans ventured from behind closed doors filling Vanderbilt Avenue with color. Food merchants played a little olfactory seduction; and DJ Eva used her turntablism to capture the rhythm of the community. 

The doors of the Clinton Hill/Fort Greene were open, and people came….by foot, by bike, and by stroller.