The grass is always greener

A friend was visiting from New York, he's a big shot up in Brooklyn now where he runs the arts council and is in charge of doing all sorts of art and culture things for Brooklyn and New York City. He used to live in the Grove, so he knows it well and while he is shocked about all the changes, he also was very encouraged about what we have going on here and he is going home with lots of notes and ideas to implement in Brooklyn.

The grass is always greener. We, or I, don't notice these things, but he took them all in.

He liked all the brochures that the village has now, mostly I guess from the BID - year-end reports, tourist maps and brochures. He loves the free trolley and has used a a few times himself. He loves the information kiosks and has plans to put them around his neighborhood in Brooklyn and he loves the hanging baskets around the village, and the list went on and on, I honestly can't remember it all right now, but I noticed that things we take for granted are good things happening around the village.

When he lived here, the Gallery Walk was a big thing, he remembers it well and he is implementing that in his part of Brooklyn, too. I'm going to stop by and visit him and his neighborhood, Bedford Stuyvesant when I'm up there next month. Maybe I'll get some ideas for down here. I told him about the time I got lost in Bedford Sty alone, I felt like I was stranded in a combat zone. Now it's rejuvenated and one of the latest up and coming neighborhoods in Brooklyn, still with it's old charm and architecture. Bed Sty and Park Slope among other areas, like Brooklyn Heights, take care of their history. One thing that they do, good or bad, is keep chain stores out, especially Park Slope. There may be a Starbucks, but there is a local bookstore, toy store, hardware store, etc. Also, renovating is not easy in these historic neighborhoods. No big white boxes or chrome and glass.