Linden and Broadway
This corner, Linden and Broadway, was one of the hardest-hit areas during the Blackout of ‘77, a time where the threat of fire was so common, residents from the era remember having to sleep with shoes on. While the Bronx famously burned, Bushwick was home to more arson than any other neighborhood in New York City. A mixture of urban decay, administrative disinvestment and negligence, and white flight, the fires were symbolic of the deep-rooted systemic issues that plagued the neighborhood.
The VIM you see on this block has stood the test of time and been around since before the fires, providing affordable kicks - cuz Payless shoes were not poppin, according to the Bushwick youth.
When They Left
By Shy Richardson
March came
with showers,
and storm drains
and umbrellas fractured in
all of their useful parts.
March came
like shock and awe,
screaming.
The jilt of life
the lesson of leaving
the reminder that
nothing thrives
in toxic earth.
March came
and brought the lonely.
With fear and anxiety
And hate speech
news broadcasting panic
Nursing homes
Empty shelves
and hunger pains
and cancelled birthdays
and virtual funerals.
March came
and let us know
that the hood is a flower bed,
no matter who stays
or leaves wilting,
falling from branches
and trees.
Something else will
grow in its place
March came
to remind us
the bone it takes
to bloom,
to show us the power
in a pistil
who dares still stretch toward
the sun.
March came
and it was hard to breathe
watery lungs and pollen and sneeze
and dirty looks and crumpled masks
and anti-facts crying about
impinged freedoms.
March came
caution tape
and plastic wrap
and bleach and
Almost a return to the
rotating window
and
a newly sanitized
On how to be human.
March came
And we had to figure out
How to push through
Like when it was burning brick
And smoke plumes
And sirens
And sputtering fire hydrants
And anxiety and hate crime
And expressways
And exits.
April came
and They left
again
and reminded us
why we write poems
about the fragrance of flowers.
It reminded us
what mourning was like
before we had
funeral parlors
to sanctify our grief.