Antonio Pulgarin
El Nino de 272
El Nino de 272. “Welcome to Wyckoff Gardens” documents a community facing the lingering uncertainty of a newly gentrified Brooklyn. Located in the Boerum Hill neighborhood, Wyckoff Gardens consists of three twenty-one-story buildings with 528 apartments housing approximately 1,226 people. Dating back to its earliest years Boerum Hill had served as a melting pot of cultures, ethnicities, and classes, but with rise of brownstones, hotels, condominiums, and commercial businesses, the area is rapidly becoming one of the most expensive and highly sought after neighborhoods in all of New York City.
Coming of age in Wycoff Gardens, my early memories of this area is one of a neighborhood untouched by these changes. Upon first glance, the project complexes felt practically segregated in this neighborhood, worlds away from the newly erected brownstones and condos. Wyckoff Gardens now felt more like relic of a bygone era, with its inhabitants serving as guardians. However, recently the area has been visibly impacted by the phenomenon of gentrification, with the cost of living increasing and commercial structures being erected close by. Historically, the media has portrayed Wyckoff Gardens as a dangerous and impoverished part of Brooklyn, a proverbial no mans land; this series aims to shed light on the true nature of this community, effectively voiding these stigmas. "Welcome to Wyckoff Gardens" celebrates this diverse working class as seen through the eyes of its inhabitants.
