The Big Duck offices are in Brooklyn. Almost all of the Ducks live in Brooklyn. Two of them were even born and raised in Brooklyn. There’s a lot of Brooklyn pride around here.
I live in Queens. And I love Queens. My colleagues are always extolling the virtues of Brooklyn, and I often find myself thinking—and occasionally saying—things like, “You know, I don’t need to travel to the bowels of Brooklyn. We do actually have a cheese shop in Queens.”
The MTA fails commuters going from Queens to Brooklyn or vice versa. I know, I know, there’s the G train, but it’s a little known fact that Samuel Beckett’s original title was actually Waiting for the G. Plus, from my beloved neighborhood, Sunnyside, if I work the G train into my commute, it actually takes three trains instead of two.
That’s why I make lemonade just about every day. I take the subway to the Manhattan side of the Brooklyn Bridge and then hike across it to our office. I cannot overstate the added value of a twice-daily walk across the Brooklyn Bridge.
If it’s raining I don’t walk the Bridge. I also won’t walk it on my way to work if it’s hotter than 80 degrees when I leave my apartment in the morning. Arriving to work overly drenched in sweat is cruel to colleagues and clients. But other than those exceptions, I walk it.
The Brooklyn Bridge is an iconic reminder that yes, I live in a tremendous city. Lower Manhattan looks like a colossus from the Bridge’s vantage point, and at night the midtown skyline looks like a theater set. There was one foggy morning that felt like walking through a dream, and a snowy Brooklyn Bridge is about one of the most beautiful sights you’ll see.
A woman even once passed me a note on the Bridge. Alas, I’m married. But the Brooklyn Bridge is one thing we don’t have in Queens, and sometimes I like it so much I feel like I’m cheating on Queens with Brooklyn.
Tags: Brooklyn, Manhattan, MTA, Queens
Very sweet post. You’re a lovely writer. I used to live in NJ, so you can imagine how I’d feel. Been living in SF area for 20+ years, during which time Brooklyn went from being the place your mother was from, to the uber-hip place it now is. Used to be only Soho made me feel inadequate. Now a borough can do that. Man, a lot can happen in 20 years.
Fortunately, my little hideaway neighborhood in Queens is still just that, although the hipster quotient has definitely gone up considerably since I moved there in 2000. But until that disgusting bodega on the corner gets replaced by a bistro or local artisan shop, I shouldn’t have to worry too much about feelings of inadequacy.
Thanks for reading, Lori.