"With her husband, Joseph, Ms. Mariano has for 36 years been living in a brownstone on President Street, between Bond and Hoyt, an area she considers to be in Gowanus, the nascent neighborhood between Carroll Gardens and Park Slope. Both artists and retired teachers, the couple moved to the area from the West Village in 1974, well before this part of Brooklyn was hip (or particularly safe). Over the years they have built up their formerly dilapidated building into a do-it-yourself artists' dream home. Upstairs rooms are jam-packed with paint, canvases and quilting materials, while the lower area, centered around a cozy kitchen, is a utilitarian gallery of colorful recycled materials and found objects, from doors to floor tiles.Ms. Mariano has a special passion for industrial architecture and historic buildings—after three decades in the neighborhood, she senses the character and appeal that the warehouses bring and the creative, artistic types that such spaces attract—a recipe for the conditions that eventually lead to New York's ubiquitous neighborhood gentrification. The unique character of a neighborhood like Gowanus has a particularly Jane Jacobs–y appeal: one where residential, light industrial and commercial spaces all interact to create a varied and diverse population (although now it's admittedly gentrified, not unlike Jacobs' own Greenwich Village).
"I'm a preservation person at heart," Ms. Mariano said, "and I believe in this phrase people are starting to use, 'adaptive re-use,' and this is about just that." She pauses reflectively, fingering the beads on one of the colorful Bakelite necklaces she often sports along with her handmade knitwear. "These buildings can be used rather than torn down.""
Also at PMFA and FIB, who also has the photo credit.
Good for her.
ReplyDeleteThe independent-minded Linda Mariano has been a Carroll Gardens gem. She pushes envelopes. She makes people aware. Like it or not.. or agree with her, or not.. she's unafraid to speak her mind, and devote her attention to a cause. People who have a passion and deep concern for where they live, and their neighbors' well-being -- are Brooklynites, through and through. She's not alone in working toward goals (to her credit as she'll tell you) - but it was that organization that set a tone for local City elections in '09 which needed speak, clarify & react to the issue of the Gowanus Canal. She's a voice you can't ignore, and brings questions that ultimately meet with answers.
This article in the 'Observer' is a credit for that publication and that one reporter -- to recognize a local dynamo that doesn't self-promote.
Having spoken with both women in my past, there's parallels in spirit. Linda hasn't the celebrity of JJ, or written a book. She hasn't been a scourge of a citywide/statewide kingpin, but locally in her own right, she's everything JJ was and then some. Remember, Jane Jacobs moved to Connecticut and may she rest in peace, for decades was a powerful voice that was retired to CT. Linda's voice remains local, considerable, loud and proud.
Good to read something about it.
above added by Joe Nardiello (url or no url)
ReplyDeleteJoe - Didn't Jane Jacobs ultimately settle in Toronto?
ReplyDelete