Brooklyn: That "Not So Posh" Feeling

The 3000-passegner Queen Mary 2 docked in it's brand new port in Red Hook last week to much fanfare. The Brooklyn Paper was there to document the reaction of debarking passengers to their first sight of our fair borough. Here's the result of their random sampling of tourists, who were asked what they thought when they heard the word "Brooklyn."

TOURIST	COMMENT
Nicola Ingram, Kent, England	“Brooklyn? I have heard of it from the TV. It’s not as posh as Manhattan.”
Ian Marsden, Brighton, England	“Brooklyn? That’s the Bronx, right? My preconception is that Brooklyn is a poor area. I’m going to Ground Zero and then flying home.”
Danny Dewey, Oshawa, Ontario	“It looks like a depressed area. I think a face-lift is in order.”
Suzette Sedty, Luxembourg, Sweden	“Brooklyn is a big quarter [neighborhood] of New York — but not a nice one.”
Lee John, Singapore	“Manhattan is much better. Here you have to walk to get anywhere. I am catching a taxi.“
Maurice Bishop, North Queensland, Australia	“You can’t arrive in Brooklyn and say ‘I’m going to stay a week,’ if you don’t know where to go. Who is going to tell us about Brooklyn? If we had a Brooklyn tour book, maybe we’d stay.”
Michael Stapleton, Derbyshire, England	“We’re taking a bus to Manhattan. My wife wants to go shopping on Fifth Avenue.”

As the paper noted, apparently we still have a lot of work to do to "win these hearts and minds."

Fortunately, Brooklyn's head cheerleader, Marty Markowitz, was undaunted:

Markowitz has set up a kiosk at the cruise terminal that will be manned by volunteers who will promote Brooklyn institutions rather than merely handing tourists a map of Manhattan and a bus ticket.

One such a map, printed by the Southwest Brooklyn Industrial Development Corporation, was available, but few people took it, and even fewer followed it to such Red Hook treasures as 360, Hope & Anchor, and LeNell’s.

“This is a joke,” said Tonya “Lenell” Smothers, owner of the neighborhood’s popular bourbon-filled liquor store, “Who gets off a boat and goes to general contractor or a Chinese restaurant with bulletproof glass?”

But Brooklyn Brewery owner Steve Hindy was certainly pleased: His company had just gotten “a rather large order” for his legendary lager, which will soon be served on ship, spreading the “Brooklyn” name across the seven seas.

Well if it's good for Steve Hindy then it's probably good for Brooklyn. However, the mention of bourbon reminds me of punch. That's what these passengers need to acquaint them with our borough's unique charms. Punch. Maybe two. Straight to the gut.

Comments

[Dope]

Excuse them, they know no better.

Well, given the reputation of U.S. tourists abroad, I think maybe I could show a little understanding - glass houses and all that.

[Gari N. Corp]

I am ashamed for my limey peeps. Excuse them, they know no better. This is especially bad, since most limeys off the boat these days move to Brooklyn.

[Dope]

Even though I cringe when I see those double decker buses on Atlantic, I still want them to like us.

I think the folks who come to Brooklyn as a tourist destination are self selecting to begin with, and aren't the same as cruise ship passengers headed for "New York City." There are treasures in every borough, and I've met plenty of travelers who have clued me in to interesting sites in Queens, The Bronx or even Staten Island that I wasn't aware of (did you know there was a huge collection of Tibetan art there?).

Tourism will be an increasingly important source of income for Brooklyn, but I would hate to see us become a "destination attraction" like Manhattan, Branson Missouri, or Santa Fe. Whether low brow or high brow, an economy based on tourism does not produce very many living wage jobs.

What industries in addition to tourism should Brooklyn focus on?

I think small scale manufacturing (like designer furniture), specialty foods (like craft beer), bio-engineering, film production, and, if I can truly indulge in fantasy, alternative energy and transportation.

Unfortunately our Beep thinks the road to riches is professional sports and big box retail with a soupçon of 50's Brooklyn nostalgia layered on top to differentiate us from any other city in the U.S.

He'll deem us a success when all area McDonald's serve Mc Charlotte Rouses and have Dodgers action figures.

[Josh]

Ouch. Even though I cringe when I see those double decker buses on Atlantic, I still want them to like us.
But I guess Brooklyn is a "secret" better kept to ourselves.

[Dope]

Mahattan can keep all those white sneakered tourists with their heads up their arses.

If only we had a Toys-R-Us with a ferris wheel inside. Then we could be the cultural center of the universe, and keep all those tourists for ourselves. Maybe Papa Bruce Ratner will build one for us if we're nice and give him some more land and money.

By the way great posting Dope!
Aw shucks.

[This is so Punk]

That's why I love living in Brooklyn. Mahattan can keep all those white sneakered tourists with their heads up their arses. Good ridence. WE don't even want you in BK in the first place.
By the way great posting Dope!