McCarren Park

Behind the sagging wire fence, all that's left of 55 Eckford Street in Greenpoint is a skeleton, its steel ribs turned rusty from months of rain. A tangle of weeds has shot up among the bottles and soggy cardboard covering the ground, and blue construction tarp flaps in the autumn wind. The place smells faintly of urine.

Is this the future of McCarren Park's shiny new condo expansion?

Not yet. But if New York's real estate boom died on Oct. 1, as The New York Times declared, then these deserted developments are its ghosts, projects left over from a more hopeful time.  read more »

The southwest corner of McCarren Park has been a meeting place for breakdancers, or “B-Boys” as they call themselves, since long before the gleaming row of luxury condos rose on Bayard Street, and a doggie daycare and organic market followed.

Anywhere from a couple to a couple dozen breakdancers continue to roll out their tarp at least three nights a week on the edge of the track, alongside the postwork joggers, picnickers, and meandering hipsters—and under the gaze of the condo-dwellers above.

They’re a motley crew of 20-somethings from the Bronx and Brooklyn (some went to the same junior high together in Williamsburg); European and Asian exchange students who’ve ventured to the city for a dose of authentic street culture; modern dance instructors who “break” in their spare time or promote competitions, and a few old-timers there to coach the new generation.  read more »