Bruce's grandfather, an Italian immigrant, opened this printing business in Bushwick over 100 years ago. As I was walking by, my eye was drawn inside by the incredible collection of paper, type pieces, and ancient printing presses.
Walking past, I noticed that the frieze of the building on the left contained the seal of the City of Brooklyn. Brooklyn ceased being an independent city in 1898, when it became part of New York City, so I knew it must be a fairly old building, despite the modern-looking facade. As I was pondering this, a guy walked up to me and told me that it was built as a police station. The building you see here was originally the horse stable, and the upper floor was the hay loft. Upon further research, I learned that this was originally the 20th Precinct station, and then became the 83rd Precinct station when the precincts were renumbered in 1929. The 83rd Precinct has since moved to a different location, and this building is now occupied by the Brooklyn North Task Force.
The poem is titled "Ciudad sin Sueño (Nocturno de Brooklyn Bridge)".
Also: Kyrgyzstan!
