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The rendering above is of the retrofitted Brooklyn Children’s Museum. Those of you that have grown up in the boro of Kings over the last thirty years should be quite familiar with the older version. Even though I was raised in Corona, I visited this building often because it was located in Mr. PENN’s former ‘hood.

I have enjoyed a pretty fantastic professional career thanks to the architects that schooled me in my post-high school dropout years. I have been able to take a firsthand account of the revitalization of New York City’s greatest immigrant county. More importantly, I have had the opportunity to deliver some of the best architectural projects to the people of the city since the days of the great depression.

I know that my dad and the Old Jew are proud of me. Without their stern lessons, and mostly their love, I would never have made the journey. I have to take a moment to thank AAUM for both of them. For my mind, there is no doubt that they both helped me get through this project. Their steadfast resolve and discipline are the biggest things I think of when the going gets tough.

This past week the ribbon was cut for the grand re-opening of this state of the art cultural science learning center. The Brooklyn Museum of Art has a grand facade made of steel and tempered glass. The Brooklyn Central Public Library has a gorgeous plaza and brand new multi-use auditorium. The Brooklyn Children’s Museum has all of that, AND it is expressly for the children.

Some of the people at the opening gala who have become accustomed to seeing me with a raggedy beard and shiny sneakers were shocked and amazed to see me in my pinstripe suit. I’m sure they all thought that I cleaned up my act to impress the politicians. What I didn’t bother to tell them was that my haircut and suit were donned out of respect for the men that put me in the place that I am.

This was how I thanked them both.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 14th, 2008 at 3:51 pm and is filed under Jig Lit Review, T.O.N.Y., When I Reminisce.... You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.