Curious new mural on Parkside & Ocean

Over a week ago, a three-sided mural landed on Parkside, just in front of the Q subway station. I found a bit about it on Gothamist. Apparently, the paintings are by a Toronto-based street artist, Specter, who has been working out of Bed Stuy for the past few months (and also brought us this). The Department of Transportation and ISPC NYC sponsored the artwork, which is intended to depict "stories and memories from senior citizens in Flatbush, Brooklyn."

Of course, most senior citizens who grew up in Flatbush aren't still here now, which may be part of the reason the mural is a tad inscrutable to some. The only thing our Jewish relatives who grew up around here ever talk about is the Loew's Kings Theater, which I don't even see here. So who is the guitar player? The young woman with the funky hat? Bohack? Huh? Anyone?

Comments

[Bob Marvin]

"Bohack? Huh? Anyone?"

Bohack was a New York supermarket chain that went out of business at least 30years ago.

I think this is a great art installation.

[dirnewyorkcity]

Something to amuse people when they pass by, I'm sure.

[Jonny Sender]

I remember Bohack! haha!!

By the way, great photos of murals on Lincoln, Bob!

This one is great too.

[ILOVE PLG]

There was a Wollworth's when I was growing up on Flatbush and Albermarle. It closed down in the early 1990's. Also my mom talks about the May's - but she said that it was Downtown Brooklyn.

[Erica]

I asked my mother, who is 62 and grew up near Parkside, about the mural. She remembers the TJ Korvett and how amazing it was to her that such a big store was owned by 11 Jewish Korean War vets (that's the origin of the name). To her the mural seems to represent downtown Brooklyn more than Flatbush. She wrote to me, "The mural is a nice reminder of how life goes on and one ethnic group makes room for another, but as far as accuracy goes - it's lacking. Somehow I feel like it's a bit trite."

I saw the installation of the mural and it seems a bit random sitting in the middle of the sidewalk. However, it's nice to have a little art and history on display.

[Eddie Gormley]

Bohack opened in NY in 1887 and by 1939 had 740 stores. In 1974 they filed chapter 11 and in 1977 the last Bohack closed.
E.J. Korvettes (not T.J.) I grew up believing stood for Eight Jewish Korean Veterans since the plaque outside the E.J. Korvettes house in Queens said so. According to the super reliable wikipedia it actually stood for the initials of the founders Eugene and Joe and the respelling of the naval term Corvette. The store was founded in 1948, 3 years before the Korean War.
Of commercial interest they were one of the first membership club stores fashioning itself as a retail cooperative (i.e. Costco) which allowed them to buy wholesale even cheaper than other retailers and sell cheaper. They basically found a loophole in trade law and took advantage of it. Macy's and Gimbels for years unsuccessully tried to sue them for fair-trade abuse. Apparantly when they began you could become a member from just walking in.
My parents still have the three paintings that they bought from the Korvettes "art gallery" in Douglaston Queens.

[BUZZ]

MANY OF THE OLD-TIMERS ARE STILL AROUND; THEY LAUGH AT SUCH STUFF!!!! Personally I think it is an EYESORE!!! With the SPATE of robberies going on in the HOOD; the last thing we needed is another PHYSICAL OBSTACLE to provide opportunity for CRIME.

[ceelledee]

Not all the oldtimers are laughing, Buzz. Some are actually taken up by the sudden appearance of this piece of street art. Just last weekend, I met an elderly gentleman who wanted to show me all the things he noticed on the piece. He seemed to be quite thrilled at seeing references to his likeness and whereabouts (if not exact) on the corner of Parkside and Ocean. I've also seen parents taking their children over to inspect the work. I've even seen a trio of teens do the walkabout. In this sense, the artist has achieved what he set out to do. The point is less about showing how Flatbush looked back in the day, and more about showing how some of Flatbush's current seniors look today. And, the references to places like Korvettes, Mays, Bohack and Alexanders, for example, are not literal as to location but are relevant to the age of the people who remember them.

Meanwhile, the artist makes this "tribute" to seniors not in some museum, or art gallery, or even on a fence. Rather, he places it smack dab in the middle of an especially busy sidewalk (where oftentimes old folk are vigorously ignored). As such, it's an artistic comment that is simultaneously in-your-face but also rather nonthreatening. How people respond -- or don't respond -- becomes part of the installation. And, as such, you have some folk passing by seemingly intent to ignore it, some laughing at it (as you say), others milling all about in order to engage with the comment, and others, like here, bothering to say why they do or don't like it.

[Tomgee]

I think the Bohacks was on Bedford and Clarkson

[BUZZ]

#1 I certainly did not mean offend any SENIOR CITIZENS; I
have been helping people older than me since I was a kid. I felt I was expressing some of their opinions that you yourself have seen which might not get aired online.
#2 I originally objected to the placement of the ART prior to the LABOR DAY WEEKEND; I thought it was an advertisement or SOMETHING; having it there made no sense when the street is so busy. I also object to the omission of the ART DECO NEON SEARS SIGN from the new rennovation & the MURAL
#3 I discussed THE LINCOLN RD. ARTWALL with BOB MARVIN
a long time ago because I got sick of looking @ nothing but CHEAP PLASTER BOARD. It was based on A GRAFITTI WALL MURAL PROJECT in MILL BASIN BROOKLYN where a developer gave permission to GRAFITTI
ARTISTS to PAINT the wall ANYWAY they wanted too with the understanding it could be covered @ anytime.
BOB implemented the ENTIRE PLAN by SYNERGISTICALLY coordinating the public & private sectors. I personally oversaw the PRIMING for most of the PROJECT. THANK YOU(SHAMMAR, STEVEN,NEURI, EJ
I HAVE ACHIEVED MY VISION OF AN ARTWALL; received scant acknowledgement and to prove I was correct the walls on LINCOLN RD. & FLATBUSH HAVE NOT BEEN GRAFFITTIED YET!!! GOOD STREET ART IS NEVER DEFACED!!!!!!

[Bob Marvin]

Thank you Buzz. You were very helpful when we primed the fences on Lincoln and Flatbush.

The installation on Parkside is very different that the PLG Arts Mural Project. The Parkside piece is the vision of one artist; the PLG Arts project is as much a group show as a mural. IMO both are quite wonderful.