Assemblyman Joe Lentol is one of my favorite Greenpointers, not only because he is supportive of the arts community, the local food movement and an animal lover, but because the first time I met Joe he attended a water balloon fight fundraiser for Greenpoint Open Studios. (I know you want it back! We do, too!)
His office is pretty rad with 70s wood paneling galore and his office cat Brook (short for Brooklyn) is the friendliest office greeter, ready to sit on your lap for major cuddling sessions.
Paulie Gee and Mary Ann (Mrs. Gee) and Jon and I do brunch double dates every so often. It’s a great time! I shot this portrait of Mr. Gee at M. Shanghai. If you go there, get the eggplant salad. If you go with Paulie, make sure to order two. He died over it.
When I met with Warsaw’s general manager Mark Chroscielewski to talk about hosting Greenpointers events at Warsaw, I met the nicest guy and discovered the most amazing space. I had to take his portrait. I learned that Mark’s father was on the board of Polish National Home for over 40 years and Mark actually founded the Warsaw, turning what many think to be a private club into a venue for some amazing rock concerts. (I saw Gogol Bordello there and the Dead Milkmen are coming in March…)
I decided to include Dishan in the weekly portrait series, first because she is gorgeous and a real character, but also because she is part of my weekly butt kicking series at her business Human@Ease, where she trains me. I asked Dishan a few questions:
Why GP?
I fell in love with GP about 5 years ago and I knew I wanted to open my business here. There is such an awesome sense of community. You have this amazing blend of people that gives GP that trendy feel but still with some original NY attitude.
Where do you get your daily coffee?
I usually make my own in my french press … but if I don’t, I usually order from 5 Leaves or Lokal. They are the close by.
Favorite Junkfood?
I am a sucker for anything with almond paste.
What is your favorite exercise?
That would have to be the deadlift using a trap bar. Sometimes my workout consists of just that one exercise and I am fried! I understand many of your readers don’t know what this exercise is, but believe me when I tell you, you can get an amazing full body workout in under 7 minutes with just this ONE exercise!! No joke.
Favorite place in GP?
Hmmm, this is a tough one! There are so many great places in GP and all the local businesses take such pride in their establishments and do their best to make you feel so welcome! I really couldn’t pick just one. But if I was forced to choose, I love being here at my own business in GP because it’s such a stress-free environment and I get to make others feel welcome.
Originally from Puerto Rico, living and raising her family in Greenpoint since 1978, Mrs. Garcia, by far one of my favorite Greenpointers, holds down Kingsland Ave. She invited us into her apartment on New Year’s Eve, shared with us her amazing yellow rice and chicken and showed us photos of her 11 grandchildren.
Sometimes gloomy skies turn upside down and a beautiful rainbow appears. The below are two rainbows taken about a year apart from my bedroom window on Kingsland Ave. Lots of other Greenpointers shared the same rainbows on Instagram from all different angles. I love that. In addition to photos taken from the Greenpointers Flickr pool, I want to include photos from our Instagram buddies, too. Follow us on Instagram and tag us @greenpointers or tag the photo #greenpointers for any photos you would like to be shared on the website. Enjoy this gorgeous day!
Sometimes the very things we see everyday are the things we overlook, like the siding that graces so many of the homes in Greenpoint. The way the houses are attached to one another creates interesting collisions of texture and color. I hope to compile this series into a book in the future. In the meantime, enjoy! Please join the Greenpointers Flickr Pool and follow us on Instagram: @greenpointers
