Photo by Eating In Translation
Graham Avenue was always referred to as ‘Italian Greenpoint’ when I was growing up. Nobody wanted to be called Williamsburg back in the day. One of the easiest ways to spot where people grew up is their pronunciation of Graham. Pronouncing it like the L train robotic chick voice indicates you’re more than likely a newbie. Going for the two syllables Gra-ham, tells me you were from the Hispanic parts of the ‘hood and going for the long a in Graham means you are Greenpoint through and through. It’s like a regional dialect or somethin’!
Brooklyn Based does an in-depth peek at the ‘new’ Graham Avenue microhood. A cool read.
Not sure which "a" you mean is long. Both of them? Are you saying locals call it Gray-am, Gra-haime, or Gray-haime? Or did you not actually mean a long a?
The first A is a long A, pronounced Gray-aim but one syllable. So the H is silent, the second A not even acknowledged. Like Gram with a long A.