In good times and bad, in sorrow and joy, the residents ofsouthwestern Brooklyn stick together.
This was incredibly evident this month, as hundreds of peopleliving in Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Bensonhurst, Sunset Park andother nearby neighborhoods came together to mark the 10thanniversary of 9/11, at a series of commemorations and vigils heldaround the area from the 69th Street Pier to Sunset Park.Crying together, remembering, holding hands and lifting candles,residents showed each other their softer sides as they paid tributeto those who perished in the terrorist attacks, and the heroes whofaced down danger to rescue as many people as they could from theTwin Towers, and who afterwards persevered for months in therecovery effort at Ground Zero.And, for many, September has also been a month of renewal. Aschildren have headed back to school and friendships between studentand student, parent and parent, have been reinvigorated, theneighborhood has also gotten together to mark celebratoryevents.The second weekend of September, for example, was marked by a rangeof festivities – the annual fair at Bay Ridge’s Holy Cross GreekOrthodox Church and the bustling street festival along Fifth Avenuein Sunset Park, and, farther afield, the Great Irish Fair in ConeyIsland, and the Brooklyn Book Festival at Borough Hall – that showsthat area residents definitely know how to party together.Whether they are snacking on souvlaki, cheering on a group of stepdancers, or singing to the music of the mariachis, the residents ofsouthwest Brooklyn – a remarkably diverse group – show repeatedlythat this is a community that hangs together not only to have funbut when times get tough.There is unity in diversity, and in that unity is theneighborhood’s strength.
