The Hole: Cowboys and Bodies in Brooklyn/Queens
The Hole, a section of Lindenwood along the Brooklyn-Queens border, could be an extremely unflattering name, except that the area truly is a hole: the land is 30 feet below grade, meaning the area is marshy in places and homes are built only a few feet above the water table, so they must use cesspools…
The Hole, a section of Lindenwood along the Brooklyn-Queens border, could be an extremely unflattering name, except that the area truly is a hole: the land is 30 feet below grade, meaning the area is marshy in places and homes are built only a few feet above the water table, so they must use cesspools instead of the municipal sewer system. Nathan Kensinger compiled a photo essay of this neighborhood, which is famous for bodies and for horses: bodies because it was an old mob dumping ground, and horses because they used to roam the fields of The Hole. Some horses still reside there, as does The Federation of Black Cowboys. Kensinger’s essay captures a piece of New York that is both ancient and timeless, and it reminds us how diverse the land is within the boundaries of New York City. It’s a city with an island of pick-up trucks and lobster shacks, massive skyscrapers and financial juggernauts, beaches, forests—and The Hole, a neighborhood that harks back to the Wild West.
The Hole [Nathan Kensinger]
Meet ‘The Hole,’ [Curbed]
An Urban Frontier [NY Times]
these people also dont have sewage right?
I know this place well. I lived nearby on Liberty Avenue. It’s only a short walk from the Grant Avenue A station, just before it goes out from the underground tunnel to the elevated rails. It’s next to the Conduit Blvd.
My sister dated a guy whose aunt lived there and I once had dinner at their house, great meatballs, I remember the aunt telling us that they dug the streets downwards for some reason decades ago and the basement became the first floor. I also had a high school friend who was dating a pretty girl who lived somewhere in that small neighbohood, I remember being jealous of him as we drove her home one night after a night in the city, she had a heavy Brooklyn accent I recall. It was an Italian area mostly, back then, don’t know who lives there now. It was never a place that was considered nice to live in, but still , it had a charm reminiscent of an Edward Hopper painting where everyday is like Sunday.
I’d accept free treats for my dog, bxgrl!
Indeed santa- what ENY said.
Would be a great tour, ENY! Would you accept drinks and sandwiches in lieu of cashola? Free cats?
rob I would go exploring here with you, I like exploring places like this. Just as long as it’s capped with some booze afterward.
I can’t find any mapping about where this place is exactly…que?
And TE, the only places nearby if I am guessing correctly are the chain restaurants at the mall.
Santa, one comment does not mean everyone who lives there wants to leave. I recall from when I grew up in the area that many people enjoyed the area’s relative isolation and anonimity. But I would agree that most people who live there are natives. That’s just the way it is in that part of town. When I was a kid, no one who didn’t live there or who wasn’t from there knew anything about East New York or this area.
bxgrl- this person from the NYT article
“”Most people are here because they were born here or they can’t afford to live anywhere else,” Ms. Watt said. ”I’d love to move, but I can’t afford to, so for now I’m stuck in the Hole.””
Hmmm…I COULD do a tour! But unlike other, much more generous Brownstoners (suckers), my BKLYN knowledge is definitely not available without compensation.
are you not allowed to say the s-word on here? my post got deleted because i asked about the cesspools that this neighborhood uses. what is a cesspool? a waste pit?
anyway, i’d love to visit this hole. i have a pitbull, so we could form a pitty gang. biking could be fun too.