The large sandstone plaque over the front door at 320 Washington Avenue in Brooklyn reads “Graham Home for Old Ladies.” Nestled away from the street on a quiet, residential block of polished brownstones and an elegant park, the building’s soaring windows, circular driveway, and red brick colonnades seem to be yet another architectural marvel in Brooklyn’s historic landmark district of Clinton Hill.

"Pick up the telephone right now! You’ve got a direct line to Jesus," cries the elderly woman to the kneeling group of worshippers sunk into the thick carpet at her feet. On an elevated stage, bathed in a glimmering strobe of lights, the members of Iglesia Carismatica Espiritu de Hermandad shake their hands in the air to the rhythm of the woman’s exhortations to feel the Holy Spirit inside of them.

Surrounded by coiked brambles or razor wire ad shattered concrete, Mark Firth and Andrew Tarlow, co-owners of Diner and Bonita, dream of greener pastures. “We are ready for new challenges,” says Tarlow, his eyes looking past the teetering horizon of South Williamsburg toward the rolling hills of upstate New York

Surrounded by coiled brambles of razor wire and shattered concrete, Mark Firth and Andrew Tarlow, co-owners of Diner and Bonita, dream of greener pastures. "We are ready for new challenges," says Tarlow, his eyes looking past the teet-ering horizon of South Williamsburg toward the rolling hills of upstate New York, where the two partners plan to start an organic farm this coming spring to furnish fresh produce for their restaurants.r

The sordid business of human trafficking, which includes enslavement in agricultural work, sweatshops, domestic labor, and prostitution, is rapidly expanding. And with its growing immigrant population, experts say, parts of New York City, including Brooklyn and Queens, have become hot spots in a trade that the International Labor Organization has described as the “underside of globalization.”

As summer draws to a close and Brooklyn’s desire for ice cream wanes, the drivers spend more and more time on the sidewalk in their lawn chairs, quietly talking and watching the neighborhood change before their eyes.

Fort Greene and Clinton Hill residents gathered October 8th to discuss the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) proposal for a cultural district development project.