March-April 2011

What does it mean to be "Brooklyn?" No borough in the city—perhaps no other urban place in America—has the kind of name recognition that Brooklyn enjoys. From Neil Simon plays to Jay-Z songs, Brooklyn has long had a prominent cultural profile. And in the past 10 years, Brooklyn has embodied New York's boom, from the boutiques that dot once-gritty Red Hook to the luxury high-rises of Fort Greene. But does Brooklyn's cultural mystique—or the view from Red Hook or Fort Greene—reflect reality throughout the borough?

The Brooklyn name itself has evolved into a powerful marketing tool, for products made—or not—in the borough. There is, of course, Brooklyn Lager and Brooklyn Industries, and there are also Brooklyn Brine pickles, Brooklyn perfume and Absolut Brooklyn vodka, an apple-and-ginger-flavored spirit endorsed by another figure from the Junior's wall of fame, Spike Lee, but not on the menu at the Brooklyneer, a Brooklyn-themed bar and restaurant … on Manhattan's West Houston Street. It is all meant, in a branding sense, to evoke something. But what?

The new edition of City Limits seeks the borough behind Brooklyn's brand.