Photog Captures Gentrification of Park Slope

Erica McDonald / From The Dark Light of This Nothing

It’s no secret that the cultural landscape of Park Slope has changed drastically in the past 10 years. It’s basically impossible to go anywhere without hearing someone long for the good old days. Of course, none of us can seem to agree on when the good old days were, but this is more indicative of a New York mindset in which we’re all nostalgic for a time when we didn’t even live here (seriously, I’ve romanticized the 1970s and ‘80s in New York so much that I can’t see a movie about that time period without feeling getting an empty feeling in my stomach.)

Photographer and Park Slope resident Erica McDonald, who was recently featured in the New York Times, is documenting the changes in our hood with images. When she moved to Park Slope, Brooklyn six years ago, her first instinct was to begin shooting. She wanted to capture part of the neighborhood’s essence before it vanished.

Erica McDonald / From The Dark Light of This Nothing

“People would say, ‘Oh, you live on a good block,’” Ms. McDonald said. “What they meant was it still had flavor and character. Clearly, one of many waves of gentrification was happening to his Park Slope neighborhood, and I was part of that wave.”

McDonald set up an informal studio on her street corner and created a tribute to the long-term residents of the Slope. What resulted is the dark light of this nothing, a piece that captures a neighborhood in flux. She’s managed to document the Park Slope that’s been here much longer than the stroller set. And just like the neighborhood, McDonald’s photography methods are constantly evolving. She started with black and white portraits, moved to street photography, and is now delving into color.

the dark light of this nothing is also a multimedia project, in which the subjects of her photos talk about their experiences before and after gentrification. There’s a lot of nostalgia here, and you just might find yourself wishing to have been a part of it.

You can check out more of Erica McDonald's work HERE.