New York/Sunset Park - JOURNAL • BRIAN ROSE

Brooklyn Army Terminal – © Brian Rose

A month ago in the midst of a snowy February, I made the trek down to the Brooklyn Army Terminal to receive the first of two Covid-19 vaccines. I was eligible at 66 years of age and eager to get vaccinated. It took some doing – repeatedly logging into the city’s web portal over the course of two weeks – until, boom, a date, and location popped up. I immediately jumped on it even though it was far from my part of Brooklyn.

Vaccination pods, Brooklyn Army Terminal – © Brian Rose

The Brooklyn Army Terminal is a massive complex, no longer used for military purposes, that now houses light manufacturing, technology companies, media, the kind of thing that dominates the new economy of New York. It was designed by Cass Gilbert, best known for the Woolworth Building and the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. The area around it is called Sunset Park and includes both industrial architecture and row houses. The transition from one to the other is abrupt as you walk inland away from the waterfront.

Although it was a long trip down to Sunset Park, I was excited about getting vaccinated, and yesterday I returned for the second of two doses of the high tech mRNA Moderna vaccine. Although the snow was mostly gone, it was a frigid day, and we had to wait outside in the cold before entering one of the vaccination pods. But I was happy, and it gave me the chance to wander briefly around this interesting part of the city.