found some stuff while looking for notes from a j-school class - not sure what year this is from, it's dated 3/20 - might be 2005 or 2006:
Greenpoint
-The sun comes in through the windows between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. only
-The hamster runs on its treadmill
-There is a dive bar across the street that we never go into. On weekend nights, they play reggaeton so loudly it sounds as if the radio is on in the room - on loud.
-At 2 AM, the music stops, but the yelling does not. Men in baseball hats + jerseys loiter in front, smoking, and talking so loudly and angrily that it seems a fight will break out every night - but it never does.
-There are two bodegas across the street, one closes at 10, the other at 11. The one that closes at 10 has spam, but no mac + cheese. The one that closes at 11 has mac + cheese, no spam, a friendly cat loping around, and a nice man who calls me "sweetie" and is always watching sports. They also have coconut ices that we offer to visiting guests late at night.
-A few blocks down is an overpriced cafe that has an interior like a turn of the century NY pub. The hipster waiters are rude and inattentive, but we go there anyways.
-One block away, on Manhattan Ave., are bodegas that are open later. We don't go to the one on the right anymore because you were accused of shoplifting a newspaper you paid for. The Middle Eastern boy who accused you had a birthmark covering half his face. You did not argue with him and gave the paper back.
-The teenager who works at the bodega on the left knows us and likes us. We buy: 40 ounce malt liquor (everyone), single packs of Oreos (me), sunflower seeds (you), Doritos, Hershey chocolate bars (me), Snickers (you), milk for coffee, and ice cream sandwiches (both of us).
-There is a chicken factory midway down the block. White vans reading "Ying's Poultry" bear live chickens there in the morning. If you're unfortunate enough to pass there in the morning, you'll smell the thick air of meat + blood. You'll see the dirty feathers stuck to the wet ground. Chinese men in stained white aprons squat in front and spit near your feet. Bethany crosses the street rather than pass by there. You think that's a waste of time.
-On Manhattan Ave. are produce stores where vegetables are cheap and fresh. I buy: cilantro and brussel sprouts. You buy: bell peppers of all colors and one jalapeno.
-There is a fancy banquet hall that proclaims "Polonaise" in off-white lightbulbs and cursive script. Every Saturday night, Eastern European men and women of all ages shiver outside smoking in heels and sport coats. Sometimes the bride will be outside, smoking and holding up her train in the other hand.
-There is an out-of-place organic market around the corner. Surly Polish girls in Goth makeup work the cash registers.
