Waldemar French Style Furs, Greenpoint, Brooklyn

When we took this #analog photo for our book “Store Front: The Disappearing Face of New York” there was still a very large population of Polish immigrants living in the neighborhood. According to the 1990 U.S. Census, 80% of the area’s residents were Polish and many stores and restaurants catered to the population. Since 2005, when 175 blocks in the largely industrial area were rezoned to bring in new residential construction, the neighborhood has been undergoing gentrification due largely to a boom in construction.