One of the best parts of my job is how much I get to explore. Last year I centered my wanderings mostly on Manhattan since that is where the lion’s share of this city’s tours take place. This season, however, I have been making a concerted effort to specialize in Brooklyn–my home and the part of New York I love most.
I created my original Brooklyn Heights/DUMBO Walking Tour, now my most popular tour, and listed myself on Brooklyn’s TripAdvisor site. Soon I plan to roll out a number of new Brooklyn tours focusing on neighborhoods like Fort Greene and Williamsburg. Someday I hope even give a tour of the neighborhood that is nearest and dearest to me: my home, Flatbush/Ditmas Park.
As I explore, I take photos with my cell phone, point-and-shoot or digital SLR camera, depending on what I felt like lugging around on any given day. Here are 10 of my favorite “Forgotten Brooklyn” photos of back alleys, hidden vistas and urban curiosities. Click to enlarge…and enjoy!
![IMG_20130511_152256_524](http://www.raystours.nyc/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/IMG_20130511_152256_524.jpg)
Greenpoint Graffiti
![_DSC0730](http://www.raystours.nyc/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/DSC0730.jpg)
Dog walkers on hidden College Place – Brooklyn Heights
![IMG_1002](http://www.raystours.nyc/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/IMG_1002.jpg)
This must be the Joad’s old truck! – Vinegar Hill
![DSC_0136](http://www.raystours.nyc/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/DSC_0136.jpg)
Thrift Store – Ditmas Park
![DSC_0120](http://www.raystours.nyc/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/DSC_0120.jpg)
That’s my train! – Ditmas Park
![IMG_20130507_154548_065](http://www.raystours.nyc/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/IMG_20130507_154548_065.jpg)
Quarters A: the one-time home of the Commandant of the navy – Vinegar Hill
![DSC_0109](http://www.raystours.nyc/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/DSC_0109.jpg)
Just a couple days of rain in the fall will bring these guys out – Ditmas Park
![IMG_20130717_133221_946](http://www.raystours.nyc/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/IMG_20130717_133221_946.jpg)
The last trolley I know of in Brooklyn – Red Hook
![1373762737431](http://www.raystours.nyc/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/1373762737431.jpg)
The commanding Prison Ship Martyr’s Monument, from below! – Fort Greene
![IMG_0982](http://www.raystours.nyc/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/IMG_0982.jpg)
Mikey and the street art of DUMBO