Haniq Best (pictured above)
Actor and musician, Bedford-Stuyvesant
Who are you here with?
A good friend. I have never been to this park, but we’re here to get out of our little seasonal depression holes. I’m wearing this Uniqlo shirt I cut because I was just like, Oh my gosh, my stomach! My bellybutton can see the sun! So let’s look at it.
What’s been happening in the park today?
Well, this kid actually came up to us. He was talking about life and death, and he was just, like, so philosophical. My friend is nonbinary, and this kid was like, “Are you a boy or girl? I can’t tell.” My friend was like, you know, “I’m just a human.” And he was like, “Oh, so you’re like this leaf?” And the kid crumbles up the leaf and lets it blow in the wind. And he was like, “So you just exist?” It was the most philosophical shit I have ever seen a kid do in my life.
Charles Caesar
Artist, Bedford-Stuyvesant
Dee L. Figueroa
Cook, Bedford-Stuyvesant
You’re a cook?
Yes. I’ve been floating around. I had my own grill station at Citi Field recently and grossed about $10,000 by myself in one shift. I held down the Grateful Dead concert. When you’re at my stand, I don’t have you standing there waiting. I knock down at least four to six people at once. I’m just really, really fast is what I’m trying to tell you.
Abdul-Razak Zachariah
Youth worker, Crown Heights
Shahadaa Clarke
Chef, Bedford-Stuyvesant
Isaiah Browne
Artist, Bedford-Stuyvesant
Any good people-watching?
There are a lot of cute people out, which is nice. There was this one girl — I follow her on Twitter — she’s a model, and she was in LaQuan Smith’s latest fashion show. She was there, and her girlfriend was there, which was, like, a little moment for me.
Blake A. Morrison
Artist, Bedford-Stuyvesant
Aldon Lamb
Bartender, Bedford-Stuyvesant
Corey Fox
Bartender, Bedford-Stuyvesant
Debo Mouloudji
Artist, Bushwick
Where are you coming from?
I was in the studio with my friend Kirsten. We’re both in the M.F.A. program at Pratt, so we basically live there. And we were like, We can’t — it’s like a cave in here. So we got smoothies and sat on the bench. We saw someone walking a bunny. Like, on a leash.
Charlotte de Mezamat
Artist, Bedford-Stuyvesant
Yaritza Colon
Dog walker, Bedford-Stuyvesant
Scrogans
Musician, Bushwick
Why are you here?
My kids’ mom lives in Brooklyn, and the closer I am to my kids, the better. I have two girls, and we’re always doing things. We’re out getting our nails done, in Central Park having picnics. We go ice-skating. If I could move right across the street like Kanye did with Kim, I would.
Amos Barshad
Journalist, Bedford-Stuyvesant
What have you seen here today?
I have to say, I saw some guys playing that game where you stand around a net — Spikeball? It didn’t feel right to me. That’s a California beach sport. Almost anything you do feels right in this park except for Spikeball.
César Neri
Product designer, Bedford-Stuyvesant
Kirsten Batten-Leach
Dancer, Bushwick
Lahni Claude
Creative director, Bedford-Stuyvesant
Mina Fanous
Advertising, Bedford-Stuyvesant
Great outfit.
It’s so warm, so I whipped these Urban Outfitters shorts out. Two different women actually stopped me and were like, “Your legs! You look so good.” Just stupid shit because everyone is in a good mood.
Owen Myers
Writer, Bedford-Stuyvesant
Charles Caesar
Artist, Bedford-Stuyvesant
Dee L. Figueroa
Cook, Bedford-Stuyvesant
You’re a cook?
Yes. I’ve been floating around. I had my own grill station at Citi Field recently and grossed about $10,000 by myself in one shift. I held down the Grateful Dead concert. When you’re at my stand, I don’t have you standing there waiting. I knock down at least four to six people at once. I’m just really, really fast is what I’m trying to tell you.
Abdul-Razak Zachariah
Youth worker, Crown Heights
Shahadaa Clarke
Chef, Bedford-Stuyvesant
Isaiah Browne
Artist, Bedford-Stuyvesant
Any good people-watching?
There are a lot of cute people out, which is nice. There was this one girl — I follow her on Twitter — she’s a model, and she was in LaQuan Smith’s latest fashion show. She was there, and her girlfriend was there, which was, like, a little moment for me.
Blake A. Morrison
Artist, Bedford-Stuyvesant
Aldon Lamb
Bartender, Bedford-Stuyvesant
Corey Fox
Bartender, Bedford-Stuyvesant
Debo Mouloudji
Artist, Bushwick
Where are you coming from?
I was in the studio with my friend Kirsten. We’re both in the M.F.A. program at Pratt, so we basically live there. And we were like, We can’t — it’s like a cave in here. So we got smoothies and sat on the bench. We saw someone walking a bunny. Like, on a leash.
Charlotte de Mezamat
Artist, Bedford-Stuyvesant
Yaritza Colon
Dog walker, Bedford-Stuyvesant
Scrogans
Musician, Bushwick
Why are you here?
My kids’ mom lives in Brooklyn, and the closer I am to my kids, the better. I have two girls, and we’re always doing things. We’re out getting our nails done, in Central Park having picnics. We go ice-skating. If I could move right across the street like Kanye did with Kim, I would.
Amos Barshad
Journalist, Bedford-Stuyvesant
What have you seen here today?
I have to say, I saw some guys playing that game where you stand around a net — Spikeball? It didn’t feel right to me. That’s a California beach sport. Almost anything you do feels right in this park except for Spikeball.
César Neri
Product designer, Bedford-Stuyvesant
Kirsten Batten-Leach
Dancer, Bushwick
Lahni Claude
Creative director, Bedford-Stuyvesant
Mina Fanous
Advertising, Bedford-Stuyvesant
Great outfit.
It’s so warm, so I whipped these Urban Outfitters shorts out. Two different women actually stopped me and were like, “Your legs! You look so good.” Just stupid shit because everyone is in a good mood.
Owen Myers
Writer, Bedford-Stuyvesant
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