The Kensington Word: Meet Neighbors Brian Cogan And Lisa Bocchini
From new transplants hailing from places across the city, country and globe to residents whose families have lived in Kensington for generations, our neighborhood is home to an amazingly diverse collection of people. This interview is part of our The Kensington Word series, in which we’ll get to know some of our wonderful neighbors who make Kensington what it is today. For this week, we interviewed Brian Cogan and Lisa Bocchini.
How long have you lived in the neighborhood? Lisa: We have lived in Kensington for 11 years, but lived in the general area for the last 18 years
Where did you both live prior? Brian: I was born in Park Slope and then grew up in Staten Island. I lived for three years on Waverly Place in Manhattan before moving back to Brooklyn 21 years ago.
Lisa: I grew up in Philadelphia and moved to New York in 1995 to attend graduate school. I joined Brian in Brooklyn and in 1997 we moved to this neighborhood because we were ready to buy an apartment and the prices were affordable. It was also nice to be close to the park.
How did you two meet? Lisa: We met at NYU in the Film Production department. Brian was working on his Master’s and Doctorate degrees in Media Ecology and I was working on a Master’s degree in Cinema Studies.
[pullquote]It’s one of the last places in New York that feels like a community. It is a good mixture of old and new.[/pullquote]
What do you like about the neighborhood? Brian: It’s one of the last places in New York that feels like a community. It is a good mixture of old and new. People take pride in where they live and the neighbors know and talk to one another. Most of the businesses here are neighborhood-centric. As an example, the decision whether to have outdoor seating at Hamilton’s was something that everyone in the community debated about. The businesses here don’t try to impose themselves on the community, they respect the neighborhood. The restaurants are not corporate chains; the owners are invested in these places.
Lisa: There is a neighborhood feeling here, you always run into people you know on the street. The houses here are all so different; I like to admire the varying architectural styles. But, some of the new buildings that are going up in the neighborhood are not well constructed or designed. I don’t want this to become a luxury condo neighborhood.
What is missing in our neighborhood? Brian: An independent bookstore and a record store. I can dream, can’t I?
Lisa: I would like to see a few more shopping options — a good butcher, bread store and fish store. I would like to see a store that is a combination gallery/bookstore/stationery store where authors could read from their books and artists could display their works.
Are you “settled” in Kensington? Lisa: We would love eventually to move to a bigger apartment or a house, but wouldn’t move out of the neighborhood.
Finish this sentence, Kensington is… Lisa: A hidden gem that reflects a lot of the best qualities of Brooklyn and New York City. I hope that doesn’t change.
Do you have a favorite restaurant in the neighborhood? Brian: Hamilton’s is our home away from home. I love Georgia and Kevin, the owners. My band (The Cogan Brothers and Mark Farley) plays there, and we play traditional Irish music — good sing alongs about drinking and rebellion. When I’m writing for work, I like to do it in Lark Cafe and Steeplechase Coffee.
Lisa: The food at Yen-Yen, the Chinese restaurant on East 4th Street, is great. They have delicious tiki drinks, and the owners are very nice. We also love Wheated, and Brancaccio’s for great sandwiches.
What is the neighborhood’s best kept secret? Brian: That it is sandwiched between two huge green spaces — Greenwood Cemetery and Prospect Park.
Lisa: When we say to people that we live in Kensington a lot of people still say, “Where is that?” The neighborhood itself is still a secret.
We live in a very diverse neighborhood, how meaningful is that to you? Brian: You want to live in a diverse neighborhood where you can experience different customs. And you want people to be of different ages— you don’t want the neighborhood to be another Williamsburg.
[pullquote]I love the diversity here; there are so many cultures and ethnicities living together in relative harmony.[/pullquote]
Lisa: It makes people more tolerant and open. I love the diversity here; there are so many cultures and ethnicities living together in relative harmony. They just finished building a brand new building on Ocean Parkway a few doors down from us featuring very expensive apartments, and there are a couple of new buildings on Caton Avenue. When a neighborhood becomes popular, they think they can jack up the prices, but you want to be able to retain the diversity.
What do you think of Brooklyn’s newfound popularity? Brian: How could people not know how cool this place was?
Lisa: We find it amusing. The last time we went to Paris, we heard the phrase “Tres Brooklyn,” which they use to signify anything that is considered really cool. When we visited London, we found a Brooklyn-themed restaurant called Far Rockaway, but they had no idea what that really signifies. It’s sort of fascinating to see how it has spread, but it’s also superficial and silly.
Brian: Brooklyn is a brand now.
What is your profession? Brian: I’m an Associate Professor at Molloy College and an adjunct professor in the New York University Department of Journalism. I studied under Neil Postman, who wrote the book, “Amusing Ourselves to Death.” I study Media Ecology, which is analyzing and understanding the mediated environment that we live in. We become naturalized to certain media environments. For example, we now live in a society where it has become natural for people to be sitting at the same table together, yet not interacting because everyone is on their electronic devices.
I have also published nine books, including “The Encyclopedia of Punk”
and “Everything I Ever Needed to Know About _____________* I Learned from Monty Python” *Including History, Art, Poetry, Communism, Philosophy, the Media, Birth, Death, Religion, Literature, Latin, Transvestites, Botany, the French, Class Systems, Mythology, Fish Slapping”, and many more! Monty Python has been instrumental in shaping my worldview, which is that the world is inherently a very silly place, and I think that is a very healthy worldview.
Lisa: I used to work in the film and television industry in production, development and syndicated sales. I went for a certificate in graphic design and it made me realize that I had a strong interest in architecture and interior design. I worked for a year and a half as a design assistant at an interior design firm and then worked as a studio coordinator at an architecture firm. Two years ago I decided to strike out on my own doing interior design and specializing in kitchens and bathrooms. I have my own business and do freelance work for other interior designers. I also do Polaroid photography and my work has been featured in art shows around Brooklyn. (You can check out Lisa’s work here and here.)
How did you get into Polaroid photography? Lisa: My father was moving and cleaning out the house and discovered his old Polaroid cameras and gave them to me. I like using them because working with the camera is very “hands on” and there is a nostalgic quality to the photos. Often the results can be surprising; you don’t know what you are going to get. You can also manipulate the image.
Where do you hope your next vacation will be? Brian: This year we will be summering at the outdoor patio at Hamilton’s. It’s a lot cheaper than vacationing on the Italian Riviera.
Lisa: Next year we’re going to the UK and Italy. Brian has an academic conference in Italy, so it’s a great excuse for us to go!
What was the last great movie that you saw? Brian: A quasi documentary at the Film Forum about the musician Nick Cave. I’m a big fan of his; he really commands the stage.
What do you like to do in your free time? Brian: We love to walk around the city and explore neighborhoods. We recently walked the High Bridge, a pedestrian bridge over the Harlem River that connects Manhattan and the Bronx. People should walk around Brooklyn, and the city in general, more. A really nice walk to take is to go along Shore Road in Bay Ridge to Coney Island. It’s wonderful to be under the Verrazano Bridge and look up at it. We also love to attend the Celebrate Brooklyn concerts in Prospect Park.
Lisa: We’re big music fans, so we see quite a few shows. We also love museums.
Do you have a favorite quote? Brian: “Always look on the bright side of life.” – Monty Python Or, “Every day one should at least hear one little song, read one good poem, see one fine painting and — if at all possible — speak a few sensible words.” – Goethe
Is there a philosophy that you try to live your life by? Brian: I think no sane person would like to pass away thinking, “Gee, I should have spent more time on the internet.” Try and experience as much of life as possible.
[pullquote]I think no sane person would like to pass away thinking, “Gee, I should have spent more time on the internet.” Try and experience as much of life as possible.[/pullquote]
Lisa: People are more important than anything else. Relationships are what will sustain you over the course of your life.
What is the best piece of advice you ever heard? Brian: From Neil Postman: “Technology always has unforeseen consequences, and it is not always clear, at the beginning, who or what will win, and who or what will lose…” Or perhaps this one from Joe Strummer: “Authority is supposedly grounded in wisdom, but I could see from a very early age that authority was only a system of control and it didn’t have any inherent wisdom.”
Lisa: From my dad, a clinical psychologist: “Be true to yourself and make choices based on what you believe is right, not on what you think other people will think of those choices.”
Please describe the book project you are working on together. Brian: The book will be a history of American punk in 101 objects – things like flyers, albums, pins, archival material, clothing, etc. I’m not writing straight up descriptions, but instead trying to make connections and look below the surface of material objects.
Lisa: And I’ll be taking Polaroid photos of the objects. Polaroid is an analog technology, so it’s the perfect medium to use to showcase these objects; it really compliments and reflects the D.I.Y. aesthetic of punk.
If you know someone you’d love to see featured in this series, let us know! You can email us at editor@kensingtonbk.com.
About the author: Amy Nieporent has lived in Brooklyn all of her life and has called Kensington home for the past 21 years. Amy has worked in news and documentary production for HBO, The History Channel, ESPN, NBC and CBS. She never plans to leave the borough and in the end will be buried at Greenwood Cemetery. Her cat, who came from the Sean Casey Animal Rescue in Kensington is named Brooklyn.
