NYT Opens Storefront Installation in Cobble Hill

BOERUM HILL – The New York Times has launched a new project, “The truth is local”, to showcase their local reporting in New York City. In each of the five boroughs, a storefront art installation sheds light on stories done in the area. In Brooklyn, the Times has taken over 400 Atlantic Avenue to present their 2013 reporting on Louis Scarcella, an NYPD detective who used intimidation and false evidence to convict innocent of murder.

The installation, near the intersection of Atlantic Avenue and Bond Street, depicts a seemingly-infinite jail block. The lights within the cells slowly turn off and on in sequence. On the glass exterior of the storefront, signage details the Scarcella story and the Times’ 160-year career in local news. Visitors can scan a QR code to hear an audio clip of reporter Frances Robles describing her process reporting the story. Robles asks the visitor to imagine the area in 1988, when crime was far more rampant, and asks them to empathize with those wrongfully incarcerated by Detective Scarcella.

The installation will be up until June 26th. It was created in collaboration with the design studio Local Projects. The Times described the total cost of the project as “sizable”.

Other installations around the city speak to issues ranging from education inequity in the Bronx to forgotten Staten Island history. The Times will also release a Times Square billboard reading, “The truth is local.”