The Everyday Urbanism Of Brooklyn's Jamaica Avenue

"If you walk slowly enough and look hard enough, such curiosities abound along Jamaica Avenue, as they do on so many of New York's unsung thoroughfares. Before the mysteries of the taxidermist's shop could be pondered at length, within blocks new distractions presented themselves, including, among other things, a gun-supply store with a live firing range in back, an old man in a red vest riding a tricked-out Schwinn festooned with giant Albanian flags, and a plaque honoring the nearby birthplace of Fred Christ Trump, 'father of The Donald.'"

"These may not be worthy attractions for your uncle visiting from Ohio. But they are unexpected delights in their own way, hints that New York bristles with history and eccentricity far from the city's throbbing heart. They are signs of a street life that, though distinctly urban in its grit and rough edges, is more villagelike than cosmopolitan, a life lived beyond the reach of large-scale gentrification, a long way from the tourist traps and even the most far-flung outposts of hip New York."