a Block Party.
How do you explain a block party? I suppose this isn’t just a New York thing—people throw “block parties” anywhere people live on a “block”—but the request (from Ken) was for a “Brooklyn Block Party”, and since I live in Brooklyn, I know the ingredients.
So you know: the first block party I ever saw in New York was actually a backyard party, in the big square of backyards behind my first apartment, but it counts. A bunch of West Indian families from across the yard had hired a DJ, set up a sprinkler, and hung some lights for the night. They played Michael Jackson, Sugarhill Gang, and old R+B and danced the Electric Slide until midnight; I didn’t join them, but I lived on the block, so it was sort of my party to watch, and I did—for a long time. Every block I’ve lived on since then has had a block party or five in the summer, so I ought to know what we have in this drawing here.
First, when you undertake to draw the Fastest Possible Brooklyn Block Party, you will need a DJ. It is no party without a DJ—or at least a boom box that somebody has taken serious charge of. You need a good, proud DJ who takes requests and has the entire Michael Jackson and Sugarhill Gang back-catalogues at hand (see story above).
Next, all block parties also have a “water feature”. On the street, said feature will be a fire hydrant (shown here), with an optional kiddie pool. In a backyard or courtyard, a sprinkler or Slip ‘n’ Slide will do. The block party has the people of the block, all ages—small children are a critical ingredient in the Brooklyn Block Party, as are old people. The people are dancing (because of the DJ) and wet (because of the hydrant).
And finally, though your block may not have any, I have personally never seen a block party that wasn’t surrounded by apartment buildings—big brick giants with open windows full of voyeurs. To me, they’re the most important part. I drew them in here, and the drawing is much better for them. Apartments make a city, and the Block Party is the City’s killer app—the finest implementation of open space; in New York, we spend the better part of five months of the year penned up in our bricked-up caves, hydrants sealed and doors locked. For just one season a year—the hottest months—we spill out on the sidewalks, listen to music, talk about the weather, and run through the hydrant. It’s how you know you are neighbors with about three hundred other people, and why—despite the noise, traffic, rent, and unbearable summer heat—you choose to stay.
This Fastest Possible Block Party is something David drew, and it’s the longest drawing we’ve posted to date (49 seconds). It takes just that long to get the party started right.
