Jean-Paul Gabriel

Brooklyn Nerd Jean-Paul Gabriel

This is a coming of age story with old Brooklyn as the backdrop during pre-gentrification Brooklyn. A story of times when West Indians (specifically a first-generation Haitian-American) and young African Americans ran the Brooklyn streets surrounded by much love and positive vibes; but there was also the risk of danger around every corner. Crown Heights is the center point, the place where this story begins; a neighborhood that consisted primarily of recent West Indian immigrants that transformed this Brooklyn neighborhood into an American version of the West Indies; a place where it was easy to find caring adults who would treat you as their own, those looking to take advantage of the unsuspecting and criminal groups at war for drug sales. The reader will be provided a glimpse of what Brooklyn was like during the crack era, from the eyes of a Haitian boy who partakes in what Brooklyn had to offer, whether that be the love of a neighborhood that tried to keep an eye on its own or illegal activities that polluted those streets. The reader will be inserted in the life of a Haitian boy who was raised to know and do better but because of exposure to the "American way" was experiencing feelings and emotions foreign to his parents, so he had to learn things the hard way...on his own, with little to no guidance. This story explains the plight of a first generation Haitian while simultaneously introducing the "Brooklyn Nerd"; a Nerd raised in an urban area that came to realize that it was more important to understand the streets than be street.