No one knows Brooklyn like a local — including Asad Dandia, a borough historian guiding walking tours across the city.
The Pakistani-American runs New York Narratives, a walking tour company that uncovers the underbelly, history and hidden secrets of the five boroughs. Dandia, who hails from Brighton Beach, even has a Brooklyn tale tied to the start of his venture, as he was one of the winners in the Brooklyn Public Library’s PowerUp Business Plan competition that gave him the seed money to grow his business.
New York Narratives separates itself from other walking tours through its storytelling, but it's not Dandia's only walking venture; He also gets his steps in as a tour guide at The Museum of the City of New York, as well as teaching humanities and social science classes at Guttman Community College.
Dandia still lives in Brighton Beach, a neighborhood he says has transformed greatly. The area faces challenges with city services, particularly sanitation enforcement and infrastructure repairs, he said. Over the years, he has had a front-row seat to Brooklyn’s gentrification, watching wealth disparities emerge within his community.
“I've seen Brooklyn as an idea change, and it's heartbreaking, but it also gives me hope, because I also see resilience in the way so many Brooklynites fight for their right to the city," he said.
The following interview has been edited for clarity:
Q: What makes a Brooklynite?
I think a Brooklynite is someone who understands and appreciates that Brooklyn is only Brooklyn because of all of the people that came here from somewhere else to make it what it was. And that includes Black people migrating from the South in the 1800s to escape Jim Crow. That includes Jewish, Italian, Irish immigrants from the 1900s. That includes now people from the Caribbean, people from Latin America, people from Asia, people from the Middle East, people from Africa. Brooklyn is the world.
Q: Do you have a favorite neighborhood to stroll around in?
I enjoy strolling in Cobble Hill, Boerum Hill, Brooklyn Heights, Park Slope. Brownstone Brooklyn. I think there's a unique charm to the part of Brooklyn that's south of Prospect Park, southern Bay Ridge, and, of course, Brighton Beach. I enjoy strolling on the boardwalk. In fact, I did it during the blizzard.
Q: Do you have a favorite deli or bodega, and what's your order?
My favorite deli just might be the one that I go to on my corner. And if it's in the morning, I get two things: An egg and cheese on a roll, and then an everything bagel, cream cheese and lox.
Q: What is your favorite nightlife joint in Brooklyn?
I’m not a big nightlife guy, but I'm very big on late-night coffee shops. And I will say that people are still sleeping on the Yemeni coffee shops that are popping up all over the city. I love going to Qahwah House. It's open until 3:00am.
Q: Ungatekeep a Brooklyn secret for me, whether it be a place, a fact, a person, or a thing. Something that kind of feels hidden to you about Brooklyn, that you have been keeping from everyone.
I really enjoy Ruhani Cafe, which is a Pakistani owned Cafe on Atlantic Avenue. I really like it because they have seating outdoors in the backyard. On summer and spring days, you can chill in the backyard, on the patio.
Q: Who is the most Brooklyn person you know?
I will say Spike Lee and Bernie Sanders. I went to the same high school as [Sanders]. And the reason why I think of Brooklyn when I think of him, it's the accent. The accent is kind of a vestige of a lost Brooklyn, you generally don’t hear it anymore. But also, I think the fact that he fights for working class people is very representative of the type of Brooklyn that he came up in. Lower middle class, where working people could still make it.
Q: What's one issue that you think is pressing the residents of Brooklyn, and how do you think it should be solved?
We have a housing crisis, and I think we need to build a lot more housing, and particularly affordable housing, so that residents are able to stay here and are not displaced, and so that new residents also have places to stay without displacing other people.
