A Brooklyn Tattoo From Brooklyn Tattoo

I was perusing Facebook last Friday and noticed that a friend of mine was attending an event at Brooklyn Tattoo on Smith Street and Atlantic in Brooklyn. Curious, I clicked through and arrived at one of the more impulsive decisions I've recently made.


The event, at one of New York's better tattoo parlors, was described thusly:

Brooklyn, NewYork - It is a time honored tattoo parlor tradition to commemorate an auspicious date or event with a themed tattoo. Shops have long been inking “13” on arms for $13 when that date falls on a Friday or offers for $31 tattoos are abundant on Halloween. With this thought in mind, Brooklyn Tattoo has decided to put their own spin on this custom and are proud to announce that they have decided to honor one of their biggest inspirations, the Brooklyn Bridge, by offering 27 dollar Brooklyn Bridge tattoos on Sunday May 23rd, the day before the Bridge’s 127th anniversary.

After reading this synopsis and chatting about it with some friends it took me all of half an hour to decide to imprint the bridge on my upper arm. This may seem like a rash decision, and it may have been partially spurred on by my recent itching for more ink. It'd been five years since I'd gotten my first tattoo and while I'd wanted another one I could neither decide what I wanted nor pool together enough money to get it. However, cost and convenience are - in my view anyway - poor reasons to get permanently marked.

While I don't have a particularly strong relationship to the Brooklyn Bridge - to date, almost four years into my time here, I have yet to walk it - the bridge is an icon of Brooklyn. Even if I don't end up staying in New York long-term I know that my time in this borough will have been an important chunk of my life. If I'm an old man in Portland or Chicago or California or even Ohio I will not regret this keepsake of my time in New York. I might not look at it and see strong memories of the landmark itself, but I will remember countless nights of drinks and laughter from Greenpoint down to Park Slope. I'll remember sitting on the beach at Coney Island as evening deepened into night listening to the New York Dolls play at Siren. I'll remember writing reviews on early summer mornings in McCarren Park, jogging through Clinton Hill and Fort Greene, and playing 10am basketball in Boerum Hill. I'll remember cherry blossoms at the Botanic Garden and an amazing surprise 24th birthday party after finding out I'd gotten my first "real" job.

Within this 4" x 2" bit of ink will reside bar crawls and brunches. Out of the way holes-in-the-wall and established, renowned restaurants. A million small moments that connect the few big ones to make a life.

In the end the decision was easy because, in addition to the cost and the fact that I was going with some of my closest friends in New York, the tattoo does represent something important to me. The bridge is Brooklyn and I am, and will be, proud to wear it.

 Props to Robert at Brooklyn Tattoo for doing such a great job.