Rudy Reid Interview 08/08/2026
Photo by Mattie Branson-Meyer
Rudy Reid Interview Transcript:
[SOMEONE]: You gotta go to the bathroom.
MATTIE: Hello, I am Mattie Branson-Meyer and I am here with:
RUDY: Rudy.
MATTIE: At the Park Slope Old Timers Reunion at 4th street and 5th Avenue on Saturday, August 8, 2026. Can you spell your name for me, please?
RUDY: R-U-D-Y R-E-I-D.
MATTIE: Thank you. What is your relationship to Park Slope or to Brooklyn?
RUDY: I'm an old resident from 1959. I'm 67 years old. Went to all their public school systems. Sports, all special events. I'm a long, long time, Park Slope.
[ALAN RUBIN aside]: Okay, don't forget me.
MATTIE: I won't, I won’t, thank you. Do you have a particularly powerful or important memory of Park Slope or Brooklyn that you'd like to share?
RUDY: I just remember the social– the social level was on a higher platform than with the way we use the phones today. You had to create. You had to create your games– stickball, football, two hand touch– and we were more connected with the other families and the families stayed in the neighborhood longer, so it was a long-term relationship. Went to all the schools together from public to high school. Good memories.
MATTIE: Why did you decide to come to the Park Slope Old Timers Reunion today?
RUDY: Try to catch up with as many people as I can at one time that you usually don't see, because everybody spread out, but they always come back for the reunion. It's good to see everybody. A lot of people pass, a lot of people can't make it. But who you can see is nice, you know?
MATTIE: Thank you. What are some things you think more people should know about– should know about Park Slope or Brooklyn based on your experiences?
RUDY: It wasn't always as gentrified as it is now. It was limited in its– in its boundaries. I think it went from Flatbush to 9th street, and then it expanded. It’s much bigger now, you know, but it was a small community that nobody knew about. When you told them you lived in Park Slope, they're like, where, where's Park Slope at? Nobody knew. And it was a nice unit. It was nice, you know.
MATTIE: What are your hopes for the future of the neighborhood and Brooklyn?
RUDY: It can only get better. It's at a high peak right now. It can only improve. And I think the change is good, you know.
MATTIE: Thank you, is there anything else you’d like to share?
RUDY: No. My first public interview.
MATTIE: You crushed it.
RUDY: Okay, thank you.