Sofia Rivera Interview 08/08/2026
Photo by Mattie Branson-Meyer
Sofia Rivera Interview Transcript:
MATTIE: Hello, I am Mattie Branson-Meyer and I am here with Sofia Rivera 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?
SOFIA: Yes, S-O-F as in Frank, I-A. R-I-V-E-R-A.
MATTIE: Amazing, thank you. What is your relationship to Park Slope or Brooklyn?
SOFIA: I was born and raised in Methodist Hospital and raised on 7th Street. I lived there for 54 years. The apartment is–my daughter's father still lives in the apartment. I have since relocated, but hoping to be back. And so I grew up on 4th Street, 7th Street, went to Williamsburg– uh 51s for middle school, went to PS39 for public school, so this is my neighborhood.
MATTIE: Do you have a particularly powerful or important memory of Park Slope or Brooklyn that you'd like to share?
SOFIA: All my memories are in Park Slope. Like I said, I've lived here for 54 years and I'm only 57, so pretty much my entire life is my memory of Park Slope.
MATTIE: Why did you decide to come to the Park Slope old-timers reunion today?
SOFIA: It's where you meet your friends from the past, recurrent friends, you make new friends that you didn't know in the past that are connected to Park Slope, and it's fun, it's exciting.
MATTIE: What are some things you think more people should know about Park Slope or Brooklyn based on your own experiences?
SOFIA: Park Slope was always a cultural melting pot. Everyone knew each other. You know, it took a village to raise us and that's exactly what happens here in Park Slope. And it was fun. We grew up with water hydrants cooling off the streets. We couldn't feel the heat because all the hydrants would be on and we'd play in them in the summer. And you know, we just, we knew everybody in Park Slope.
MATTIE: What are your hopes for the future of the neighborhood and Brooklyn?
SOFIA: My hopes for New York City, including Park Slope and Brooklyn, is that it becomes affordable again and it can then come back to what it was with the cultural melting pot of all people. You know, it's sad but a lot of people had to relocate because they couldn't afford this neighborhood or the city anymore. And so, that really breaks my heart because I have friends now who are here but living in very deteriorating conditions because they can't afford living in the neighborhood they grew up in. So.
MATTIE: Thank you, thank you so much.
SOFIA: Thank you. Do I get a picture?