I used to live just a few blocks from the Fulton Mall so it means a lot to me to see the Before I Die project installed in this area of downtown Brooklyn bursting with personality (my friends made a book all about it). Located at the corner of Adams Street and the Fulton Street Mall, it’s more than twice as long as the original wall in my neighborhood in New Orleans, and it doesn’t take long for the wall to turn into a collective abstract painting bursting with hand-written responses. It’s like I’m seeing my old neighbors in a new way. You walk by so many people every day and most of them remain strangers forever. This project helps you see a little bit of the hopes and dreams of the people around you, and it’s a way to remind yourself of what matters most to you.

Some responses from the wall: Before I die I want to… eat mad tacos, rally with the Occupy Wall Street movement, get an ‘A’ in math, hold her close, lose this damn weight, publish my book, experience true love, visit Libya, swim around Manhattan, see my Mom free from pain, build a school, clean out the basement, figure out women, get her back (someone else added: then go get her), have a “Huxtable” family, finish the Ironman, go on a cruise, stop smoking, help people be friends, speak English fluently, travel the world, be a gymnastic teacher, be a super hero, be financially stable, be remembered, be a creator not a destroyer, bring peace of mind to my mom.

The construction is scheduled to end around November 29th, so enjoy it while you can – and send us photos! Thank you to Theresa Mullen and the Shake Shack team for spearheading the installation on their temporary barriers while their storefront has been under construction. They used the Before I Die toolkit to humanize those blank blue walls and turn them into valuable spaces made for and by the neighborhood. We’re currently working on a new project website that will better feature all the walls worldwide and provide more resources to help you make one with your community. Thank you for all your support for this growing project! Our public spaces can better reflect what’s important to us as a community and as individuals. By reimagining the ways we use our public spaces, the people around us can not only help us make better neighborhoods but they can also help us live better lives.

Brooklyn, NY. “Eat mad tacos” photo by Victor Hu. All other photos by Belinda Kanpetch.