By Gabriel Rom
As the line between Ridgewood and Bushwick continues to blur, the complexities of gentrification familiar to Brooklyites have arrived in central Queens.
Many Ridgewood residents look wearily to their east and worry that their neighborhood will stratify along class and ethnic lines that, along with rising rents, may push newcomers to stick to themselves and old-timers to depart.
Sam Hillmer believes he has found a way to avoid some of those pitfalls.
Hillmer, along with Todd Patrick, co-owns Trans-Pecos, a performing arts space on Wyckoff Avenue.
“We wanted to create a space that would continue the evolution of this neighborhood and produce different outcomes from similar spaces in Bushwick, Greenpoint and Williamsburg,” Hillmer said. “We made a very concerted and deliberate campaign to get out in the neighborhood and let the people around us know that this is a place open to them.”
The result is a community arts space that faces outwards and breaks with the sometimes standoffish vibe of other DIY venues.
The inconspicuous space, which could be mistaken for a residence, houses two stages, an outdoor patio and a recently opened café called Trans-Am, which serves food and drink for audiences next door.
Hillmer and Patrick, have extensive backgrounds in the New York nightlife scene, and carefully curate an ever-growing list of performances that run the gamut from hip-hop to deep house and atonal jazz. The diversity in music mirrors the range of activities the space hosts.
Trans-Pecos works with an array of community partners, including local youth groups, developmentally disabled adults, and enjoys a close relationship with Ridgewood community leaders and politicians.
Hillmer emphasizes that community service is not incidental to Trans-Pecos’ business model, but central to it.
Trans-Pecos went 16 months without a liquor license. During that time, Hilmer explained, rather than just operating at night as a club, Trans-Pecos held community programming during the day throughout the week. When the license did come, Trans-Pecos had already established itself as an engaged member of the community.
“We try to bring in people from different age ranges, different tax brackets, different races and ethnicities,” Hillmer said. “It’s a good fit. Ridgewood has been great to us.”
Reach reporter Gabriel Rom by e-mail at grom@
