Vivian Lee wrote an exemplary profile on Robert Shelton, a former employee of the Domino Sugar factory located in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, New York.  The article was written as the the plant was set to close its doors permanently. Mr. Shelton returned to the site for the first time in 10 years to work as a volunteer at a temporary art show.

I enjoyed how Lee analyzed the generational change in industrial Williamsburg.  Factories like Domino Sugar once stood and operated in the heart of the city providing many like Mr. Shelton with jobs and opportunities.  The former site of the Domino Sugar factory has now become an attraction for the young and hip appreciators of art who have flocked to see a glimpse of Kara Walker’s, “A Sublety,” a large sphinx that symbolizes a black woman in the south. It honors the lives of the African Americans  slaves that were apart of the sugar trade in the 19th century.

Lee’s tone throughout the article reflects Mr. Shelton’s nostalgic trip through his former, “Sugar House.” It detailed the longs days, nights, weekends, and holidays that he spent in the factory for twenty years.  It also detailed his departure which still weighs heavy on Mr. Shelton.  Change is inevitable and its effects are felt by all. There is a plan in place to build high-rise condominiums on the former site of the Domino Sugar factory, a trend that is becoming increasingly popular in changing neighborhoods.  Mr. Shelton will only have his memories once the factory stands no more.