Earlier this year, I met Kareem, one of the many inked employees at the Upper West Side Trader Joe's. I gave him my card when I spotted him in the aisles, and saw him on subsequent visits, but I generally won't trouble people while they're working.

Earlier this month, I spotted him on a break in nearby Verdi Square, and took the opportunity to snap a photo of this, one of his thirty (30!) tattoos:


I know the photo is a little small, but clicking on it will give you better detail.

It seemed appropriate, with much of the country focused on the northeast today as Hurricane Irene bears down (or is it up?) on us, that we celebrate Kareem (and my) borough.

Kareem explained:
"I came up with the idea of So Brooklyn ... I see a lot of people with a lot of just plain Brooklyn tattoos and I have yet to own a car, so I put the trains under it, as you can see, to represent my Brooklyn, and how I get around, far as the bridge and everything else. I took a lot of time to really design this tattoo and give it to my artist and it came out really well."
He credited an artist named Chia at Big Fish Tattoos in Jamaica, Queens. It should be noted that their MySpace page says that Big Fish is no longer in business.
 
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