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Creating a community of dads while strolling with their kids
The Straits Times
|May 12, 2025
while the 20-something influencers and young finance bros of Williamsburg were still asleep, a group of more than 30 men gathered in McCarren Park.
On a warm Saturday morning in March, Some were coming from as far as the Catskills and others from a few steps away. Greetings transitioned to talk of sleep training and stroller envy, and the bonding happened quickly. After all, they all had one major thing in common: babies.
"How old is yours?" they asked one another as the group grew.
Mr. Benjamin Velez, 32, jogged up to the crowd with his one-year-old daughter, Wynter, fresh from working an overnight shift as a switchboard operator and receptionist.
One of the other men commented on the Monster energy drink in his stroller, and Mr. Velez pointed out that it also contained coffee.
Mr. Victor Ayala, 36, a quality control inspector, and his two-year-old, Cassius, pulled up to the park in an Uber from Cobble Hill.
The pair were praised for their style: Mr. Ayala was wearing a jersey, a white canvas jacket with black stripes, yellow sneakers and a Brooklyn Stroll Club hat. Cassius was kicking back in a Bape x Airbuggy stroller that his dad's friend had shipped from Japan.
As the group prepared to take a lap around the park before heading to Canopy, a Williamsburg play space for children age four and younger, Mr. Calvin Eng, 30, chef and owner of the Cantonese restaurant Bonnie's and author of cookbook Salt Sugar MSG, joined the pack with his 2 1/2-year-old son, Levi.
He was greeted by Mr. Joe Gonzales, 32, who treated him like they had known each other for years, except it was their first time meeting.
Walking, after all, is what the Brooklyn Stroll Club does best.
This story is from the May 12, 2025 edition of The Straits Times.
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