Terms of Use
Oral histories are intimate conversations between and among people who have generously agreed to share these recordings with BHS’s archives and researchers. Please listen in the spirit with which these were shared. BHS abides by the General Principles & Best Practices for Oral History as agreed upon by the Oral History Association and expects that use of this material will be done with respect for these professional ethics.
Every oral history relies on the memories, views, and opinions of the narrator. Because of the personal nature of oral history, listeners may find some viewpoints or language of the recorded participants to be objectionable. In keeping with its mission of preservation and unfettered access whenever possible, BHS presents these views as recorded.
The audio recording should be considered the primary source for each interview. Where provided, transcripts created prior to 2008 or commissioned by a third party other than BHS, serve as a guide to the interview and are not considered verbatim. More recent transcripts commissioned by BHS are nearly verbatim copies of the recorded interview, and as such may contain the natural false starts, verbal stumbles, misspeaks, and repetitions that are common in conversation. The decision for their inclusion was made because BHS gives primacy to the audible voice and also because some researchers do find useful information in these verbal patterns. Unless these verbal patterns are germane to your scholarly work, when quoting from this material researchers are encouraged to correct the grammar and make other modifications maintaining the flavor of the narrator’s speech while editing the material for the standards of print.
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[Last name, First name], Oral history interview conducted by [Interviewer’s First name Last name], [Month DD, YYYY], [Title of Collection], [Call #]; Brooklyn Historical Society.
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Juan Solano
Oral history interview conducted by Bahati Williams
May 15, 2008
Call number: 2008.030.41
0:00 - Early career; journey as an optical entrepreneur; ups and downs of business ownership
12:37 - Business philosophy; message to consumers; US healthcare system; Solano’s high-tech lenses
32:40 - Illegal street vendors in Bed-Stuy; cost of neighborhood crime
49:13 - Perks of membership in Merchants' Association; attending Community Board meetings
68:38 - Thoughts on Bed-Stuy's evolution in the past 10 years; interview conclusion
Interview Description
Oral History Interview with Juan Solano
Juan Solano, born 1952, was the proprietor and optician at Solano Optical. Solano's first job out of high school was as a shipping clerk for a local optician. From age eighteen to age forty, Solano worked at a large variety of optical retailers, where he learned the business, eventually earning his bachelor's degree and becoming a licensed optician. At the age of forty-two, Solano and his wife took a second mortgage on their home, and used the money to open the first Solano Optical. At the time of the 2008 interview, Solano and his wife had recently purchased their own building, which included a storefront and residential rental property.
In this interview, Juan Solano, owner of Solano Optical, reflects on his personal journey as an entrepreneur, which began with his first job as a shipping clerk at an optician's office and ended with the purchase of a mixed-use building which provided Solano a stable storefront, residential rental income, and a family home. At some points, Solano becomes emotional as he describes his experiences, including ups and downs such as the loss of five different stores due to rising rents, non-renewed leases, and recession. Solano describes the United States healthcare system as broken, citing the managed care system as a chief example. He speaks at length about his own lenses, which are transition bifocals. Solano voices his experiences with major crime: scuffles with illegal vendors of counterfeit and stolen goods; being victimized by gang activity; and suffering an armed robbery. Near the interview's end, Solano discusses the perks of membership in the Fulton-Nostrand United Merchants Association and other forms of leadership in the local business community. In the final minutes, Solano intolerantly refers to the nearby Hasidic Jewish community. Interview conducted by Bahati Williams.
Brooklyn Historical Society (BHS) and Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation (Restoration) partnered on the Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation oral history project in 2007-2008 to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of Restoration's founding as the first community development corporation (CDC) in the United States. Nearly sixty interviews were conducted with founding Board members, supporters, activists, artists, tenants, and other community members. Audio clips from these oral history interviews were included in the exhibit "Reflections on Community Development: Stories from Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation" (BHS 2008, Restoration 2009).
Citation
Solano, Juan, Oral history interview conducted by Bahati Williams, May 15, 2008, Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation oral histories, 2008.030.41; Brooklyn Historical Society.People
- Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation
- Fulton-Nostrand United Merchants Association
- Solano Optical Boutique Ltd.
- Solano, Juan, 1952-
Topics
- Bankruptcy
- Business enterprises
- Crime
- Enterprise zones
- Entrepreneurship
- Gentrification
- Medical care
- Storefronts
Places
- Bedford-Stuyvesant (New York, N.Y.)
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
- New York (N.Y.)
Finding Aid
Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation oral histories