{"id":139283,"date":"2026-02-19T22:01:39","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T22:01:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/139283\/"},"modified":"2026-02-19T22:01:39","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T22:01:39","slug":"reclaiming-the-borough-one-story-at-a-time-brooklyn-paper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/139283\/","title":{"rendered":"Reclaiming the borough, one story at a time \u2022 Brooklyn Paper"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Merlyn Oliver and Lauren Riley are The Brooklyn Mavens, founders of a digital platform sharing the borough\u2019s untold stories. <\/p>\n

Photos courtesy of The Brooklyn Mavens<\/p>\n

For Merlyn Oliver and Lauren Riley, Brooklyn isn\u2019t a trend, it\u2019s home.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

The co-founders of The Brooklyn Mavens<\/a>, a digital platform dedicated to spotlighting the borough\u2019s culture, small businesses and everyday storytellers, aren\u2019t newcomers documenting a scene from the outside. They\u2019re natives reclaiming a narrative they watched shift in real time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing a maven is being an expert,\u201d Riley said. \u201cWhen we started the brand, we really wanted to highlight Brooklyn from the perspective of some Brooklyn natives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Riley was born and raised in Brooklyn, just like her parents. It wasn\u2019t until she left \u2014 first for college in a rural town and later for a job in Philadelphia \u2014 that she realized how deeply Brooklyn shaped her.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMoving to Philadelphia was kind of a culture shock for me,\u201d she said. \u201cEven though it\u2019s a city, it felt smaller and more spread out. As someone who doesn\u2019t drive, I missed being able to walk to the supermarket, take the train anywhere, and knowing it runs 24\/7. It really hit home for me how much of a Brooklynite I am.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TheAfter experiencing life outside of the borough, The Brooklyn Mavens\u2019 Co-Founder, Lauren Riley, knew this was where she was meant to be.Photo courtesy of The Brooklyn Mavens<\/p>\n

Oliver\u2019s story begins further south.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m Jamaican-born, Brooklyn-raised,\u201d she said. \u201cA part of who I am is being an immigrant and being Jamaican \u2014 that\u2019s why I live in Flatbush<\/a>. My whole upbringing was around Caribbean people.\u201d<\/p>\n

She recalls the sensory soundtrack of a Brooklyn summer: reggae drifting from passing cars, the bass of Biggie echoing down the block, and the ease of walking \u201ctwo blocks up and getting some jerk chicken.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou honestly couldn\u2019t get that experience anywhere else,\u201d Oliver said.\n<\/p>\n

The two met in high school, attended college together, and were roommates, a foundation that would later anchor their business partnership.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t think we could do this with anyone else,\u201d Oliver said. \u201cWe balance each other out.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

The Brooklyn Mavens didn\u2019t start as the cultural storytelling hub it is today. In 2016, it launched as \u201cBK Fashion Mavens,\u201d a fashion-focused brand. But the founders quickly realized Brooklyn was bigger than style.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was more to Brooklyn than just fashion,\u201d Oliver said. \u201cAnd people couldn\u2019t remember the name.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

They rebranded as The Brooklyn Mavens \u2014 broadening their mission to reflect the full spectrum of the borough\u2019s communities. That shift also manifested personally. After both women moved away after college, they returned home to a noticeably changed borough.<\/p>\n

\"TheMerlyn Oliver, \u201cJamaican born and Brooklyn raised,\u201d is just one half of The Brooklyn Mavens\u2019 digital presence.Photo courtesy of The Brooklyn Mavens<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we came back, we noticed there was a shift in how Brooklyn felt,\u201d Oliver said. \u201cPeople would come to Brooklyn and only feature Williamsburg or Bushwick. That was kind of annoying because people associate Brooklyn with just one neighborhood.\u201d<\/p>\n

With Brooklyn as the city\u2019s most populous<\/a> borough, the founders saw an opportunity to showcase its depth, from Flatbush to Sheepshead Bay and beyond.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like a love letter to our borough,\u201d Oliver said. \u201cPeople from here can see neighborhoods they\u2019re familiar with, and people who come here can learn more about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

With over 80,000 Instagram followers, the platform now features neighborhood tours, small businesses, cultural commentary and personal storytelling series like \u201cMy Brooklyn\u201d and this month\u2019s \u201cBrooklyn By Us,\u201d which spotlights Black-owned businesses and the stories behind their founders.<\/p>\n

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They find their stories all over.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes it\u2019s just Googling,\u201d Oliver said. \u201cWe take a lot of suggestions from the community. Our DMs will be flooded. Family members will call, like, \u2018Can you feature this place?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

One of their signature formats grew organically. While filming a breast cancer awareness video with a survivor from Sheepshead Bay, Riley ended up recording an impromptu neighborhood tour<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople wanted more of that,\u201d she said. \u201cSo that\u2019s how it started.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

The founders say they try to avoid skewing toward one type of content and instead listen closely to their audience.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThe community will tell you exactly what they want to see,\u201d Riley said.\n<\/p>\n

\u00a0Behind the curated feeds and neighborhood reels is a reality many creatives know well: both women still work full-time jobs.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\u201cWe still have our nine-to-five,\u201d Oliver said. \u201cBut we see [The Brooklyn Mavens] now from a business perspective.\u201d
\n\"TheOliver and Riley have been friends since high school, and The Brooklyn Mavens have brought them closer together.Photo courtesy of The Brooklyn Mavens\n<\/p>\n

As the brand grows, so do its complexities; from building a team to navigating boundaries with businesses they\u2019ve formed friendships with over the years.\u00a0Still, their friendship remains steady \u2014 a dynamic they credit as essential to the platform\u2019s longevity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cLauren is really realistic,\u201d Oliver said. \u201cSometimes I do the most. She\u2019ll say, \u2018Girl, that\u2019s not going to work.\u2019 And I\u2019ll be like, okay, let me simmer down.\u201d<\/p>\n

At its core, The Brooklyn Mavens is about respect.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\u201cAs long as you respect the borough and you\u2019re open to learning about the culture, you\u2019re a maven,\u201d Oliver said.\n<\/p>\n

Looking ahead five to 10 years, the founders envision The Brooklyn Mavens as something bigger \u2014 perhaps even a television component \u2014 but still grounded in their original mission.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen people think, \u2018I\u2019m going to Brooklyn,\u2019 we want to be the first ones they think about,\u201d Riley said. \u201cAnyone who wants to come to Brooklyn or New York should know about the brand.\u201d<\/p>\n

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