Growing up just 45 minutes outside Manhattan, Karly Brecher always felt a special connection to New York City. Brecher, a senior in the Bandier Program for Music and the Entertainment Industries, has five tattoos, but one of the first tattoos she remembers wanting was a New York City-inspired tattoo.

Initially, Brecher was thinking of getting an outline of the city’s skyline, but when she was old enough to actually make the decision, she decided the skyline tattoo idea was cliché and wanted to get something more original and personal.

Brecher already had three tattoos by the time she finally found inspiration for her New York City tattoo. She was listening to the song “Bad Apple” by Basement, and specifically the line “rotten to the core.” She felt this line embodies her ties to the Big Apple along with the attitudes of its inhabitants.

“The energy of New York City has always been very influential on me and my attitude,” Brecher said.

Brecher said the fast-paced environment of the city and the city’s drive to get things done, no matter what gets in the way, has helped her not let negative things get to her.

It was in California at Kingswell Tattoo — a skate shop and tattoo parlor previously famous for being the first artist studio of Walt Disney — that Brecher finally got her New York tattoo.

The tattoo is an apple core with a ribbon wrapped around it that reads “Rotten to the Core.” Brecher said that it was difficult finding an artist that she really liked, but Mike Burns’ variety of styles impressed her and she made an appointment with him for one of the first days that she got to Los Angeles.

Brecher reflected on her childhood, living near New York City and often visiting her grandma who lived there. She remembers visiting the World Trade Center just weeks before the 9/11 attacks and can recall the day of 9/11 quite vividly. These memories will now stay with her, through her tattoo.

Despite her memories and cherished connection to New York, she will be returning to Los Angeles after graduation.

Said Brecher: “It was sort of symbolic of keeping my New York roots wherever I go.”

Published on May 3, 2016 at 12:01 am

Contact: lmeyers@syr.edu