Well, they can connect the dots

Just place a dot where your home is. The call lured curious area residents like bees to a honey pot to the circular mosaic outside Tillie’s of Brooklyn, where a community project is underway to document local domains – dot by dot. The mural, a nine-foot circle map of the neighborhood created by artist Ellie Balk in partnership with SONYA (South of the Navy Yard Artists) Mural Arts Project, was dedicated on the Vanderbilt Avenue side of the whimsical coffee house, 248 DeKalb Avenue, where local dwellers were invited to locate their home and record it for posterity with a dab of paint. “The goal of Tillie’s Community Mural is to unify and bridge the varying aspects of the local community, giving all people a sense of connectedness,” said Balk. The mural intersects the neighborhoods of Fort Greene and Clinton Hill, whose residents flock to the coffee house – named in memory of Tillie Asnis, who ran a dry cleaning business in the 1940s and ‘50s – as much for its eats and drinks as for its performance arts space, which features an open mic on Thursdays and frequent performances by local musicians.