The 100 Greatest Brooklynites of All Time: 20 to 11
Basquiat is basically the first name in 80s NY art, a graffiti writer gone legit whose neo-expressionist canvases set the town atwitter (in the days before Twitter). Born in Brooklyn, he dropped out of Murrow, hung out in lower Manhattan, became a star, bought drugs in pre-gentrified Williamsburg, and died young of a heroin overdose. He’s buried in Green-Wood, so local acolytes (and there are many) can make the pilgrimage to his grave with ease.