In the early 2000s, I had a different perception of the New York music scene than the trendspotters—no Strokes, no electroclash, no trips to the Mercury Lounge. For me, the epicenter was located in Brooklyn, in the basement of a synagogue on the corner of Benson Ave. and Bay Parkway. Kids wore oversized Dead Kennedys T-shirts and spiked hairdos; half of the bands had members my age. (I was 15.)

This was the Punk Temple, and it was our home.

In 1998, Kingsborough College student Jordan Cooper had the idea for the Punk Temple. [...]