A Borough of BroBos?
Do you remember when Times columnist David Brooks coined the phrase BoBos to describe a certain set of liberal yuppies—or Bourgeois Bohemians—back in the Nineties? Well, this week the Observer has resuscitated the term with a twist, putting their finger on a certain subset of the Brooklyn population the salmon-colored weekly is calling BroBos, or…
Do you remember when Times columnist David Brooks coined the phrase BoBos to describe a certain set of liberal yuppies—or Bourgeois Bohemians—back in the Nineties? Well, this week the Observer has resuscitated the term with a twist, putting their finger on a certain subset of the Brooklyn population the salmon-colored weekly is calling BroBos, or Brooklyn Bourgeois Bohemians. Ouch! Matt Power is one BroBo, according to the Observer: “Fuck, Brooklyn’s great!” said the PLG-based magazine writer. “I’ve got three blueberry bushes, I’ve got a fig tree, I’ve got 20 tomato plants. We put up enough basil last summer to have pesto until now. It’s fucking great. Why would you suffer living in a lightless hole?” Evidently The Brooklyn Flea is considered a hotbed of Brobos, as is the stretch of Bergen Street that includes Toys in Babeland, high-end hot dog place Bark and maternity clothing shop Bump. “If this isn’t real New York, then why would you want the other New York?” a Flea attendee and Fort Greene resident told the Observer. “Why wouldn’t you want this?” Turns out not every young creative type in the city is buying the Brooklyn hype. “People live in Brooklyn because it’s cheaper,” said one such Manhattan purist. “It’s not a money thing or a class thing, but it’s sort of admitting defeat—an inability to be in New York.”
BroBos in Paradise [NY Observer]
Photo by vlauria
I’ve lived in Manhattan for 15 years. Gosh that’s tough to say. My whole life is in Manhattan, and I’ve loved it. Recently, I’ve tried pawning off my apartment a 1br with the works in a full service building to a friend of mine who was living in Brooklyn. He turned me down, no thanks, he wants to say in Brooklyn. In fact every friend of mine from Brooklyn doesn’t want my rent-stabilized corner apartment, with hardwood floors, stainless steel appliances and the golden fleece of all apartment features, stairs! They’d rather look in Brooklyn because they want to stay in Brooklyn. I figure there’s gotta be something there, or my apartment is just plain awful. You decide. http://www.joshandmarie.us/2010/05/16/nesting-vi-our-humble-abode/
the only ‘accomplishment’ in contently living above 100th street is in the logical theatrics necessary to read that situation as a win.
BHS oh no!
I keep seeing a squirrel in my garden – thought he was looking for nuts. I got roses, dahlias, cosmos all over the place. How do I get rid of him?
It’s a little known fact that this is what Capote actually wrote in the first draft . . .
“I live in Brooklyn by choice ya dumb $#%$ing Manhattan purist d$#% bag.”
Yes, wasder, be very very afraid! LOL! Not!
DH, I’m not sure. At one point, there might have been a SLIGHT difference in musical tastes between Park Slope, Cobble Hill, Williamsburg, etc etc etc. Not that this is in any way important. In any case, not sure there is much difference any more.
Certainly in the larger sense it’s all the same culture, yes.
A squirrel ate my ENTIRE tomato plant recently, leaving just a nub of the stem at dirt level. I didnt see it happen but they are constantly out there eating random stuff like my neighbor’s roses.
I basically don’t know anybody that I socialize with that lives in Manhattan at this point. All of my close friends live in BK so I don’t have that disconnect about not wanting to come out here.
We live in BK because we went to college in BK and never wanted to leave…