The Times of London Singing Bed Stuy's Praises
It sounds like London Times writer James Doran got quite a deal on his Bedford Stuyvesant brownstone. Given how well-preserved all the details were, $600,000 sounds undermarket to us. And what a great provenance! The story he tells of the former owner, a brewery heiress, is great stuff. The Heath Ledger angle might be a…
It sounds like London Times writer James Doran got quite a deal on his Bedford Stuyvesant brownstone. Given how well-preserved all the details were, $600,000 sounds undermarket to us. And what a great provenance! The story he tells of the former owner, a brewery heiress, is great stuff. The Heath Ledger angle might be a bit of a stretch but, hey, Doran’s at least setting the newspaper-reading public straight about the neighborhood which has caught more than its share of bad press over the years:
Bed-Stuy is more than just an incredible investment opportunity for an adventurous property speculator: it is one of the most fascinating neighbourhoods of New York, steeped in history and close to Manhattan’s sleepless streets, yet no tourist ever sets foot here.
Local blog Bed Stuy Gateway had this to say about the article: Is The Times doing a Lenten penance for the smackdown of an article it published on June 25, 2005 in which reporter Dominic Rushe called Bed-Stuy “a horrible and inconvenient area of Brooklyn with some lovely buildings and a nasty crack habit”?
Big Apple’s Core Appeal [London Times]
The Brits Are Coming [Bed Stuy Gateway]
Thanks everybody, this will go down as one of my most memorable and enjoyable experiences as a writer.
Viva Bed-Stuy!
James
Agreed James- but it really was a great thread. We aired our faults and our good points- and we found out we’re all only human. But in my heart of hearts I think we persisted in writing to this thread because we know there are problems and we need to get beyond them. That’s reason to hope- we yelled and vented, but we did keep talking. Thanks to James for helping to open a door for honest (if uncomfortable) discussion. And sorry you got beaten up in the process. Change is hard for everyone, yet we can’t live without it. All we can try to do is make it change for the better. In the end we’re more alike than we are different.
I agree james. I think this thread has run its course as many of the posts from the same people are starting to contradict each other. Probably just a problem with the medium of the blog.
This is getting to be like the Big Brother House
who shall we vote out? Feel free to pick me. This whole weird argument about surpressed racism (fictional or otherwise) was spawned by an article I wrote that simply said “I love Bed Stuy”. I notice from reading back the thread to the beginning that some people have contradicted every point I made in the artcile, then agreed wth it then contradicted it again, while all the time telling me a) my assessment of Bed Stuy is wrong and b) I am subconciously participating in a white supremicist movement to turn Bed Stuy into a whites only area. The people making the complaints about racism and racist plots seem to be the ony ones in the forum who display a prejudiced opinion of both black and white people. Please refer to my earlier note about bigots coming in all colours.
Alyndea, it seems that you are the one who can’t seem to comprehend that when people say they are concerned about crime in Bed Stuy, they are not saying they are concerned about black people, just criminals. I don’t care what color a mugger is. Read the posts. It’s not code for racism. Everyone who lives in the area recognizes that they have nice neighbors but still have issues with muggings and drug dealers.
“It’s that every time somone isn’t nice to you they are racist.” Where are you getting this from? Is that from your experience. Racism is making assumptions that your wife will get attack by a black person if she walks at night, or that someone will difinitely pounce on you cuase that’s just what you can expect from a blk neighborhood. I’m done….. Ignorance is bliss. I’m moving to Park Slope.
My point Alyndea is not that black people aren’t nice! Why does that even need to be said? It’s that every time somone isn’t nice to you they are racist. That may be the case some of the time and other times they just may be a cranky person regardless of color. Until we as a society are color blind we will neverr have an honest dialog about individuality. Your narrowminded way of thinking doesn’t help.
I meant to say “don’t let bad experiences cause you to be prejudiced against a class of people”…
Ayndea/BrooklynProud, thank you for describing your perception that a lot of whites think of blacks (African Americans specifically) as a homogenous group of criminals. I am white and don’t doubt for a moment that you have experienced, and continue to experience, attitudes like that. However, I think that your presumption that most whites, especially those considering moving into black areas or that already live there, think all African Americans are criminals is dead wrong. When white people talk about improving quality of life issues related to crime in a 90% black neighborhood they are living in, I would bet my bottom dollar that they are not speaking in code for let’s get rid of all the blacks and make this area white. I live on the border of Bed Stuy. I have lovely, friendly neighbors, black and white. I also occaisionally get dirty looks, have been called cracker and honky, spit at, but I don’t presume that means that all of the poeple in my neighborhood are racist, just that we have some jerks, but most people are nice and welcoming. You really have to start giving people the benefit of the doubt and don’t let bad experiences you against a class of people. I try to be conscious of that every day, especially when I get heckled for being white or people suck their teeth when I say hello, and I think it would benefit everyone to do the same.