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]
Hi! Whitey here! Actually, I get Brooklyn Proud 100%. Read some of these posts again. No matter how you think you meant it, too many of you are really rooting for your communities to “turn around,” which I can’t help but read as “turn white.” If they’re worth your million dollar investment, they’re worth your million dollar investment. You shouldn’t need more white people, or white-catering restaurants or boutiques or whatever to validate your purchase. Every home owner in this city wants cleaner, safer streets, better schools, more services–and man have we seen improvements over the past 15 years! But it’s insulting the way some of you people express yourselves.
WOW!!!
This is great. Although I wish we were all in a bar or round one giant dinner table with some good food.
Big respect to Brownstoner for hosting a really interesting debate — I might even do a follow up piece 🙂
I’m all for gentrification irrespective of whether the new comers are black white purple or orange. I just welcome good folks moving to my hood. My motivation is not purely financial but also derives from the very strong interest to raise my children in a progressive environment where postive role models are in abundance.
As for racial composition, I want my children to be raised in a diverse environment where they can appreciate people from all backgrounds and walks of life.
But I think David said it best: “I dont care what color, religion my neighbors are, but I want my neighbors to be law abiding, friendly and to take care of their homes and the community at large – additionally I would like my neighbors to value education (so as to create an enviroment where my children are more likely to have a good influence), and to be working (also to help set a good example for my children).”
I know I can get this in Scarsdale, Brookville or Saddle River, but if I can also find this in Brooklyn, own a fabulous house, live just 15 minutes from Wall Street and in a thriving diverse community then consider me a Brooklynite for life!!!
With respect to litter on my block, I actually pick it up everyday and throw it out. You’d be surprised how much less disposed people are to littering when the sidewalk is clear.
As for grafitti, you can report it and request cleanup (if you cannot clean it up yourself). See this weblink: http://www.brooklyn-usa.org/graffitifree.htm
For the prolific taggers, you could even try to keep a look out for them and report it to the police (take a picture etc.). I really hate it when I see people residential homes getting tagged.
How do we reduce graffitti and litter?
B2B, thanks for that, passionately and well said. We kind of have gotten off the trail here, and I am as guilty as the next person. But I think this is good. To my knowlege, this is the longest thread on this topic that hasn’t disintigrated into something Mr.B has had to shut down, and unless it does, I hope he keeps it open. We need to understand each other, as civilized people, and we also need to be alert to the forces around us – I’m talkin’ money and power here, that want us at each other’s throats. I’d be proud to have any of you as neighbors, even the people I don’t agree with, and don’t agree with me. We all bring good things to the table, and ultimately, we all want the same things: a safe, affordable,(beautiful is an extra plus)place to live, surrounded by like minds. We may even be able to pull it off!
Pietro, I absolutely agree with you.
First of all people shouldn’t put words in other people’s mouths- no one said gentrification was wrong or that waiting for the neighborhood to get better means “white.” I never said that- I happened to be talking about economically. And of course everyone wants neighborhoods to improve- let’s not get ridiculous here with misinterpretations. David is right, 100% But it’s afact there is a certain inequality we’re all dancing around. I stand by my point about people with money moving into poorer ethnic neighborhoods- whether it’s the housing, or they think it’s “trendy” or whatever. But there is a difference- when Black families moved into formerly all white neighborhoods, whites moved out. I saw it in my own neighborhood when I was growing up. We see the results all over Brooklyn, so please let’s not try to whitewash (oops- sorry) the reality. Seems to me that its only when white people move into a neighborhood does it get the notice of the real estate agents yet for years many Black upper and middle class families elected to live in Bed-Stuy and Crown Heights simply because they wanted to- they never got much notice. Where was Corcoran up to now? And having lived in both white and black neighborhoods I can tell you from experience that black neighborhoods have been more welcoming of whites moving in than the other way around. When my husband and I looked for an apartment years ago in Brooklyn Heights, more than one realtor had the nerve to tell me right to my face that no landlord would rent to an interracial couple. So unless you lived it,(and I did for close to 20 years) you simply don’t know. I learned the hard way the code words, the snubs, the namecalling that went on when we walked down the street. All from white people. Try having a white guy scream “whore” at you just because you in a park with your husband. That said- I am not necessarily agreeing with Brooklyn Proud on everything, but I fully understand her feelings. I just found it amazing how hard and fast people went after her, instead of talking to her. Like when people went after CHP and said she didn’t think prostitutes, drug dealers and criminals were anything other than colorful characters. Puh-lease! Read what people actually say instead of jumping all over them
I guess this discussion has gone off on a tangent here. Doesn’t anyone else get tired of the emphasis placed on the color of someone’s skin? Why this should matter so much — I don’t know. We seem to lose sight of the fact that we’re all just people trying to live our lives.
I always thought there was strength in diversity. In my opinion, anyone who wants a neighborhood to be solely one way or the other is not only fighting a losing battle, but being foolish. It’s about time that people from all walks of life can live next to each other peacefully.