THe Hipsters are moving in in droves - I am very happy!

santa · June 2007

watch out for all the jewish hipsters following Matisayu.

ilikesausage · June 2007

You would think people would target the newcomers for the local buisnesses. Not to mention get together. I'd love to meet some local flavor :oops:

x-brooklynite · June 2007

Ilikesausage wrote: You would think people would target the newcomers for the local buisnesses. Not to mention get together. I'd love to meet some local flavor :oops:

Beep Beep. Livery cab service? Riding shoulder to shoulder with their neighbors would be a great way for the newcomers to bond with them.

anonymous · June 2007

Subject: Don't blame it on the...

Ok so I've lived in CH for 15 years now and I have mixed opinions about the topics on this board. I am Caribbean and when I first moved into the area, I felt out of place and under appreciated by my community. That lead to a conscious decision to suppress any remnants of my Caribbean-ness. After about 8 years, more West Indians came to the neighborhood and I finally felt at home. Today, as more individuals of the Caucasian persuasion start to move into the neighborhood the changes are both positive and negative. For one, certain establishments try to cater to the 10 white people living in the community and generally end up going out of business because now it costs $7 for a sandwich where as it would normally cost $3. Establishments are trying to be too upscale too fast and landlords are making "renovations" in their buildings only to tack those costs on to rental fees. At the same time, the eclectic mix of people in many communities in New York are what make the city such a great place to be. It is because different peoples choose to inhabit the same living space that whites can enjoy a roti or oxtail dinner and blacks can enjoy a chicken souvlaki platter. If one race/culture of people do not play the pioneer role and branch out into different hoods, another race/culture will. It is illogical to place all the blame about rising rent and commodity costs on the hipsters/anyone else. I say all this just to drive home the point that while hipsters (or who ever else) moving into a neighborhood does affect the general cost of living for everyone else the larger social issue of the gentrification of predominantly Afro, Latino, Indo, Asian etc. communities remains as it always was...the ten ton pink gorilla in the room that no one wants to speak about so instead everyone complains about the insignificant things like how much it sucks to have to go all the way to park slope to get their party on. It's by intermingling and being open about getting to know one another that we can start to peel away some of the layers of the onion that is racial tension in America.

neene · July 2007

thank you cj for your post

the problem with "hipsters" moving in is that they move out
this will just be a stepping stone on the way to someplace else
and what gets left behind is exactly what cj is talking about
"too fast, too soon";
development that is triggered solely by the quick buck
not long term planning

the changes will happen, that's inevitable
how they happen is somewhat controllable
but it requires a united community
and that requires effort

the question is whether or not ch will be another neighbored that gets "bulldozed" by development $$$
or whether it grows gracefully, trying to take into account the needs of all members of the changing demographic

that's up to us
the people who want to call it home for the long haul

themfa · July 2007

Anonymous wrote: [quote=blksafyre]Hopefully we won't end up like LES with a whole bunch of clubs and bars and drunks.

or worse, Prospect Heights.

I'm new here what are you trying to say?

anonymous · July 2007

Thanks CJ. I agree - the mixing of races and cultures is a great thing, but then there is a possible downside if it pushes previous residents out and drives up prices.

There is a new national network called "Right to the City." It is made up of groups in major cities whose members are fighting gentrification, and trying to organize to keep collective, public space in the cities. I know that groups like FUREE (Families United for Racial and Economic Equality) of Brooklyn is a member, and CAAAV, which is organizing against gentrification in Manhattan (Chinatown). The other groups who belong are from San Francisco, Miami, Boston, and other places.

Here is a link to an article about Right to the City:
http://zmagsite.zmag.org/June2007/samara0607.html

And more info on FUREE: http://www.furee.org/

Perhaps we can learn some lessons from these groups that can help us organize in Crown Heights?

ilikesausage · July 2007

/ just keep mugging people and selling heroin to six year olds, like old times. I'm sure that's exactly what they advocate.

It's diversity until it includes white people.

anonymous · July 2007

Subject: very well said

Ilikesausage

wow so very well said so very well said

Diversity is perversity - this is a perfect example.

anonymous · July 2007

some conservatives in our hood

anonymous · July 2007

Anonymous wrote: some conservatives in our hood

Makes me wonder why they choose to live here.

anonymous · July 2007

The whole Jewish community is conservative and I"ll bet you many black people are too.

escap · July 2007

Subject: Re: Don't blame it on the...

CJ wrote: Ok so I've lived in CH for 15 years now and I have mixed opinions about the topics on this board. I am Caribbean and when I first moved into the area, I felt out of place and under appreciated by my community. That lead to a conscious decision to suppress any remnants of my Caribbean-ness. After about 8 years, more West Indians came to the neighborhood and I finally felt at home. Today, as more individuals of the Caucasian persuasion start to move into the neighborhood the changes are both positive and negative. For one, certain establishments try to cater to the 10 white people living in the community and generally end up going out of business because now it costs $7 for a sandwich where as it would normally cost $3. Establishments are trying to be too upscale too fast and landlords are making "renovations" in their buildings only to tack those costs on to rental fees. At the same time, the eclectic mix of people in many communities in New York are what make the city such a great place to be. It is because different peoples choose to inhabit the same living space that whites can enjoy a roti or oxtail dinner and blacks can enjoy a chicken souvlaki platter. If one race/culture of people do not play the pioneer role and branch out into different hoods, another race/culture will. It is illogical to place all the blame about rising rent and commodity costs on the hipsters/anyone else. I say all this just to drive home the point that while hipsters (or who ever else) moving into a neighborhood does affect the general cost of living for everyone else the larger social issue of the gentrification of predominantly Afro, Latino, Indo, Asian etc. communities remains as it always was...the ten ton pink gorilla in the room that no one wants to speak about so instead everyone complains about the insignificant things like how much it sucks to have to go all the way to park slope to get their party on. It's by intermingling and being open about getting to know one another that we can start to peel away some of the layers of the onion that is racial tension in America.

This is a great post.

In Fort Greene I noticed a similar trend in new businesses back in the early '90s or so. Sandwich spots sold organic heirloom tomato and basil sandwiches, bars served $10 cocktails, clothing stores advertised $150 shirts, etc. And not surprisingly they quickly went out of business. Locals in would be much wiser to seize the opportunities arriving by opening businesses and taking advantage of the newly arrived capital than to complain about gentrification, but they need to be patient and not expect nabes like CH to turn into Soho overnight. It seems to take a while for an area to find its small business niche, but when it finally does it's a marvelous thing (Vanderbilt, Dekalb, Smith St, Fifth Ave, etc.).

THe Hipsters are moving in in droves - I am very happy!

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