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This week we have received notice of not one but two panels on gentrification and real estate in Brooklyn. After a year of rapid price escalation in Brooklyn, “housing matters are on the minds of all Brooklyn residents,” said the Rev. John E. Denaro, Rector of St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church, which is hosting one of the events. “We are pleased to explore this urgent topic with guests who are asking the hard questions about the future of our beloved borough.”

The first event, hosted by two Corcoran agents, is specifically focused on Bed Stuy and has some very heavy hitters planned for the lineup. Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams will speak. Columbia professor of Urban Planning Lance Freeman will keynote. If you have read anything about gentrification, you will know Freeman has published what may be the definitive work on the topic, “There Goes the Hood: Views of Gentrification from the Ground Up,” an ethnographic study of gentrification in Clinton Hill and Harlem that outlines the good and the bad effects of gentrification through interviews with long-term residents of both neighborhoods. He is most famous for a study that showed people move in and out of poor neighborhoods as often as they do in gentrifying ones.

Panelists include President and CEO of Bridge Street Development Corp. Emilio Dorcely, Community Board 3 Chair Tremaine Wright, Council Member Robert Cornegy, Richard Flateau of Flateau Realty Corp. and Brownstoners of Bedford-Stuyvesant President Ava Barnett. The event will “explore current trends and future growth possibilities” in Bed Stuy “and how the public can benefit from these new opportunities,” said the email.

It will take place Saturday, June 21, from 9 am to noon at the Nazarene Congregational Church at 506 MacDonough Street. Breakfast will be served. Seating is limited so please RSVP to 718-765-3732 or aflorant@corcoran.com before June 19.

The second panel, “Brooklyn Housing Matters: Tackling Affordability,” is billed as a “public forum on housing issues, initiatives and prospects.” Hosted by The Forum @ St. Ann’s, the panel will be moderated by New York Public Radio urban policy reporter Cindy Rodriguez. Panelists include Council Member Stephen Levin; Caitlyn Brazil, VP of Strategic Partnerships of CAMBA, a housing nonprofit; and Aaron Koffman, Director of Affordable Housing for developer Hudson Companies.

The panel will explore how Brooklyn “can preserve the qualities and diversity that make it distinct, as the borough develops as an epicenter of world culture,” said the email we received. “Brooklyn’s special character, cultural vibrancy, and quality of life have attracted global attention. With it has come dramatic and rapid change. Residents are seeing their neighborhoods change so fast that they hardly recognize their surroundings, often cannot benefit from improvements and feel shut out or alienated on their own turf. What are we losing in the process? The key to it all is housing. As New York’s new mayor and developers pursue common ground on conflicting housing priorities, retaining the rich flavor and uniqueness of Brooklyn will be challenging.”

Panelists will cover “the definition of affordability…the housing needs and prospects of those who are evicted, foreclosed, displaced, unemployed, elderly or disabled, how to honor the character of neighborhoods marked for development, and how to retain community cohesion while gentrification significantly alters the traditional resident profile.”

The community forum takes place Thursday, June 24 at 7 pm at St. Ann’s the Holy Trinity Church in Brooklyn Heights. For more information, check out St. Ann’s event page.


What's Your Take? Leave a Comment

  1. Thanks for the notice of these forums, especially the one near me at St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church in Brooklyn Heights, a historic district soon to be surrounded by towers on all sides it seems. I hope your readers turn out this discussion.

  2. I’m sure there will be lively discussion at these events. At least the panelists sound like a balanced mix.
    I think that part of the solution should include designation of historic districts in the rapidly changing neighborhoods. Designating a historic district is one of the best ways to retain the flavor and individuality of Brooklyn, and to maintain community cohesion.
    If REBNY is released on Brooklyn, unchecked, the proliferation of luxury condos will render the borough absolutely unrecognizable.

    • And since the pattern is heading east to East New York’s Broadway Junction area can we get a jump start on saving the historic areas left in the neighborhood, namely Cypress Hills (Victorian, Wood Frame and Brick) and the Brick/woodframe row houses in City Line. I know it’s still uncharted territory to most but we should preserve what survived the bad days.