Condos of the Day: 83 Halsey Street

It stands to reason that in a time when people are trying to move back closer to the city, neighborhoods that were once considered dangerous and shady (ie - black or Latino) are now called up and coming and "the next", especially if they are within an 45 minute commute to midtown Manhattan, or have great architecture. Look at Harlem. Look at Bed Stuy and Crown Heights.

I think it is exceptionally ignorant of people like PropJoe to deride anyone's choice of neighborhood. The thousands of people who have called these neighborhoods home for generations are finally enjoying some of the sweet rewards of perserverance, and newcomers of all persuasions are settling in and finding life here to be good. I've said it a million times, and I'll say it again - to buy here, especially in the prime parts of BS and CH, is a good move. I don't advise overpaying for anywhere, but to buy for a fair market price will reward you with a good home, and a solid investment for the future. We are in an urban cycle of habitation again. Why not buy, or live, in an urban neighborhood that is still somewhat reasonable, and hold on? Especially in a neighborhood with such beautiful, architecture, wide streets, and ease of transportation? Neighborhoods which are still fraught with social problems, but certainly not the war zone some would like to think they are.

Now I can see where this may not be everyone's cup of tea, and I'm fine with that. I just don't see why someone's decision to choose our neighborhoods has to be met with a poorly phrased, Ebonics laden put-down, obviously meant to illustrate the perceived social failings of those who live here now, to those who might be considering it.

PropJoe, "mad ghetto"?

Posted by: Montrose Morris at July 21, 2008 3:42 PM

PropJoe, Do the Right Thing came out in 1989.

Bed Stuy is different. NYC is different. People's attitudes towards living in BS are different. And if you really want to nit pick, the setting for the movie was waaaayyyyyy on the other side of Bed Stuy, nowhere near this house.

Different, different, different.

The only thing that has remained the same may be some people's ignorant attitudes. For a guy who has lived in a number of places, but NOT Bed Stuy, you disappoint. Don't get your information from a film.

Posted by: Montrose Morris at July 21, 2008 4:11 PM

PropJoe, in your fervent desire to distinguish yourself from the peeps you so despise, you've become a spokesperson for all those who really think we are all alike.

Perhaps whilst you were in Durham, you were not aware that Fort Greene had much the same reputation as Bed Stuy has now. According to some on this board, it still does. Ft. Greene, like BS now, has always had a strong black middleclass, and these are the people who owned and preserved blocks of beautiful and now desirable brownstones from the 1960's on up. It's had more of a racial mix, due in part to the presence of Pratt and St. Joseph's college, but many parallels can be made to its gentrification, and that of Clinton Hill, and some of the changes coming to Bed Stuy and Crown Heights now. You are now enjoying living in an urban muticultural neighborhood, not because the rich white folks "saved" it, but because all kinds of people built upon the stable predominantly black neighborhood that was there, including other wealthy black folks.

As has been said countless times, Bed Stuy is huge. One drive through can't begin to show anyone the variety of living experiences here, from the worst to the best. You do the neighborhood a disservice by judging it by a couple of movies. You also do the people here a vast disservice by painting us all as thugs, layabouts, and Ebonics spouting ignoramuses. Methinks you have more than a few self loathing issues here. If you want to be judged as an individual on your merits, do the rest of us a favor, and grant us the same.

Posted by: Montrose Morris at July 21, 2008 7:29 PM