New Bed-Stuy More Like Old Bed-Stuy?

What bothers me about this “new excitement” and articles like this one, is the total disregard for what is here now, and who is here now, and how all this rush to the gold fields of Bed Stuy will actually pan out to the greater good of the community. The article makes it sound as if they just discovered a new continent, and must sail over here and plant their flags before someone beats them to it, or worse, the natives wake up.

Don’t get me wrong, I want to see an improved business district as much as the next resident. I’d like to see some substantial changes in the way businesses in general treat this community, specifically banks, large real estate firms, and other large businesses that do business here, reap profit, and take that profit back to wherever, and do very little for the community. They aren’t England, and we aren’t one of the colonies.

No where, not even ONCE in the article, did anyone mention the people of Bed Stuy, other than to mention the influx of new, whiter people. Hello – the neighborhood is not empty. There are people here doing well, always have. They are usually never mentioned, like we don’t exist. There are also huge social problems here, and no rush to build or open new stores is going to succeed as planned until some of these problems are addressed. They will not be addressed by 200 new cashier jobs. I’m not talking about handouts, either. I’m talking about taking the unique situation that is Bed Stuy, with its varying incomes, educational levels, housing situations, etc, etc, and crafting a plan so that this rising tide lifts more boats than just the yachts.

Lastly, any grand talk of rushing in to build, build, build needs to be tempered by some serious planning. This rush to throw something with a roof on vacant and underdeveloped lots has resulted in the Fulton Street Horror building, and blocks and blocks of fugly and poorly built housing that will not stand the test of time. The very thing that attracts people to BS, its architecture, tree lined streets and low density blocks will be ruined by crap. Some kind of urban planning board needs to be instituted, and it needs to have teeth to prevent the mess that has frankly, ruined parts of BS already.

Posted by: Montrose Morris at September 24, 2008 10:11 AM

Polemicist, I think you are operating on some very dubious premises here. First of all, it always amuses me that that calls for the ending of racial “claims” to a neighborhood only arise when other people want that neighborhood back. I don’t see anyone clamoring for the end of identity politics in Brownsville, or Borough Park, or Brighton Beach, for that matter.

Secondly, the Fulton Street was not abandoned by the black community. There are very few empty storefronts between Franklin and Kingston Avenues. Are most of them great stores? I don’t think very many would think so, but they serve a need for parts of the community, or they would be gone. The abandonment came when the historical shops of a middle class, integrated community jumped ship in the 60’s and 70’s. When I moved to BS in ’83, we still had a viable Woolworth’s, complete with lunch counter here, between Bedford and Nostrand. That left when the entire chain dissolved. Most of the stores here now are owned by Middle Eastern, and some African businessmen from many countries, most of whom don’t live here anywhere near here, who hire very few employees not family members. The rents on Fulton are quite high for what you get, too. Black entrepreneurial spirit cannot be measured solely by Fulton Street. I personally don’t care who owns a store. I want quality merchandise at a fair price, in a clean setting, and I want to be treated with respect, not as a suspect. If I don’t get that, I won’t shop there. Many of my friends and neighbors feel the same way. Fulton St, including downtown, needs a lot of work. That is a topic in itself.

Your third point – huh? Yeah, many black homeowners have benefited by the interest in BS. Most of the landlords for all of the young white kids I see in the subway are black, too. So what? If you don’t want to play identity politics, then that goes without saying. Before those kids moved in, we were still landlords, making money. I believe I do represent most of the black community on this. Are you mad? We are interested in as much of the community rising with the high tide of prosperity for altruistic racial reasons, as well as practical economic reasons – less unemployment and crime, better services, schools and stores are just as beneficial to our well being as to newcomers. Come on, that’s common sense.

How can you say there’s been little development? If by development, you only mean high rise buildings, then yes, thank goodness. But there is certainly room for that, in certain places, but all development should be tempered with some thought and care for the surroundings. You can house a great many people without going up 20 stories. You can sustain and create neighborhoods, not just dwellings, and certainly not just crap that will only be torn down in 20 years.

Posted by: Montrose Morris at September 24, 2008 11:00 AM

Actually, Polemicist, just looking back on what I wrote, I don't see anything that the majority of the black Bed Stuy community could argue with in my initial or even subsequent post. You haven't got a clue, here.

Posted by: Montrose Morris at September 24, 2008 11:04 AM

I disagree, I went back and read the article again. Aside from a few nods to diversity, and rising boats, the article is 90% devoted to the idea that BS is a potential gold mine for developers with adventure in their hearts and money in their hands. The parts of the article devoted to the retail hub, future BID, and the subway are only mentioned as enticement to developers - if you build it, they can get there.

As to the nod to Norman and Lena, and the diversity of the 50's, that's just code for "white folks have moved back in, it's ok for you to buy and build now." Nowhere is there a mention of cultural traditions, the churches, the tree lined blocks that have been homes for generations, or the historic nature of the entire neighborhood. I wouldn't even have had a problem with trotting out Stuyvesant Heights as the poster child of the new BS, with its diverse population, rising income level, amenities, etc. We got none of the human factor, only an impression of vast potential, waiting to be snapped up.

As I said in my first post, I have no problem with progress. I only have problems with progress running roughshod over a community I care about, like we're not here. Articles like this give that impression.

Posted by: Montrose Morris at September 24, 2008 11:36 AM

LC Arnett, well said, indeed. Amzi Hill, also very interesting. One of the reasons I love history so much is the opportunity to hear these stories, and the stories that NOP and others tell. Between the time our neighborhoods were built and now, are 100 years of life, generations of all kinds of people living in these buildings, running businesses, sending their kids to schools. Putting names and faces on these people helps us appreciate what we've got. I agree with LC that I welcome anyone who is vested in the community and respectful of its history and those around them.

I get angry when I don't see the respect. Pierre, mon ami,l'argent change tout. I still see that article as a modern equivelent of the old advertisements for the Great Oklahoma Land Rush of the 19th Century. You know - Land for sale, empty and cheap, get it now before it's gone. Flowing rivers, rolling hills and verdent fields. Just substitute commercial streets, good transportation and opportunities for development for the rivers and fields. Just call me cynical, but that's how I see it.

My comments on Middle Eastern and African shopkeepers were to illustrate that the existing retail shops are not run by people who will keep and spend that money in the community. Most do not live here. Also employing family is indeed a time honored tradition, and there is nothing inherently wrong or sinister about that, but it does not provide jobs for local people. I am not making any value judgement on that reality, I applaud people, some of whom can't speak English, making their way in this country, that is commendable, laudable and the way great commercial empires are built. I would like to see jobs for my community, not just retail, but retail is a start.

I fully admit I usually have more questions than answers. I just think it is important foe someone to be asking them. How can Bed Stuy, and other similar neighborhoods, grow, make room for anyone who wants to come here, change, improve, gentrify, if you will, but also find a way to bring others along on this ride. We can't just keep pushing the bottom tier out to another undesirable neighborhood. In the next 30 years, there will be no undesirable neighborhoods.

Posted by: Montrose Morris at September 24, 2008 6:35 PM

Amzi, although I think there is a lot the city could do to spur economic development, I don't think we can blame them for the lack of better retail or businesses in general, on Fulton.

Recent financial news aside, which is going to put everything into slo-mo here, it's up to landlords, business owners and the public to do the bulk of the improving. Absentee landlords who care nothing about the neighborhood, or their property, other than getting the rent, are a big problem.

Business owners who give us crap in terms of cleanliness and merchandise quality and selection, are also a huge problem. Then we have customers. Sadly, there are still too many problems with shoplifting, crime, and stupid behavior. And to be fair, too many problems with store personnel who assume we all steal, and businesses that look as tenuous as the cheap fixtures they display their goods on.

We need to demand better. The power of the purse is not utilized in our communities to force changes that any group, black, white, have, havenot, can agree on. We also need some entrepeneurial go-getters to take a big risk, rent these spaces as they become available, and bump it up a notch to higher quality retail, groceries, restaurants. If one is successful, others will follow, and perhaps the older stores will see the success, and do some upgrading.

One can only hope.

Posted by: Montrose Morris at September 25, 2008 1:59 AM