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March 16, 2009

Where Is The New Brooklyn?

doha-0309.jpgThe Brooklyn brand has become synonymous with coolness, creativity and authenticity so much so that cities as far-flung and diverse as Anchorage and Doha, Qatar have joined Philadelphia and Baltimore on the list of spots being called the New Brooklyn. Richard Florida, author of “The Rise of the Creative Class,” says that Brooklyn has become synonymous with gentrification (but, don't worry, it's the good kind of gentrification, he says—different from, say, the mall-ification of Soho). Brooklyn may become a victim of its own success, though, warns The Times: Now even Manhattan is being called the New Brooklyn.
Where Is the New Brooklyn? [NY Times]




Posted by Brownstoner at 10:15 AM | Comments (35)
Categories: Brooklyn

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Doha, Qatar - the "new brooklyn" -
ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.

Posted by: fsrg at March 16, 2009 10:24 AM

Let me agree wholeheartedly with you, fsrq!

Posted by: bxgrl at March 16, 2009 10:27 AM

this is all very retarded.

remember in the mid 90's when every town with a decent music scene was the "new Seattle". lame

Posted by: Santa at March 16, 2009 10:28 AM

Bangkok is the Venice of the East.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at March 16, 2009 10:30 AM

Anchorage?

Having spent time there, I can say it is more like Boise or any other small American city than Brooklyn.

Though I do remember the guys from the Bush referring to it as Los Anchorage because it was the "big city."

Posted by: SnarkSlope at March 16, 2009 10:32 AM

Lord, this type of stuff is SO nauseating.....

At a time when 100's of billions of dollars are being thrown around, a time of once-in-a century economic turmoil, this is what the New York Time is writing about. How many times are they going to keep pumping up Richard Florida? Does anyone wonder why they are headed for bankruptcy???

Posted by: benson at March 16, 2009 10:38 AM

"Now even Manhattan is being called the New Brooklyn."

This whole thing is really getting out of hand. Brooklyn once existed happily under the radar. Jesus.

Posted by: East New York at March 16, 2009 10:55 AM

actually brooklyn already made its way around the batting order is now the new brooklyn again

Posted by: Jimmy Legs at March 16, 2009 11:29 AM

While the Times is still a solid paper there are quite often articles in it that to me have a very stupid editorial bent to them...the Book Review isn't even worth reading anymore....

Posted by: infinitejester at March 16, 2009 11:44 AM

I got your new Brooklyn... Right Here

Posted by: march1 at March 16, 2009 11:49 AM

I want the Old Brooklyn back.

Posted by: bxgrl at March 16, 2009 12:07 PM

"I got your new Brooklyn... Right Here"

Hmmm, it's a lot smaller than I thought. :-)

Posted by: Biff Champion at March 16, 2009 12:07 PM

How embarrassing...

Posted by: gracias at March 16, 2009 12:21 PM

brooklyn = an urban suburb of nyc. I KNOW brooklyn is nyc but really, it's not. brooklyn is the new cool? but really, how many of you really liked cool people anyway? i think the bronx is much cooler. actually queens is kinda cool too. but bronx, brooklyn, queens, and the other place = suburbs of nyc. deal. with. it.

*rob*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at March 16, 2009 12:27 PM

Up until the Great Mistake of 1898, Brooklyn was an independent, sister city to Manhattan, and was the 4th largest city in the country. At the time the 5 boroughs were annexed to create the greater New York City, many people thought that doing so was a big mistake, and history may prove they weren't all that wrong. Brooklyn's affirmative vote did not pass by a huge margin.

Of course there are huge advantages to being part of NYC, but the fact remains that we have always had a very independent identity, a unique sense of place, and our developement and history is all our own. I'm proud to tell people I'm from Brooklyn. When asked if I live in NYC, I always say "I live in Brooklyn."

Posted by: Montrose Morris at March 16, 2009 12:45 PM

Manhattan is now suburb of itself. The real NYC only exists in cyberspace!

Posted by: werner at March 16, 2009 12:46 PM

The new Brooklyn is right here in brownstone Brooklyn--no way it could be replicated elsewhere!

Posted by: Bob Marvin at March 16, 2009 12:51 PM

What's this Manhattan everyone is talking about?

Posted by: bxgrl at March 16, 2009 1:08 PM

"brooklyn = an urban suburb of nyc. I KNOW brooklyn is nyc but really, it's not. "

Rob, are you really this ignorant? Brooklyn is NOT a "suburb". NYC is comprised of 5 boroughs. Brooklyn is one of them. Its pretty simple stuff, really.

Posted by: Prodigal_Son at March 16, 2009 1:10 PM

I hear that the Bronx is now the "old Brooklyn".

Posted by: benson at March 16, 2009 1:38 PM

"Inner suburb" is, to my mind, a very accurate description of Brooklyn. I lived in London for many years, and "inner suburb" was a term applied to underground zones beyond central London (zone 1), composed primarily of residential neighborhoods and a corresponding level of commerce.

The "Outer London" suburbs, beyond the scope of the underground, yet easily reached via rail, are more similar in spirit (commuter havens) to say, Westchester, Northern Jersey, Fairfield, or LI.

Posted by: Architerrorist at March 16, 2009 1:56 PM

How dare you benson?!! Brooklyn is the New Bronx :-)

Posted by: bxgrl at March 16, 2009 2:01 PM

If Brooklyn is the new Bronx, then what the hell is Staten Island?

Posted by: GHB at March 16, 2009 2:08 PM

The old Queens?

Posted by: bxgrl at March 16, 2009 2:16 PM

"The New Brooklyn" reminds of Woodstock 99. People attempting to re-live what can only have been experienced at a spontaneous point in time. These things are not invented; they just happen, thus cannot be recreated. Anything else is just a poor facsimile. Call it the "New Philly" or anything else for that matter, but get your own identity.

Posted by: ou812 at March 16, 2009 2:17 PM

LOL...someone just gave me an article clipped from the dining out section of the NYT titled: "Now In brooklyn, the 19th century" (Feb 25) about old school food shops and at the end they refer to brooklyn as "The East Coast of Berkeley"

What a load of crap!!!!

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at March 16, 2009 3:06 PM

> "The old Queens?"

You rang?

Posted by: SnarkSlope at March 16, 2009 3:41 PM

I've heard Park Slope referred to many times as the Berkeley of the East, but never Brooklyn as a whole. That is indeed crap, but I've found the PS reference not completely crazy.

Posted by: 11217 at March 16, 2009 4:01 PM

fsrq and others: you may laugh at Doha, but don't count it out...although from personal experience I would say Bahrain has more future gentrification potential (roiling ethnic-religious politics, lack of tons of money, etc.). Abu Dhabi and Dubai and Doha will compete for the "new Manhattan" title, although there are parts of all three that will be more like Williamsburg than Midtown.

Posted by: sixyearsandcounting at March 16, 2009 4:21 PM

If Fort Greene had a couple of Ralph Lauren or Marc Jacobs boutiques, the West Village would be the new Fort Greene...although if the sea level rises any time soon Fort Greene won't get flooded out the same way!

Posted by: BrooklynGreene at March 16, 2009 5:19 PM

"Abu Dhabi and Dubai and Doha will compete for the "new Manhattan" title"


Having been to all three of those places, there is not a time in our lifetime in which you'll see any of these 3 make a play for the "New Manhattan"

And I see nothing to warrant a comparison to Williamsburg in the slightest.

Dubai is in BAD shape right now. The city was built on speculation and future demand that now appears to be dwindling. 30-40% of all condos in Dubai are empty at this moment. It's deserted compared to a year ago.

I'd say it has a lot more in common with Miami or Las Vegas than it does New York.

Posted by: 11217 at March 16, 2009 5:52 PM

"brooklyn = an urban suburb of nyc. I KNOW brooklyn is nyc but really, it's not."

What?

Sure, if you completely re-define the word "suburb" to suit your liking, then your analysis is spot-on.

Otherwise, this comment is baffling. It's like saying something in the Constitution is unconstitutional.

Posted by: Come Clean at March 16, 2009 5:52 PM

With Walmart looking to open on Union Square, Virgin Megastore in Times Square becoming a Forever 21 and a Starfuckers on every corner, I'd say Manhattan is a helluva lot more "suburban" than Brooklyn.


Posted by: 11217 at March 16, 2009 6:03 PM

"The sun turned cold over President Street and
the town of the Brooklyn mourned . . ."

Bob Dylan
"Joey"

Posted by: BklynSoFar at March 16, 2009 8:09 PM


"i'll let u be in my dream if i can be in yours........"

BD

Talkin' WW III Blues............

Posted by: bklyn14 at March 16, 2009 8:49 PM

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