Writer Falls For Bed Stuy on First Date
We missed this profile of Bed Stuy in the Daily News on Friday (which surprisingly was accompanied by a photo of five houses on the Clinton Hill side of Classon, recreated above), but a reader flagged it for us yesterday…The writer clearly has a big crush on the nabe, even if it’s his first time…
We missed this profile of Bed Stuy in the Daily News on Friday (which surprisingly was accompanied by a photo of five houses on the Clinton Hill side of Classon, recreated above), but a reader flagged it for us yesterday…The writer clearly has a big crush on the nabe, even if it’s his first time visiting. “You can’t believe something like this is in New York, and then you can’t believe you never knew it existed,” he writes about himself seeing the Montrose Morris-designed Alhambra building. And the architecture isn’t the only thing that impresses him: Its restaurants are “are more Greenwich Village than Greenwich Village.” We also learn how wonderful the residents are: I didn’t like people very much before we opened, says the co-owner of Ms. Dahlia’s Café. But the people here are amazing.” And of course there’s the issue of race, with this quote from a fifty-year resident of Madison Street: We’re going back to how we were in the late 1950s, she says of the current wave of gentrification. We were 80/20 white-to-black then. Then we were 90/10 black-to-white. Now, every new family who comes in is white. We welcome the change. It’s great, but it makes me laugh. Let’s say 20 years ago I moved to Howard Beach? I don’t think I would be as welcomed as the white people coming here are. That tells you something.
High on Bed-Stuy [NY Daily News]
quote:
Now, every new family who comes in is white.
You see that sort of commentary often go unchallenged. People (like me) observe more white people (like me) now than 10 years ago, but nobody writing these articles talks about the new black residents who tend to be in the same economic class as the new white residents. I guess the white ones really stand out visually.
Plus its an easier story to write if you don’t dig deep at all.
BTW, the West Indians ‘took over’ Crown Heights in the late ’60s. Of course, the blocks that constitute Crown Heights are always being debated.
I’m born and raised in Brooklyn, and in my experience we do speak to one another, however it’s also perfectly acceptable NOT to speak with anyone if that’s your preference. I can work with either. I have lived in Crown Heights (and earlier in ENY) with some folks for years and we havent dmore than exchanged nods, or perhaps never spoke to one another at all. No big deal.
Coming from the south I grew up with people that said hello to you and acknowledge your existence as you past them on the street. It feels great when someone ask “how are you and the family doing.” You get this “southern” kind of way in some other Brooklyn neighborhoods but it is becoming rare. I remember when Ft. Greene and Park Slope still had the small town feel in the city. Some of the veterans of those areas still say hello how are you…
I think there’s a big difference between saying hello and “being in your business.” Bed-Stuy neighbors are as curious as any other neighbors, but I think they are less judgmental than others about financial and other downfalls.
I am glad that this guy walked around Bedford Stuyvesant. But I think he could have used a good guide to tell him more about the place. It seems that he did not go to far east like past Marcy. But I did enjoy this…
That’s great, MM! She is a wonderful person and a great resource for neighborhood information.
ENY, I met your neighbor one day while I was taking pictures on your block. She’s a fascinating font of information, I think we ended up talking to her for at least an hour. That’s the kind of neighborhood and neighbors I love.
I have no idea, ditto. My neighbor didn’t say.
ENY – was the White dude British? he sounds a bit clueless. But “West Indians” used to be used a lot in England back in the day as the primary source of black immigration to England in the 50s-70’s was from the West Indies, not Africa.