A Borough of BroBos?
Do you remember when Times columnist David Brooks coined the phrase BoBos to describe a certain set of liberal yuppies—or Bourgeois Bohemians—back in the Nineties? Well, this week the Observer has resuscitated the term with a twist, putting their finger on a certain subset of the Brooklyn population the salmon-colored weekly is calling BroBos, or…
Do you remember when Times columnist David Brooks coined the phrase BoBos to describe a certain set of liberal yuppies—or Bourgeois Bohemians—back in the Nineties? Well, this week the Observer has resuscitated the term with a twist, putting their finger on a certain subset of the Brooklyn population the salmon-colored weekly is calling BroBos, or Brooklyn Bourgeois Bohemians. Ouch! Matt Power is one BroBo, according to the Observer: “Fuck, Brooklyn’s great!” said the PLG-based magazine writer. “I’ve got three blueberry bushes, I’ve got a fig tree, I’ve got 20 tomato plants. We put up enough basil last summer to have pesto until now. It’s fucking great. Why would you suffer living in a lightless hole?” Evidently The Brooklyn Flea is considered a hotbed of Brobos, as is the stretch of Bergen Street that includes Toys in Babeland, high-end hot dog place Bark and maternity clothing shop Bump. “If this isn’t real New York, then why would you want the other New York?” a Flea attendee and Fort Greene resident told the Observer. “Why wouldn’t you want this?” Turns out not every young creative type in the city is buying the Brooklyn hype. “People live in Brooklyn because it’s cheaper,” said one such Manhattan purist. “It’s not a money thing or a class thing, but it’s sort of admitting defeat—an inability to be in New York.”
BroBos in Paradise [NY Observer]
Photo by vlauria
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Y – A – W – N
Its fair to say this topic has been done to death. But there was something to this idea that Brooklyn is a bit like downtown was back in the day — but with yards. Anyway, not for much longer. As Sam says, too expensive.
okay i just read the full article and now im siding with the people who stick with manhattan… cuz it’s more of a backlash against all the things i DO hate about brooklyn (cyclists in flip flops, organic food, eco nazism, giant faggy tote bags and short shorts on guys, 14 dollar coffee, 10 dollar scoops of ice cream, etc)..
*rob*
“dh, it has the same kind of businesses and visitors Soho/Nolita/Village/fill in blank of choice did before it went totally mainstream. ”
Okay – keyword ‘before it went totally mainstream’ – yeah I guess I agree with that.
“You live there. Haven’t you noticed the major changes of the last few years? Though I guess you’ve only been there three years or so. Bedford is like Haight St. these days.”
Yeah – it’s changed, but do you REALLY think Bedford Ave is any different than Smith St, 5th Ave or any other commercial strip in yuppified gentrified brooklyn? It’s all the same shit! Same types of restaurants, bars and useless boutiques. Same types of people too. The clientele at Mission Dolores on a Sat night is exactly the same as Berry Park or Union Pool or The Charleston. So I don’t agree that Williamsburg is any closer to being annexed by Manhattan – the only difference btw all these neighborhoods REALLY is housing stock.
“fair-trade yoga tapes”. thread winner.
Ridiculous journalism and debate. Its all relative. I have lived in both and put it this way: If your life (friends, work, extra-currics) is based in Manhattan, then living there makes sense. If in Brooklyn, then it makes sense to cross the river. For me, living on the UWS was great – the quietest, most verdant part of central park was down the block, Riverside park a few blocks away, numerous subway lines and buses right there – making my communte to work 15-minutes door-to-door, and allowing me to bike ride or walk home on nice days. Tons of groceries and other amenities always available and right around the corner. Getting out of the city was a breeze due to highway location. And, the demographic mix was nice (hispanic, old-time liberals, writers/musicians, yuppies). But prices went up and up, alot of our friends moved away…..to…cheaper Brooklyn and elsewhere. As did we. And it was an adjustment. At first, it was nice and different – sort of living in the city, but not. But then the tripling of my commute time (walking or riding to work was not an option anymore), lack of decent groceries and amenities right nearby, pain in the ass to get upstate/jersey (where we have family), refusal of guests to come out to us when they are in town and staying in mnahttan forcing us to come back into Manhattan (which seems to happen every other weekend), our forced reliance on taxis within brooklyn (as subway/bus service sucks), etc etc started taking a toll. I still appreciate the “small town in a big city” feel and enjoy being close to friends again, but as I do have a life outside of Brooklyn, there is alot of downside. Plus, its getting too exepensive here – something I thought I would never say – and if thats gonna continue to be the case, I would rather be back on the UWS.. If i had the wealth to buy a brownstone, sure the tradeoff is worth it. But I, and most others, dont own brownstones with yards to grow blueberries, and live in overpriced apartments anyways. So I really dont see the benefits for everyone.
dh, it has the same kind of businesses and visitors Soho/Nolita/Village/fill in blank of choice did before it went totally mainstream. This happens constantly everywhere in NY. Meanwhile Bushwick is like Williamsburg ten years ago.
You live there. Haven’t you noticed the major changes of the last few years? Though I guess you’ve only been there three years or so. Bedford is like Haight St. these days.
My critter ridders are the two dogs and two cats – just onedeath stare from them and squirrels crap their fur. Also we have a nasty bitch of a blue jay that is always dive bombing everything – and its the berries that suffer the most and the worst critters are the slugs and mosquitos. I still dream of bats moving in.