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
These stories about Manhattan vs. Brooklyn always concentrate on that small subset of Brooklyn that lives in brownstone buildings and buys fair-trade yoga tapes. In the end, it’s just “one type of rich people” vs. “another type of rich people” — in other words, not that much difference at all.
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“I like North Brooklyn but Williamsburg is quickly on its way to becoming the same mall Soho is”
Really?? How so??
I like North Brooklyn but Williamsburg is quickly on its way to becoming the same mall Soho is. Bushwick has some art studios but mostly it’s a bunch of art graduates sharing tiny horrible “lofts” for $800 per futon. Anyway, not that this is in any way surprising or anything.
Gee .. just the other day, my neighbors and I were complaining about ,,,
College Kids, European Tourists, and Random Drunkards from Wed-Sat night.
Plus ca change….
“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.”
LOL. People live in Brooklyn to get away from people like this.
ROB – well – we have our opinion of SOHO in common. It sucks. it’s now the official un-coolest place that outsiders think is cool on earth.
i moved to NYC a million years ago to work in a creative field and to be constantly inspired by new creative projects. Manhattan is a mall as Rob says.
a friend who works with an east williamsburg landlord, says that they manage/rent out 30 music rehearsal spaces in that area and figures that within about a 6-8 block radius in East WB (between grand + montrose ish) there are more than 100 rehearsal spaces!
while the galleries in Manhattan lead the world in their importance, the actual work is not made there. go on the next Bushwick open studio tour – the number of art studios is astounding.
have a friend that designs and manufacturers high end pieces that sell in specialty furniture stores and at some very high end dept stores has clients from all over the world visit the studio in east WB to view the work in progress. it’s become accepted that the east WB/Bushwick area is where things are conceived and made in the artworld.
as part of my work, it’s essential that i be constantly speaking and working with artists of all kinds, so manhattan, the home of the cubicle dweller, Ibanker, and ex fraternity member really doesn’t cut it.
have zero interest in ever living there. probably would go to rosendale first!
I’m actually a Queens boy, born and raised and still repping my borough & my neighborhood. Do all my years of logging onto Brownstoner almost daily mean I’m “…sort of admitting defeat…”???
CHRIST!
We live in CG and have two blackberry bushes, strawberries, spinach, 4 types of tomatoes, two types of basil, 2 types of mint, lemon verbena, peas, broccoli, beets and edible lavender. How did we go so wrong!?!
Oh by the way it’s a known fact that sticking your feet in a kiddie pool that has been used by kiddies is how you catch VD and impetigo…
Mmm impetigo – who is hungry for lunch? Mmm and salty syllogisms are super tasty too!