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
Most of these people are twenty something douchebags who really don’t have much of a grasp on what’s important in life anyway.
What I love about these stories is the relentless, never-fail depiction of a “Brooklyn” that consists of 3 or 4 small neighborhoods in a borough of over 2 million.
The comparison to the downtown of the 70’s is off the mark, I think. If anything, these neighborhoods are the new Westchester or Connecticut. When the city is safe enough people who used to leave, stay.
I’ll take the Situation’s in Bay Ridge over BroBo’s in Cobble Hill any day…
“I hear people screaming outside my window at 4 a.m. and I find that comforting.”
babs, because he’s “close to life” it makes him feel better about his life.
I must have missed something – what do owls and room-temperature cheese (BTW, who eats cheese cold?)have to do with Brooklyn? And I love this quote from a guy who left Carroll Gardens for the West Village: “I hear people screaming outside my window at 4 a.m. and I find that comforting.” Very strange.
Is it just me or does the “Manhattan Purist” sound like an out of towner? They should get their facts straight and call it “Manhattan” like the rest of us do. Brooklyn is still technically “New York.”
Is the “Observer” still relevant? It’s run by a rich youngster from Livingston NJ who married a Trump spawn.
Which is more pathetic and yawn inducing:
a) New York Magazine “lifestyle” story;
b) New York Times “lifestyle” story;
c) New York Observer “lifestyle” story.
Decisions, decisions.
yeah. and real new yorkers (i.e. those who live in the bronx, queens, and staten island) don’t act like this. something to think about…
*rob*