Top 5 Stories on Brownstoner This Week: Real Estate Predictions and Defining Gentrification

What Is Gentrification, Anyway?
Gentrification. It’s one of those words that gets thrown around in the media and casual conversation. It’s a diagnosis slapped onto the opening of a funky coffee shop or the closing of a well-loved store. It can mean whole communities displaced, significant racial change, and increased homelessness. But what exactly is gentrification? And is it always a bad thing?

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A Look Ahead: What to Expect in Brooklyn in 2016
What’s in store for Brooklyn this year? New Year’s Day is a good time to take stock of what might be just around the corner. Here are Brownstoner’s observations and predictions for the year ahead.

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Would You Ride This $1.7 Billion Brooklyn-Queens Streetcar?
Talk of a streetcar system connecting Brooklyn and Queens has been in the air for years — the subway is Manhattan-centric, and Citi Bike isn’t optimal when you’re trying to get from Red Hook to Long Island City. To reignite interest in the plan for a streetcar running along the waterfront from Sunset Park to Astoria, a booster group called Friends of the Brooklyn-Queens Connector have released glossy new renderings of our possible streetcar-filled future.

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Björk Buys Out Matthew Barney From Brooklyn Heights Penthouse
After splitting with long-time partner Matthew Barney in 2013, Björk — the celebrated Icelandic musician and performance artist — remained in their expansive Brooklyn Heights penthouse. Björk finally bought Barney out of his share in the home on December 22, paying him $1,611,325, according to public records.

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Once-Bland Brooklyn Heights Home Now Wows With Wallpaper and Period Details
When Alex and Oliver Wight purchased their Brooklyn Heights condo two years ago, there wasn’t much in the space to inspire them. A developer’s renovation in the 1980s had reduced the triplex unit into a boring white space devoid of its original 19th-century detail.

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