Can Ditmas Park Save The Middle Class?
Despite tremendous quality-of-life gains, more residents left New York City in 2006 than in 1993. (Brooklyn was the one borough that bucked that trend.) The main reason, says an article from the American Enterprise Institute, is the the rising cost of living for middle-class families. In fact, New York now has the lowest rate of…
Despite tremendous quality-of-life gains, more residents left New York City in 2006 than in 1993. (Brooklyn was the one borough that bucked that trend.) The main reason, says an article from the American Enterprise Institute, is the the rising cost of living for middle-class families. In fact, New York now has the lowest rate of middle-income families of any city; and, except for Los Angeles, it also has the smallest percentage of middle-income neighborhoods. One exception—and a model for the future—is Ditmas Park:
The ‘place’ Ellen and Joe looked for was not just a physical location but something less tangible: a sense of community and a neighborhood to raise their hoped-for children. Although they considered suburban locations, as most families do, ultimately they chose the Ditmas Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, where Joe had grown up. At first, this seemed a risky choice. While Joe was growing up in the 1980s, the neighborhood—a mixture of Victorian homes and modest apartments—had become crime-infested. The old families were moving out, and newer ones were not replacing them. Yet Joe’s Mom still lived there, and they liked the idea of having grandma around for their planned-for family.
Politicians genuflect to the idea of maintaining a middle class, yet their actions suggest otherwise. In a city that has been losing middle-class families for generations, the resurgence of places like Ditmas Park represents a welcome change. In recent years, child-friendly restaurants and shops have started up along once-decayed Cortelyou Road. More important, some local elementary schools have shown marked improvement, with an increase in parental involvement and new facilities. Even in hard economic times, the area has become a beacon to New York families, as well as singles seeking a community where they will put down long-term roots. There’s an attempt in this neighborhood to break down the city feel and to see this more as a kind of a small town, notes Ellen. It may be in the city, but it’s a community unto itself, a place where you can stay and raise your children.
If cities like New York want to nurture their middle-class populations, the article suggests, they will need to shift their priorities away from “subsidizing developers for luxury mega-developments, new museums, or performing arts centers” and instead focus on “those things critical to the middle class such as maintaining relatively low density work areas and shopping streets, new schools, and parks.” In our opinion, at the end of the day, it’s all about the schools.
The Luxury City vs. the Middle Class [The American]
dirty hipster, I think you missed my point. I’m suggesting that true middle class parents (or families with $100,000/year incomes, NOT $250,000) should be looking in neighborhoods where you can buy a family-sized apartment or home on that salary, and improve the schools there. That is exactly what happened in the 321 and 29 neighborhoods. In fact, not all that many middle class families I know have a “Brooklyn or Bust” attitude — I wonder how many true middle class families you know. The ones I know have found affordable housing (which sometimes means renting) and have worked to improve the local elementary schools where they live. If they can’t continue to find affordable housing in an acceptable school district, they move to the suburbs, just like you suggest. But don’t kid yourself — the parents that are middle class aren’t moving to subrubs where a house “only” costs $700,000 (with another $20,000/year in taxes) — they are moving to affordable suburbs with decent schools that yes, are exactly on par with the decent elementary schools in Brooklyn. That was my point. On whether a $250,000/year income is middle class — I agree with your point that it is NOT.
I raised a child (now 13) on an income well below the median. It can be done but it’s tough. We’ve been lucky to find decent public schools where she’s learned and thrived, but I think that just as important is that she’s grown up in a place with diversity of many kinds–racial, class, economic diversity–and much less of the mommy-buy-me’s that suburban kids express since she’s always had friends from families that had less than we do.
Sure, she’d probably get a moderately better book-learning education in Scarsdale than she will at Brooklyn Tech or Edward R. Murrow High School, but I believe (and SHE BELIEVES) that she is getting a more well-rounded education in NYC. And the street-smarts and independence that come with her metrocard are priceless.
“i stand by my belief that i am a middle class person living in the suburbs of new york city.”
Or, you could be described as a broke, indebted man over age 30 sharing a rental in “trendy” Park Slope. I mean, based on your own description.
“we are so primative as a peoples it’s not even funny.”
Speaks for itself….
“Where did you think hip-hop originated? Midtown. You can’t get more urban than that.”
You’re 100% wrong. Rap music, break dancing and MC’ing – the primne elements of hip hop – were born in the BRONX, not “midtown.”
“Dirty Hipster, you make a silly comparison. 321 is an elementary school. It does compare quite favorably to elementary schools in the suburbs. What exactly are you basing your claims upon? Suburban schools are only better in the most expensive suburbs, with high property taxes, which middle class families can’t afford anyway. So what is your point? That there is someplace too expensive for people to live that has better schools?”
Well – those very “expensive” neighborhoods in the suburbs have already had their bubble burst – you can get a large house for 700k with all the character of these old DP houses. Sure – taxes are higher, but alot of that goes towards schools.
If you could afford living in Brooklyn and raising a child – that’s fine. But to overextend yourself to a point that making 250K is “middle class” just so you can live in a 2 million dollar brownstone and drag your kid around to brunch on the weekends sounds selfish to me. Having a child is about sacrifice, if you could live in a suburb with better schools, cheaper housing and a commute less then an hour then why do so many people have this “Brownstone Brookyln or bust” attitude?
In my mind, one of the hallmarks of being middle class is homeownership in a stable neighborhood with quality schools. For a family making $200k per year, they’d bring home about $10k per month after taxes. A $1m property with 10% down @ 5% would cost between $5500 and $6000 per month for mortgage, taxes and homeowner’s insurance.
To me, spending 55 to 60% of my after tax income on housing is not affordable, especially if I have children. I’d have to settle for an apartment.
$200k per year living in an apartment in a pretty good but not top notch Brooklyn nabe. Am I rich?
lf2009 – have you read “Status Anxiety” by Alain de Botton?
“we have a group of black friends where we are the only white people.”
http://blackpeopleloveus.com/
“I really HATE it when someone claims that NYC households making 150-250K “feel” middle class. Yeah, okay, go ahead and “feel” middle class if it makes you happy, but please be honest about the fact that you are QUITE well off compared with the vast, vast majority of your fellow city dwellers.”
I gotta agree with southbrooklyn here. Try walking in the shoes of people who are supporting a family of four on $37K, and somehow managing to do it. They rob Peter to pay Paul, never go out, never “vacation”, don’t have much, and may be in subsidized housing, with food stamps, but they do it, because that’s all they know, they can’t pick up and leave, and taking care of their families is priority one.
Ditmas Park, at least the private homes part of the area, hasn’t been home to the true middle class for a while, unless someone has been in their spacious home for a couple of generations. Real estate prices aside, the upkeep on those homes is massive. Who thinks up this stuff, and do they have any substantive proof, or just look at this “Our Town” kind of enclave – kids playing on private lawns, car in the garage, idyllic American lifestyle, and immediately think “middle class”? Maybe at one time, in certain places, probably in Ditmas in 1955, but not now.
Most years more kids from 321 get into Stuy than from Berkeley/Carroll.