Closing Bell: Meet The Latest Slope Rant
Denis Hamill gets his working-class panties in a bunch today in a rambling column aimed at Park Slope gentrifiers, a group that he claims is attracted to Brooklyn because it’s “a great place to displace working people, for nannies to raise your kids and to rant against Atlantic Yards.” We know it’s the end of…
Denis Hamill gets his working-class panties in a bunch today in a rambling column aimed at Park Slope gentrifiers, a group that he claims is attracted to Brooklyn because it’s “a great place to displace working people, for nannies to raise your kids and to rant against Atlantic Yards.” We know it’s the end of the year and you’re probably running low on ideas, Denis, but, come on. It’s hard to think of a more tired, unoriginal topic or stereotype. Sounds like a little vacation is in order to recharge the old batteries.
Photo by The Back Row Manifesto
To Rob’s dismissal of Harlem being not being gentrified:
Please, go and try and buy a brownstone in Harlem (principally West Harlem) or Hamilton Heights… they were/ are selling in the (well) above million dollar range. Heck, here’s a 2 bedroom condo right on Malcolm X Blvd asking $1 million. http://www.trulia.com/property/1074398543-40-W-116th-St-B1101-New-York-NY-10026
Anyone who remembers not being able to walk around these parts of town w/o stepping on a crack vile rolls on the floor at your suggestion that Harlem is “not gentrified.”
well said, donatella.
What a lame, assinine article. This guy makes me sick. Don’t get me started on this Irish boozehound thing, the so totally played out romanticism of Irish taverns and alcoholics. And about the gentrification thing….. I was thinking about this this very weekend (a la the discussion from last week) and I thought about myself as the idle gentry, living off the backs of others as I dug out the house (and car) and checked on the old water heater and emptied out some rusty water out of the boiler and tried to diagnose the source of a leak from the back of the house after taking care of a tenant who lost her keys. This was after a long week at my day job. It’s this guy who is the freaking gentry, living off the poor working class suckers who still buy the Daily News.
okay how is that any more or less sad than people mourning the loss of all the fro-yo shops closing down? :-/
*rob*
An older Irish writer reminiscing about the ‘olden days’ and the closing of ye old Irish Salons…wow how cliche – actually sort of pathetically sad.
Slopefarm;
Well said. At one time Pete Hamill wrote some interesting stuff. Now I think that both brothers are running on fumes.
Remember that Pete Hamill wrote a column (I think for NY Magazine) about the “old neighborhood” about a year ago, and Mr. B. provided alink to it? The column was basically his first-hand impressions as he walked around the place. What was interesting to me was that not a single conversation with present-day residents was noted. Rather, his “impressions” consisted of tired caricatures based upon his visual observations.
i didnt bother. is it just one long rant about park slope in general?
this tho..”working-class panties in a bunch” was totally classist (but funny)
*rob*
I just read the column. I want that 6 minutes of my life back. Please.
Column is so tired and lame, this thread may not even get ugly. It is amazing how much both Hamills have been able to build and sustain journalistic careers for decades on the idle chatter at Farrell’s.
There are of course many intelligent discussions to be had about gentrification, people fixing up houses, etc., but the column isn’t a starting place for such a discussion.