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Brooklynites: Artsy and disdainful of working for the man. Brooklyn experienced the fastest growth in self-employment of any borough between 2000 and 2006, according to stats released yesterday at panel hosted by Center for an Urban Future and the Brooklyn Economic Development Corporation, with those employed in the creative sector (graphic designers, artists, architects, writers, etc.) accounting for the biggest chunk of that increase (their ranks rose by 33 percent). Park Slope, Williamsburg, and Downtown/Brooklyn Heights top the borough, respectively, each with between 2,500 and 3,500 residents who count themselves among the growing class of creative professionals, according to the BEDC, which used figures based on Census data from 2002 and 2005. The corporation calls these neighborhoods the borough’s creative crescent, and some of the talk at the panel yesterday was about how rising residential values in such areas threatens to crack the crescent. There’s no data to support this view, though an article on The Real Estate yesterday tried to come up with some anecdotal evidence. For example, playwright Scott Atkins, who founded the Brooklyn Writers’ Space and Room 58, says, A one-bedroom apartment with an office in center Slope is now $2,700, Mr. Atkins said. It’s unbelievable that rents could be so high and that the market is supporting it… we have seen more people come into Brooklyn, but we’ve also seen a lot of people going to Philadelphia, Jersey, and Vancouver. People go to L.A. all the time… Some move to upstate New York. If there’s a case to be made for Brooklyn’s creative class drying up eventually, the best evidence might be across the East River: Manhattan’s self-employed creative population grew an anemic 6.5 percent between 2000 and 2006.
Brooklyn’s ‘Creative Crescent’ In Danger of A Drought [The Real Estate]
Photo by Luke Redmond.


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  1. Writers who write for tv HAVE to move to L.A., they have no choice. It has nothing whatsoever to do with real estate. It’s also nothing new, it’s always been this way. Even if a show is shot elsewhere the writers are often in L.A., also it’s where all the hiring is done. Feature writers can live elsewhere but tv writers have to relocate West.

  2. Boo hoo. News flash: creative types are not in danger of being pushed out of these posh neighborhoods; in fact, “creatives” tend to be well-off individuals who can afford to pursue careers in writing, the arts, etc., and not have to worry about the size of the paycheck to pay rent. So it really shouldn’t come as a surprise that these creative types all congregate in the most expensive neighborhoods in Brooklyn. Oh, and I work at a magazine (not as a writer), so I’m not pulling this theory out of thin air.

  3. Yep, 2:44, I do. “Who’s moving to LA????” I believe Mr. Adkins was referring to writers who write for television. Interesting that The Real Estate didn’t quote the panelist who moved to Kensington as his response to the higher cost of housing. Guess that wasn’t as sensational as Mr. Adkins’ quote. In fact, the whole event was pretty interesting — guess you had to be there, as they say — although long on issue-identification and short on proposed solutions. But CUF and BEDC do solid work, so it will be interesting to see what they come up with in the next 9-15 months. — 2:24

  4. Most people I know hate Los Angeles.

    I wouldn’t live there if you paid me.

    Anyone seen Millionaire Matchmaker on Bravo??

    If that doesn’t make you cringe at the thought of LA, nothing will.

    Who’s moving to LA????

    Ridiculous.

    And Philadelphia?? Come on. Philly is ok, and rode the coattails of the NYC real estate boom over the last 7 years, but now?
    Philly is in the midst of a huge economic crisis and it’s murder rate is SURGING.

    My friend has lived there for the last 5 years and she said she has noticed a HUGE downtown over the past 2 years. Once thriving South Street is now a ghostland with abandoned storefronts on every block.

    They can’t GIVE houses away in Philly right now.

    This article is kinda lame for anyone who travels and knows anything about these places.

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