Wrestling with Fort Greene's Transformation
In a first-person piece in The Times this weekend, artist Nelson George laments how Fort Greene has changed since he and his black artist contemporaries put down roots in the leafy brownstone neighborhood more than two decades ago. We’re interested to hear how the essay struck readers. What we thought was missing from the article…
In a first-person piece in The Times this weekend, artist Nelson George laments how Fort Greene has changed since he and his black artist contemporaries put down roots in the leafy brownstone neighborhood more than two decades ago. We’re interested to hear how the essay struck readers. What we thought was missing from the article was an acknowledgment of the current generation of black artists and intellectuals in the neighborhood and how they feel about the composition of the neighborhood. A mention of a place like Madiba where the diversity of the area is on full display, for example, would have added some valuable context for his discussions of the clientele at the Brooklyn Moon. Then again, this wasn’t meant to have been anything more than one man’s coming to terms with the changes around him. Thoughts?
Fort Greene: Strangers on His Street [NY Times]
Photo by niznoz
Everybody wants change to stop at their happiest moments, we all want to preserve OUR culture, not necessarily for any reason other than nostalgia… fort greene was home to native americans, then became farmland, a fort with oversight by george washington, then it was the home to the mansions of rich white shipping magnates, it housed a regiment during the civil war, later BAM opened, the williamsburg saving bank building was opened, and all the while the area was host to an astonishing amount of black and white achievement. There was a shift during and after the depression, the area largely became housing for dock workers, and this continued through the 50’s. housing became cheap and aesthetically valuable, which lead to the quiet black renaissance mr. george speaks of, mr. george was not born in for greene, spike lee was not born in fort greene, richard wright briefly lived in fort greene in his late 20’s while he was waiting for his check from the guggenheim foundation to clear…. my point is, a lot of us want our neighborhoods to reflect our warm memories of those spaces, but that very interest in providing a function for a neighborhood other than what occurs organically is the same, functionaly as development. All of the renewals of fort greene have been organic ones, at least initially, and to listen to all the historic voices of preservation would surely return the land to marshes, or tobacco farm, or mansions, or battleground, on and on… New York is a place in flux, it is liquid, and yes… in times when money flows, manhattan spills over a bit, but it is inexcusable and inflamatory to blame white people as a “race” for this shift in place. George’s “get off my lawn” “there goes the neighborhood” attitude is largely a simple case of racism it seems… because those developments, the new construction of “loftlike” apartments? i have news for you. White people dont like those either.
I like the piece. My only quibble is that he said the restaurant that closed was Ethiopian. Actually it was a Senegalese restaurant. The new restauarant a few doors down is however Ethiopian.
“la vie la est toujours dure”
Hey Troy the loose translation is life is always tough…as your feelings illustrate.
Troy I’d love to go on a date with you in Ft. Greene Park. I think black and latin men are sexy. Unfortunately I’m married to a pasty white boy.
sauce, ya gotta earn the respect on the court. Believe it or not, with that kiss maybe you’re getting there. Still you deserve a lot of respect for getting out there and trying. Not everyone would go out on the court and mix it up in the neighborhood. Sometimes those words can be used in respect, it’s like another word that has different meanings depending on who uses it and in what environment and how it’s used. They’re not calling you white MF, see? I used to get called whitey on the court when I was a kid but I was told that was cuz I was blond and very light skinned, there was no animosity. Keep up the good work. And remember the saying about all those fat white guys running around in Knicks T-Shirts… you can talk the talk but can you play the game? Keep playing.
BTW I assume most stoners know who Nelson George is, an excellent writer who has published a number of books on music and culture. In fact he’ll be in B&N Court Street tom’w, pimping his new book.
http://store-locator.barnesandnoble.com/author-events/contributor/2072538
Alright, I may guilty of a little embellishment. I get “whiteboy” instead of “whitey”. Whitey just sounded better in the context. One positive of the lack of respect on the court is that when I excede expectations I usually get a great response from the crowd – luckily I have a nasty crossover.
Deli, at least he didnt kiss your girl on the cheek.
Delisauce-I didn’t know “whitey” was still en vogue. You do have a right to complain though, it still sucks to be treated in a way less than normal because of your color, gender…….
The kiss on the cheek thing is f’n hilarious though.
Some people take you looking them in the eye as a challenge. Certain animal species react the same way. I have a very touchy relative- if i say something i know they won’t agree with, i tend to look off to the side because this relative with take it as a challenge and get defensive.
It makes no sense to deny Nelson George’s feelings or experience the article was his chronicle. It’s subjective, and so are our reactions. Whether or not you like what he wrote, at least we’re talking about it in ways that I hope will be constructive and enlightening.