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
this is a test,
my last 5 comments (over the last few days) never appeared
Fantastic article and we really enjoy most of the comments well except for that usual moronic stuff from you know who.
Change is inevitable and is in fact the only thing that is constant. Fort Greene is gentrified but it still has some diversity and a beating pulse that we hope will survive.
DIBS do us a favor and pay no attention to you know who…his pathetic attempts to make this a “race war” has failed. Please avoid him.
I seriously doubt the woman walking down South Portland in the middle of the day was afraid of this man because he was tall and black. Get over yourself Nelson George. Sorry to disappoint but me and all of my white girl friends are not afraid of you. You are no different than any other man walking down the street. Not everyone wants to make eye contact with every stranger they walk by.
What:
you are the only race/class baiter I see here
Yes, Fort Greene has changed a lot. I’m glad the Times has noted it.
In my experience, there’s something kind of overwhelming about a particular type of newcomer to Fort Greene. Having spent a fair amount of time there in 2001 and 2002 (around when the Corcoran office opened) and then not gone there at all until this past summer, I am surprised to see so many young, white professionals — the kind who shop in boutiques such as Stuart & Wright. I say this even though I have a lot in common with them (I’m old, white, professional, and I window shop in the boutiques).
Also, I have to add something to the scared white lady discussion: I realize this is a real phenomenon. But twice recently I have been staring off into the middle distance, totally preoccupied with some kind of internal crazy lady dialogue, when suddenly I’ve been startled by something and suddenly moved to the side or — in one case– clutched my coat, and by extension my bag, because of a huge gust of wind, and then suddenly someone says something to me, and I come to, and it’s a black man who thinks I’ve been staring at him and that I moved away from him on purpose! In one case it was a 50-ish black man in Harlem who looked very intellectual and artistic. I was dismayed but by the time I even figured out what was going on we were both halfway down the block away from each other. So I’m sorry!
“How would you give that more weight that a 1 bedroom condo???”
A house is usually worth more than a one bedroom condo because its usually about 2,500-4,000 sq ft instead of 600-900.
Next question, “retarded moron?”
WTF are you talking about??? Take a pill.
And Prospect Heights sure as hell isn’t all white.
“First of all What…that house is in Clinton Hill. Secondly, if its down the street from “a notorious bad drug house” then its down the street from a notorious bad drug house, NO MORE, NO LESS. Nothing mentioned about race or class.”
The house on Clifton is in a Gentrificating Neighborhood (Make me sick saying that)! Plus it’s a house you retarded moron! There are 3 super Condo projects going right there (2 on Greene and one on Clifton)! How would you give that more weight that a 1 bedroom condo??? The “Bad drug house” got burned down last summer you ignorant Assnut!
The What
Someday this war is gonna end…
First of all What…that house is in Clinton Hill. Secondly, if its down the street from “a notorious bad drug house” then its down the street from a notorious bad drug house, NO MORE, NO LESS. Nothing mentioned about race or class.
Who’s implying that other than you?????