Williamsburg Hipsters Aren't All Rich Kids After All
New York Magazine pops The Times’ bubble about the real demographic reality of Williamsburg. Despite the fact that its most visible residents make easy targets with their skinny jeans and facial hair, Williamsburg is in fact no hotbed of trustfunddom. In fact, Williamsburg’s residents are by and large in worse financial shape than most New…
New York Magazine pops The Times’ bubble about the real demographic reality of Williamsburg. Despite the fact that its most visible residents make easy targets with their skinny jeans and facial hair, Williamsburg is in fact no hotbed of trustfunddom. In fact, Williamsburg’s residents are by and large in worse financial shape than most New Yorkers. In 2005, for example, almost half of those living within the bounds of Community Board 1 were getting some kind of social assistance and the area’s median income is almost 20 less than the city as a whole; less than 3 percent of households were bringing in over $200,000 a year. Concludes the New York article, “The reality of Williamsburg, beyond the mythical trust-funders, is that it is a community of people mostly struggling to get by, with a few wealthy residents grabbing headlines — the way New York has always been.”
Beyond Hipsters: Williamsburg’s Tough Economic Realities [New York]
Parental Lifelines, Frayed to Breaking [NY Times]
Dose of Reality for Trust Fund Kids [Brownstoner]
Photo by Eric Graham
“The hipsters represent a small part of the community board– not to mention that if they’re trustafarians the don’t have income… they just have access to money– which is a HUGE difference. ”
If they do have these large trust funds you speak of – they have to report interest as income.
Not sure what was the point of the NYMag article (generally I like DailyIntel as well). It seems to just state the obvious in a rather preachy manner.
They even got the Gossip Girl analogy wrong – Chuck Bass would never be seen dead in Williamsburg.
uh
noo shit
The hipsters represent a small part of the community board– not to mention that if they’re trustafarians the don’t have income… they just have access to money– which is a HUGE difference.
Yes, the tourist element and those coming in from Manhattan must help. I was out in Williamsburg over the weekend and parts of Metropolitan Avenue felt like Times Square. I just couldn’t get over how many people were out. It was truly shocking. Throngs of kids screaming and yelling everywhere.
It was fun though. Wouldn’t want to live in it, but a good time for going out, sure.
i think williamsburg gets a lot more folks coming in from manhattan to hang out/eat/buy things than, say, park slope or boerum hill.
What hasn’t changed in Williamsburg is the large Satmar community, many of whose members receive public assistance and live in public housing on the south side. And many people come from outside of Williamsburg to go to those restaurants and shops — even from Manhattan!
Rob, calm down. Park Slope is much less affluent than a lot of people like to think it is. Like Williamsburg, the wealthy few grab all the headlines. I’m certainly by no means wealthy you realize.
And Park Slope has MORE than enough nice boutiques/shops and restaurants already. We don’t need more.
You have so many chips on your shoulder, I don’t even know how you walk.
Who says that someone on unemployemnt/public assistance who’s out of work isn’t going to the bar? Wiilliamsburgh has plently of low-end bars and food est, certainly cheaper than Manhattan. There’s a difference between trendy and high-end. Prices in north Park Slope are probably higher, just not as hip/young.