Despite Objections, CB3 Backs Bed Stuy Bar
Daphne Surpris, who has operated the impeccably designed coffee spot Ms. Dahlia’s Cafe at 449 Nostrand Ave since last year, recently decided that she would like to expand by opening a bar in an empty space next door. You might think such an entrepreneurial move by someone who’d proven her commitment to the neighborhood and…
Daphne Surpris, who has operated the impeccably designed coffee spot Ms. Dahlia’s Cafe at 449 Nostrand Ave since last year, recently decided that she would like to expand by opening a bar in an empty space next door. You might think such an entrepreneurial move by someone who’d proven her commitment to the neighborhood and her ability to create a tasteful establishment would be welcomed by Bed Stuy residents, but a Community Board 3 meeting on Monday night revealed widespread disagreement within the community about the bar in particular and the future of the neighborhood in general. Some of those in favor of the application said they were tired of going to Park Slope and Harlem to find “more sophisticated bars.” Other supporters argued that the community should be backing an African American woman wanting to open a business in the area. (“We should be supporting someone who looks like us,” said one person from the audience.) One of the arguments against the bar was that there are some schools nearby, though it was later pointed out that the closest one was an adult learning center. Others worried that adding alcohol to an already dangerous block (dangerous? really?) had the potential to increase violence in the area. A man in his late 20s, whose parents lived nearby, argued that he didn’t want them to worry about the same type of violence he felt growing up nearby. Despite the naysaying, the community board ended up supporting the application for the liquor license, so now it’s on to the State Liquor Authority for Surpris, who, ironically, plans to call the new spot Nobar. GMAP
A long and thoughtful post was just eaten by the sign-in bug.
It was not too long ago in NYC that “white” was not an identifier. Rather, a Caucasian would identify themselves by their ethnicity: Italian, Irish, Jewish, Polish, etc. (as incredible as it may seem today, it was a foreign notion in the NYC of that time that a white person would NOT have an ethnicity)
quote:
I didn’t even realize I was “white” until I moved to the US, and ll of a sudden I had a big label on me.
i actually didnt either until i moved to nyc!!
*rob*
I didn’t even realize I was “white” until I moved to the US, and ll of a sudden I had a big label on me.
Anyhoo, I off to find some Debrahlee Lorenzana blog post to comment on.
“All of the employees were black and from the community”.
Did you know those employees or did you assume they were from Bed Stuy? I happen to know one of the owners of Ms Dahlias (it’s jointly owned) and three of the employees and none of them live in Bed Stuy.
Just sayin.
rf, I can’t speak with great authority about Clinton Hill and Fort Greene, but I know black people have been there in significant numbers since at least the 1940’s. There has always been a mix of people in these neighborhoods because of the Navy Yard, and the colleges.
There has always been a black presense in central Brooklyn, since the 1830’s, with the independant black town of Weekesville. Black people also lived in the rest of the Bed Stuy area, and were restricted only by their ability to afford to live or buy in the area. Bed Stuy, which included much of what people call Clinton Hill, as well as Crown Heights North now, has had a larger black population since the 1930’s, when the 8th ave subway line opened up, metaphorically and physically joining Harlem and BS. This coincided with a massive influx of black people moving north from areas in the south, seeking manufacturing jobs, as well as immigration from the Caribbean. White flight ensued, the city started building housing projects, and the brownstones were subdivided into rooming houses and apartments. By the beginning of the 1960’s BS was predominantly black.
In Crown Heights, there was more of a Caribbean presense, which started in the 40’s and 50’s and really opened up in the 1960’s when immigration laws changed and there were no more quotas for people from the Caribbean. I know an awful lot of people whose families have lived here for generations, many of whom had great-grands or grandparents who were the first black folks on a block, most of them moving in in the late 1930’s or early 40’s. Born and raised people perhaps a bit older than myself, growing up here in the 1950’s like NOP all remember both CH and BS as mixed neighborhoods, with white neighbors and schoolmates. They also remember the Italian store owner, the Jewish deli, the Irish butcher, etc. The days when the only white faces in the community were cops and social workers really didn’t happen until the late 1960’s and 70’s. By the crack wars of the 80’s, the press here was so bad, no one wanted to come here, black or white. That was more hype than reality. I have never felt unsafe here, and have always loved living in central Brooklyn.
quote:
It’s easy to ignore racial politics when you’re white
um, no, it really isnt, cuz for the most part you have to feel like youre biting your tongue not to offend anyone, even if what you are saying isn’t exactly offensive.
*rob*
“Many of the areas now gentrifying were of course built for wealthy homeowners in the first place, the source of their architectural distinctiveness.”
Excellent point, etson.
rf, I respectfully (and strongly) disagree with your implication that the gentrification of Bed Stuy is significantly different from a racial and socio-economical perspective than the dozens of other examples one can give of racial and socio-economical changes that have occured all over New York.
“It’s easy to ignore racial politics when you’re white.”
That was unnecessary (amongst other things) and unfortunately, at least to me, has taken something away from your otherwise thoughtful posts.
I used her as an example in jest. Jest sometimes doesnt work in type…thats why people get in internet fights:). But, women supporting women can be called feminists.
FYI, I do not believe Sarah Palin is a feminist. An opportunist…yes.