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
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When women support women (i.e. Sarah Palin), they are called feminists.
lol, no they arent hahahah
*rob*
By Biff Champion on June 9, 2010 12:11 PM
“Gentrification is tough on working-class and poor people, and the more that wealthier people move into this part of Bed-Stuy, the more likely it is that lifelong working-class renters in this nabe will have to move to a place that is much less pleasant to live and less convenient and less safe.”
rf, the reality is this has been happening in almost EVERY neighbourhood in New York for more than 100 years. For the kind of home I wanted for my family, I was priced out of the Upper East Side. Now I have to live in less convenient and less safe Brooklyn Heights. 🙂
But seriously, wealthier people displacing less wealthy people has happened virtually everywhere (and to people of all backgrounds, financial position – other than the extremely wealthy). Not saying it’s right, but Bed Stuy is hardly the first place to experience it.
By Biff Champion on June 9, 2010 12:15 PM
And I should add that anyone who actually bought a place in a more depressed area years ago has certainly done very well with their investment as the area has experienced increases in the number and quality of services and businesses. Admittedly, this does not help renters, but I’ll stick with my original point that gentrification is a part of New York history and not a Bed Stuy / Clinton Hill phenomenon.
end quote
This is true. But there is a racial component, or at least a side effect, to this gentrification which has eliminated mostly working class black and Latino families, who found their homes in Clinton Hill and Bed-Stuy when white people were scared away years ago when black people started moving in.
My old block in Clinton Hill was almost entirely black when I (white) moved there in 1989. The residents (homeowners and renters) were economically diverse with people that were well-off and people who were not–top to bottom. It worked very well, perhaps because there were no occupied apartment buildings on the block. (There was one big building but it was in the process of renovation and empty.) Mostly owner occupied brownstones with tenants. A couple of SROs.
Many families with kids, and the kids all played together on the sidewalk. My daughter grew up on that block.
But starting around 2002 or 2003, it really started to change. When I moved there in 1989 and I said that the block was mixed, my brother laughed at me and said that I was the mix. And now it’s almost all white and hardly anyone who earns close to the median family income in Brooklyn which is less than $50k. No more apartments for working class families.
Clinton Hill and Bedford Stuyvesant were white when the brownstones were built–just like the other great brownstone neighborhoods throughout the city. Park Slope, Upper West Side, Upper East Side, Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens. Montrose Morris, perhaps you know–when did the black brownstone neighborhoods become black? Did the construction of gigantic housing projects in Harlem and Bed Stuy and the northern edge of Clinton Hill scare away white people?
It’s easy to ignore racial politics when you’re white.
Alright, everybody join hands now and sing:
“We are the world!! We are the children!!!”
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No one laments the new grocery store opening with fresh produce and better meats, etc or the loss of a nail salon or many of the unhealthy fast food joints.
people sure DO lament all three of those things sometimes, dave. they just don’t do it on blogs and message boards all day long.
*rob*
I guess when you connect with a particular community, you feel that you can state your feeling openly without them being discussed on a blog and being called a racist for wanting support your own. When women support women (i.e. Sarah Palin), they are called feminists. That doesn’t mean she was a racists for stating that, it meant…let’s rally behind this lady and give a chance. She’s done good by us, why are old bats giving her a hard time?! LOL. That’s how I pictured it:).
I admit, we may be off base here. Could the person who made the comment have been the Korean dry cleaner???
ditto, you owe me a beer for that one. What are ye, a bloody Englishman???
cill, no problem supporting her at all. She runs a good place to begin with.
Why is the comment “We should be supporting someone who looks like us,” necessary?
Did the tea party propose someone else to run Ms. Surpris’ bar???
What would have been the level of outrage there if I had said something like “Let’s get someone in here who doesn’t look like everyone else in the room?”
DIBS – I think you left the “i” out of the 9th word of your second sentence.