'Port Sleene'? Yeah, That Has Quite a Ring to It
Brooklyn Paper columnist Dana Rubinstein spies a new maybe-trend: The Slope-ification of Fort Greene. Evidence? More boutiques, more strollers, more white people, more coffee shops, more high-end grocers like Union Market coming. It’s a glass half-empty sorta thing (“Fort Greene has acquired a distinctly less edgy vibe. Stores cater to the arrived, rather than the…
Brooklyn Paper columnist Dana Rubinstein spies a new maybe-trend: The Slope-ification of Fort Greene. Evidence? More boutiques, more strollers, more white people, more coffee shops, more high-end grocers like Union Market coming. It’s a glass half-empty sorta thing (“Fort Greene has acquired a distinctly less edgy vibe. Stores cater to the arrived, rather than the up-and-coming, the mainstream, rather than the avant-garde.”) but hey, at least the water is designer (“there are far worse things than looking like Park Slope”). And of course, what trendspotting nabe article would be complete without a couple possible new names for the area: “Park Greene. Or Fort Slope. Or Port Sleene.” Wait a sec, has Fart Grope been spoken for?
My Copycat Neighbors [Brooklyn Paper]
Fort Greene photo by Daniel A. Norman; Slope photo by wallyg.
10:26 back again – how is it that I’m trashing FG? I said I appreciated the merits of both neighborhoods. Why must saying positive things about one neighborhood (PS) be construed as trashing another (FG)? Brooklyn is NOT a zero-sum game – there can actually be more than one good neighborhood, and in fact, there are many. Also, where you live is a very individual choice. When we were younger and without kids, I really loved FG for its restaurants, proximity to BAM & the city, etc. If we had had kids there, I’m sure we would have found a great community and discovered new things. But since we happened to find an apt we liked in PS, we also discovered lots of great things about PS. I was simply trying to point out that PS is NOT solely rich, smug, annoying people and I find it kind of sad that these stereotypes are perpetuated – I find it equally sad when people trash Bed Sty, Carroll Gardens, etc. since I think it’s unfair to the neighorhoods and the real people who live there. The real estate values of PS are not going to rise and fall by the anonymous posts on this blog, so I think it’s silly to accuse people of trying to pump up real estate values here. I guess I am somewhat naively trying to ask this community of blog-readers to be a little more open-minded and not just uniformly trash everyone simply because they live in one neighborhood or another. I just happen to live in PS and love it, but I bet if I still lived in FG, I’d love it too – so my argument is more about looking beyond the sweeping generalizations and appreciating that each neighborhood probably has its own unique mix of people. But maybe trying to make this argument is pointless on this blog…
FG vs PS.
Best neighborhood in brooklyn is like getting 1st place at the special olympics….
Manhattan Rules!!
too early that last comment was directed twds 10:07
10:27 get over it already. your rambling is judgemental. not all “slopers” are the same. I would bet your ass that most of the snobs you encounter are new just like you to Brookln. go back to utah
9:14, 10:26
You are so transparent with your, “I have lived in both neighborhoods and Park Slope is clearly better,” posts. You start off by saying that you just want to debunk the myth that all Park Slope people are rich and smug. And I was listening at that point. But then you go on to say how Park Slope is so much better and then I realize that you are just another Sloper (although slightly more strategic than most on these boards) trying to pump your real estate value. If you really want the Park Slope hating to stop then Slopers have to start showing respect for other neighborhoods. Until that happens Park Slope will continue to be rightfully loathed for their pompous, judgmental ramblings on these boards.
Of course you are allowed to say how wonderful you think PS is, but that can be done without trashing every other neighborhood. I assume that I am wasting my breath because Slopers have proved over and over again that they just don’t care about anyone but themselves and making a buck, even now when these heady real estate days are waning.
I’m 10:26 – excuse the “lastly” – tired from watching my kids and being at work all day!
In response to 1:04 – No, I don’t mean to judge the people buying 3 million dollar homes, but I’m just pointing out that not everyone in PS is necessarily very wealthy, or shelling out that kind of money to live here. I don’t feel morally superior to the people that do pay 3 million since I know nothing about them as individuals. I just get tired of hearing on this list how PS is full of smug rich white people when my experience is that there is more diversity here than people assume. Maybe that will change due to the cost of buying here NOW but there are many people who have been here a long time who are socioeconomically in a different profile than the new buyers.
In general, I think it’s always silly to lump a whole group of diverse people into one monolithic group. Neighborhoods should be judged primarily on the basis of architecture, amenities, transportation, convenience, etc. I understand how the people who live there factor into the equation, but when discussing the people in a given neighborhood (not just PS, by the way), the discussions seem to devolve into annoying and ultimately uninformative stereotypes.
10:26–you manage to be AS judgmental as everyone else. You are judging “those people” buying the 3 million dollar homes, and you stress that there are people in PS “like you” who are “NOT rich”, etc. Are you morally superior to the “rich folk” you describe? Interesting…
“lastly” that was a doozie.