Tuesday Links
Greenpoint Houses. Photo by bondidwhat. Bloomberg Pushes NYC Green Plan in Albany [NY Times] Green Apple Hosts City Enviro Meeting [NY Post] City Home Prices Up 20% Since 2006 [NY Sun] City Water Board Approves 11.5% Rate Hike [NY1] ‘Prime’ Retail Spaces in Downtown Brooklyn [Brooklyn Eagle] 99 Gold 20 Percent Rented Already [HuntGrunt via…

Greenpoint Houses. Photo by bondidwhat.
Bloomberg Pushes NYC Green Plan in Albany [NY Times]
Green Apple Hosts City Enviro Meeting [NY Post]
City Home Prices Up 20% Since 2006 [NY Sun]
City Water Board Approves 11.5% Rate Hike [NY1]
‘Prime’ Retail Spaces in Downtown Brooklyn [Brooklyn Eagle]
99 Gold 20 Percent Rented Already [HuntGrunt via Curbed]
Construction Site Du Jour: 77 Berry [Gowanus Lounge]
NYC’s Dirtiest Neighborhood? Bed Stuy [Gothamist]
Call It Diversification not Gentrification [Kensington Blog]
Building Affordable Homes on Halsey [Bed Stuy Blog]
Tips for Stabilizing Brownstone Front Doors? [Forum]
Anon 10:48am, here. In response to Anon 10:53 AM, Ici (and incidently, Bstoner’s wine party), is located in Ft. Greene. I would think the area I am referring to would be obvious.
I don’t know why I feel the need to join in this silliness, but for the record, I am African American, and I was at the Ici Brownstoner event, and I am not the person mentioned above. I had a great time, met some nice people, including a couple who live near me, and thought nothing of the fact that most of the people there were white. Big deal, I expect that from the demographic of the readership, and don’t choose where I socialize by the racial makeup of the crowd. I left just as it was getting crowded, but because I had somewhere else to be, not because I did not feel welcome. That is absurd, and this whole discussion has been fueled by one person taking both sides of the issue and having a lively conversation with him/herself.
And the whole rap about “resistance to change” and playgrounds in Tribeca was just embarrassing.
The original inquiry was just that…an inquiry. It’s the initial responses that flung the discussion into the outer reaches of intelligibility, which is itself probably quite significant.
Please….continue…
First of all, there was not only one black person at the Ici party; there was only one there in the last half hour of the party, that is true. (It was our impression that the latter was there to meet a white friend, for what it’s worth.) Of course, it would be naive to suggest that more subtle forms of racism don’t pervade daily situations like this in ways that are perhaps less noticeable to white people (even ones who consider themselves liberal and open-minded), which is why we think this kind of discussion, if a kept on a civil level, can be constructive. But to come in throwing punches and trying to paint the Ici party as some gathering of white supremecists is ridiculous.
Just out of curiosity, what “particular area” are you talking about, and what bearing does it have to the topic of this thread?
“Anyone know why there were so few people of color at the wine party at Ici?”
I’m a person of color. When I want wine, I go to Stonehome. I prefer tastings at Olivino because I love the owners’ thoughtful approach to wine selections. I also don’t particularly care for Ici. While I think the owners are great, there aren’t enough vegetarian options on the menu for my particular taste, and I find it a little too intimate. So I don’t attend anything there unless it’s a mandatory social engagement (ie. at the request of a friend).No offense, Brownstoner, I’m sure it was a successful event.
Having said that, I really am disappointed in this particular thread. Anyone who actually knows anything about the area knows that there is no segregation, bias or racial tension. My friends, many of which also live in the area, hail from different parts of the world as well as different cultural and ethnic backgrounds. It is a very harmonious area, so much in fact, that it’s always very easy to tell the visitors from the inhabitants, or the ‘newbie’s’ (who have lived here less than a year), who have yet to learn that there is no posturing here, as it will only lend to people treating you like an outsider, regardless of your ethnicity.
Nothing warms my heart more than walking around on a warm day, much like this past weekend, and seeing everyone out and about. Nothing kick-starts the warm weather better than Habana’s re-opening. I missed the daytime activities, but it’s more suited for families. The evening activities are my scene. It really is a community of the most beautifully spirited people, and has been for the six or so years that I’ve lived here. It’s my home and I don’t take kindly to race-bating idiotic statement’s made by those who have no idea what they’re talking about.
close down the thread. this is not a useful way to discuss this if it is predicated on fiction.