What's it Like in Crown Heights?
That’s what Brooklyn Based has been asking, and two Crown Heights residents—a relative long-timer and a newcomer—are answering. The 12-year resident pays $864.72 for a fourth-floor walk-up, likes the transportation options and the West Indian Day Parade, and doesn’t like the violence, not surprisingly. Still she feels safe. The three-year resident moved to a one-bedroom…
That’s what Brooklyn Based has been asking, and two Crown Heights residents—a relative long-timer and a newcomer—are answering. The 12-year resident pays $864.72 for a fourth-floor walk-up, likes the transportation options and the West Indian Day Parade, and doesn’t like the violence, not surprisingly. Still she feels safe. The three-year resident moved to a one-bedroom for $1,100. She finds the lack of big box commerce—dry cleaners and fruit stands but few big chains—a reprieve from mall-ized Manhattan, and like the longtime resident, appreciates the new upscale restaurants moving in. But she makes a point: new residents, and the businesses that accommodate them, seem to have little to do with longtime residents. Crown Heights has long been known as a neighborhood of duality, with African-Americans and Orthodox Jews sometimes in conflict, sometimes in harmony, but now there seems to be another Crown Heights emerging. Thoughts?
Photo by sahadeva.
Fair enough bxgrl, but there’s no debating that street crime and drugs related problems are more prevalent in Crown Heights or any lower income area where there is high unemployment. That’s not casting aspersions on the hard working people living there who do what they can to maintain the neighborhood (unless they subscribe to no snitchin’ rules).
And thank you for not assuming I was born in 1842 ;-).
Jingle Mail;
You are correct in your assessment. Taking it one step further: most of the areas that today comprise “Brownstone Brooklyn” are contained within the boundaries of the original City of Brooklyn, which was a well-to-do place. The current Kings County had 5 towns/cities within it, which were (I believe, not 100% sure): Brooklyn, Flatbush, New Utrecht, Gravesend and Williamsburg. Of these 5 places, the city of Brooklyn was by far the most developed and wealthy. The Brooklyn Historical Society published a book of old Brooklyn photos, which shows the wealth that existed in those days.
Much of the way Brooklyn developed can be traced back to this old political division.
One other interesting note: up until it was incorporated in Brooklyn and NYC in 1895, Gravesend was one of the premier resort areas in the country with something like 3-5 racetracks and numerous elegant resorts.
northsloperenter-
“But my impression of the area has always been that race and street crime were real problems, and unlike a not of other neighborhoods in the city, the source of the problem was the neighborhood itself.”
Drug dealers live in every neighborhood, including the Upper east Side. Of course those are high end dealers, but don;t make the mistake of thinking you don’t have criminal types in your own neighborhood.
Crown Heights is huge, and it changes sometimes block by block and the fact that the area is called Crown Heights really shouldn’t blind anyone to the fact that in an area this size there are many “mini-neighborhoods” with some groups of blocks being better than others. And I think that holds true for other NYC neighborhoods as well. The 2 women interviewed represent personal viewpoints- and there are 8 million viewpoints in NYC. Not to downplay the problems we do have in Crown Heights, but people are moving in because it has so much to offer.
If I were interviewed about living in Brooklyn Heights I would talk about the noise, the dirt, the times I was almost mugged and the time I was at gunpoint. Or the construction that endangered (actual, not potentially)the apartment building I was living in- well, you probably wouldn’t think BH would be a great place to live. yet it certainly is.
Lisa, please continue to pick interesting pictures, and not pro-agenda cross-sectional representin saccharine committee-designed soapy-clean all-things-considered bleurgh.
Dittoburg, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that photo, or the street it portrays. However, it is NOT indicative of the majority of Crown Heights streetscapes. Please re-read my last post, as I believe I explain my position quite clearly.
If anyone had one photo to illustrate China, and they chose a back alley in Hong Kong, that would be a poor representation of the beauty of China, and has nothing to do with politics. Same case here, and ’nuff said.
I think that’s right jingle mail, but to speak up for what I assume is bxgirl’s point, there is a significant portion of Crown Heights and other brownstone neighborhoods that are predominantly black that are actually black owned and not exclusively populated by transient low income people, but maintained by professional and middle income people. You’re correct, these areas were built for rich people and mid to late 19th century yuppies; at the same time, they’ve changed a lot and the owners of the past 40 years have done what they could with what they have to try to maintain the places through some rough years.
no, it means that your statement “since before the dawn of time” and “Of course for some ..er… younger people, the 50’s is the dawn of Time” are both wrong and misleading. and more than that, my statement is an observation of reality. this is a capitalist system. it’s not about who “deserves” one thing or another. it’s about supply and demand. simple as that. if you are low income and happen to own one of these houses today, good for you. you wouldn’t likely be able to buy it again at today’s prices (or 1890s prices, adjusted for inflation). basically, i just don’t like historical distortions used to make a slanted point.
Posting that picture of Crown Heights is no different than saying that only stroller dwellers live in Park Slope. Take a picture of the Tea Lounge at 2pm and sure…there are 20 strollers out front. Take one at 8pm and it’s all 20 something hipsters.
We have to rely on people checking things out for themselves, because the way the media portrays things is not always how those of us who know these areas see them.
We have to hope that anyone interested in Crown Heights would not look at this picture and assume it’s representative of the whole neighborhood.
Showing the opposite…the glorious architecture (and nothing else) would probably have been just as skewed on the other end.
I do like this picture as a photograph though. I’ve found myself staring at it quite a bit.
Yes, most houses in the area are 100 years old.
And Jingle I happen to agree!