Fascinating Claim: East New York as the Next Harlem?
Who could’ve predicted this? Some folks—Marty Markowitz, for one—say notoriously downtrodden and crime-ridden East New York is undergoing a renaissance and could become “the new Harlem.” There’s been a lot of demand for home ownership options in the area, most notably at the massive condo conversion MeadowWood at Gateway, where prices range from $110,500 to…

Who could’ve predicted this? Some folks—Marty Markowitz, for one—say notoriously downtrodden and crime-ridden East New York is undergoing a renaissance and could become “the new Harlem.” There’s been a lot of demand for home ownership options in the area, most notably at the massive condo conversion MeadowWood at Gateway, where prices range from $110,500 to $350,000. “There is no question that the neighborhoods with higher rates of home ownership have the greatest stability, schools and community services,” says Markowitz of how ENY is changing. “Brooklynites outside of the ‘Brownstone Belt’ don’t realize that we have an affordability issue in certain neighborhoods and we’re losing families to other areas such as New Jersey. We’re committed to not letting that happen.” Other developments are also boosting the sprawling neighborhood’s profile, including the Related Companies Gateway Center shopping mall, which has a Target, Home Depot, Best Buy, and a supermarket and is going to be expanded in coming years with more big-box retail. Another large ENY home-ownership project, Nehemiah Housing Complex, is also currently being built. The complex will bring more than 2,000 middle-income units to the neighborhoods, with prices starting at $158,000. “Every place has its time,” says Fillmore Real Estate’s John-Paul Ho, who heads the team selling MeadowWood. “Now it’s East New York. It’s like a Cinderella story for the entire area.”
Is East New York the New Harlem? [NY Daily News]
Photo by zachvs.
I hope the tWhat is driving in from his job in the suburbs to meet me. Classon and Fulton you fucknuckle
Hey Bushwick is too hard to get used to too many resistant Spanish folk and others who like that grimy shithole. I moved the Cypress Hills and like it. THey have a nice YMCA on Jamaica Ave and the park is great and they are renovating it like 7:08 stated. I am a white guy who used to live in Bushwick and enjoy Cypress hills much better plus cheaper. Nice homes. I hope more people like me come on over. Its a great place to open up some businesses the area needs.
Montrose Morris excellent representation. I have lived in Cypress hills for 4 years and own a 1920 home on a cul de sac “deadend block”. I am a professional who graduated from Columbia university. I have private parking and only a 3 block walk to a huge Park. I think the many people who comment on ENY donot venture out to see what other parts of ENY exist or they are just frequent internet viewers of the COP stats. I have recently seen several new residents of other ethnicities residing in Cypress hills. ANd for all of those who say why I live here it’s simple could not afford WB, CH, or bedstuy and preferred to settle here because I love Brooklyn. I enjoy and utilize the park. The park is being renovated in 2009 with a reservoir with kayaking and new tennis courts and other great features. You guys donnot know what u are missing. The houses are amazing eventhough they are not brownstones. ANd for the ass hole who commented that this website is about brownstones stop talking out your ass.
Harlem neeeds to get off their high horse. You guys had the neighborhood for years and never did anything until the “white” people came along. ANd there are plenty of Housing prjects in Harlem they are just clustered closer together in which easy to control unlike ENY.
East New York, like many other Bklyn neighborhoods, is huge. The Cypress Hill area (isn’t this technically it’s own separate nabe?) is full of 19th century houses and has a very different feel from the rest of ENY.
Excluding Cypress Hill, nobody ever claimed that the area was ever more than a working class part of town. Most of the existing row houses date from the 1930’s or later, and even the commercial buildings are of a modest scale and architecture. (There are a few exceptions) Since it was so underbuilt, what a perfect place to put blocks upon blocks upon blocks of high rise NYCHA housing, our city planners thought. And they did. And then they forgot about the area, except when some horrendous crime happened, and then, like here, people shook their heads and said, “well, it’s in ENY, what do you expect?”
I applaud the new construction of affordable housing, shopping malls and activity. Like anywhere else, most of the people there are hard working people just trying to survive. If they work in Manhattan, it’s over an hour commute by subway. How about applauding and supporting anything that makes their lives better and easier. These are the clerks, civil workers, health care workers, teachers and office staff workers that keep this city going. What’s good for them is good for Brooklyn and the city, and good for us. And yes, don’t be surprised to hear about artists, and the rest of the shock troops of gentrification settling in. It’s inevitable.
i think we need to get the illiterate old goombahs from brooklyn outta here first.
they bring down the whole neighborhood.
what needs to happen is we need to get all of these newbies from california out of here. they need to go right back to the west coast where they belong. i will be more than happy to help. fucking asswipes!!!
Stop responding to the twhat. Every one knows he’s a white boy from Idaho
One big difference between ENY and Harlem is accessibility to Manhattan. Unless I’m wrong (or unless more of the neighborhood has access to the LIRR than I imagine), Harlem is a lot closer to Manhattan.
I know nothing of the housing stock, but I hope that, for the sake of ENY, that this trend continues.
WOW 3:58 – finally someone with a true love for historic towns in Brooklyn, I looked at alot of the pics and those are some impressive Victorians, the brick rows are nice too. I wish we could see what the inside looks like in those Victorians, the details must be amazing.
Good job and thanks for sharing.