Bleeker Street Syndrome
As the Brooklyn civilization advances, I thought it might be worthwhile to caution the citizenry about a phenomena we’ve had here in Manhattan. There was a time, about 8 years ago when Bleeker St between Hudson and Christopher was a charming collection of small and unique business – antique stores, craft stores, book stores, a…
As the Brooklyn civilization advances, I thought it might be worthwhile to caution the citizenry about a phenomena we’ve had here in Manhattan. There was a time, about 8 years ago when Bleeker St between Hudson and Christopher was a charming collection of small and unique business – antique stores, craft stores, book stores, a frame shop, even a Kim’s video store. Then the gentrification started – and one day the Italian restaurant closed, and then Clarey & Co antiques, and then Kim’s video… all mysteriously shuttered. And we all sensed something coming. That something was the Mallization of Bleeker Street. Now in the place of these neighborhood centric stores,we have Cynthia Rowley, Ralph Lauren (2 stores), Coach, Juicy Couture, Brunelli Cucinello (sic), James Perse, Marc Jacobs (2 stores). The rarified money crowd now trots up and down Bleeker, clearly not citizens from the area, with their high-powered tans, polo shirts, flashing gilded watches, and Hedge Fund gazes… they seem to be wondering where the Chauffer was off to. Oh well, that;s what happens – you live in a place like this for years because it ISN’T all this crap, and what you get is all this CRAP. So my friends, be wary of too much success in your revitalization plans – The Fortune 500 are not too far behind you, ready to push those commercial rents to the sky, and put you back in a rarified shopping mall. You can just move to the East 60’s if you need that.
It’s not change in general and arrival of fancy boutiques that’s the problem. It’s the crowds and tourists that come with all that. Blech.
I’m with the guy/gal who works in Soho and hates it — I want peace on the weekends. Not a raving madhouse right outside my door. It’s not glamorous, it’s annoying.
I think some of the earlier commenters are revealing their ignorance about the stretch of Bleecker the original poster was talking about. The western stretch of Bleecker WAS charming (in a Cobble Hill kind of way) eight years ago. It was nothing like the part of Bleecker near NYU and Washington Square that you’re probably thinking of, which hasn’t been charming for decades.
Yeah, all my newly married friends who are backing out of loans for defunt Brooklyn new construction at top of the market dollars are shaking in their boots.
Buy low sell high.
and as the other poster said, things are only unique for a short amount of time. then the next thing/neighborhood is cool.
How about Harlem, when do they get to piss and moan about the good ole days and when Marc Jacobs moved into town?
I thought Bleeker was overdone ten years ago, but the poster is right, it is much, much worse now.
My friend owns a building there, and although that’s great financially, they’ve lost their deli, their diner and their laundromat, (although I guess being able to buy Antonia’s Flowers without taking the jitney could be considered a plus.)
However, I’d like to posit that all of this gentrification to the point of absurdity isn’t inevitable or irrevocable. What we all need is a nice fluffy recession.
And by the way, 1:37? It’s worth pointing out that if you’d spent $250,000 on a brownstone in Park Slope in 1998 it’d be worth at least $2.5-3 million now.
And let’s not even get into what would have happened had you bought in Carroll Gardens!
That stretch of Bleecker Street WAS more charming 8 years ago. Absolutely.
i work in Soho and it is pretty bad. it’s very hard to walk anywhere. it did used to be really lovely during the day.
the weekends are claustrophobic beyond imagination. nothing is more depressing to me than having to get through soho on a weekend if i need to come to my office. i would absolutely lose it if i lived here. i need my weekends to be peaceful.
think this person just needs to move.
people, this kind of progression is seemingly inevitable. let’s just accept that places are unique and interesting for only a fixed amount of time, and (literally) move on.
Well, in the South Slope, businesses are shutting down by the day, and not being replaced by ANYTHING.
Vacant storefronts are becoming the norm.
Owners raise rents beyond the means of tenants, then the owners take the tax-loss, which is more beneficial to them than dealing with tenants.
7th Ave in South Slope will not become mallified with nationwide chains, it will simply become more and more vacant.
We just moved from the West Village to Brooklyn last month. I lived in the WV for 7 years and it has definitely markedly changed in that time period from cute boutiques with affordable clothing, cheap-o Italian places and antique stores to outrageously priced chains and trendy restaurants. If we could have afforded to buy a 2 BR, 2 bath there, I think we still would have moved to Brooklyn, b/c the WV has gotten overwhelmingly European and, as someone who grew up in Manhattan, I wanted to live somewhere a little more authentic New York. Also the amount of tourists was starting to get to me – when it takes a half hour to walk three blocks on 7th Ave South b/c there are so many freaking people, it’s hard not to be the angry New Yorker.