Bed-Stuy, Do or...?
About a month ago, an L.A. Times piece on Bed-Stuy had a gentrification-is-happening- not-everyone’s-thrilled take on the neighborhood. Yesterday, our paper of record weighed in with a more nuanced examination of how Bed-Stuy is evolving: “a changing neighborhood not quite changed, transforming not in broad strokes but in half-steps.” The article notes that average sales…
About a month ago, an L.A. Times piece on Bed-Stuy had a gentrification-is-happening- not-everyone’s-thrilled take on the neighborhood. Yesterday, our paper of record weighed in with a more nuanced examination of how Bed-Stuy is evolving: “a changing neighborhood not quite changed, transforming not in broad strokes but in half-steps.” The article notes that average sales prices in the neighborhood have edged down recently, and that it has one of the highest rates of foreclosure in the city. Some well-heeled folks who moved to the neighborhood in the past year or so, meanwhile, say they’re frustrated with the area’s lack of amenities. We just wish there was more variety nearby, for places to go out, says a 25-year-old law student who’s lived in Bed-Stuy for a year and now plans to move to the East Village. You just wish you could go out and have different types of bars and night life nearby. Still, there’s plenty of redevelopment in the area, and Petra Symister, who writes Bed-Stuy Blog, says the neighborhood’s rebirth “is happening in fits and starts, kind of a jerky progression. Henry Butler, 41, chairman of Community Board 3, notes that in his view, more affordable development is particularly welcome: “It’s about income…I’m not looking to Harlemize Bedford-Stuyvesant. My emphasis is on the working people.”
Growing Pains Come and Go in Bed-Stuy [NY Times]
Photo by ultraclay!.
daveinbedstuy, I’m not anti-BedStuy – in fact I’m looking to buy, but if you think houses are going to hold value because they are brownstones, you are sorely mistaken.
Prices rose because people jumped on a bandwagon, not because any sudden new high-speed train access to Manhattan. Nothing intrinsically changed the value of these homes except for the IDEA that values would rise.
People now realize that housing values need to rise for a reason – higher wages, improved schools, etc. As someone else posted above, prices need to come down to what Bed Stuy is TODAY, not what people HOPE it will be. When that happens, I will happily purchase a home there for my family and settle in for the long-run.
Bedford Stuyvesant has all the amenities for the 100K plus residents that are there. This neighborhood is catered to the majority that has been there the past 70 years (Christian Black people). We have churches on every block, barbers and hair salons etc… Coffee houses, trendy shops etc… are not important right now to the majority.
By the way, interesting to note that the mere mention of bed-stuy on Brownstoner results in at least 50 comments…
nosleeptil…that is not a house that sold recently for that kind of price and it is not worth more than $500,000 given what it looks like and how far east on Decatur it is!!! Nice brownstones that have sold for $700-800,000 over the past 2-3 years in Bed Stuy are not going to fall 35-40%. You are comparing apples and oranges.
“Do you really think a $700,000 house is going to be selling for $420,000 and a $800,000 house is going to be selling for $520,000!!!!”
Yeah, sorry, Dave. But I think they will too.
Mind you, then we will probably BUY a house in Bed Stuy and be thrilled to have it… but, hey.
I was at a banker’s party in a very fancy part of Manhattan this weekend and all I could do was stare at the recessed lighting, the granite countertops in the too-small kitchen, and the fake crown moldings on the sheetrock and think of all of you.
It was sort of sad.
what, you grew up in Clinton Hill. I know that kills your street cred, but I am sure your criminal record makes up for that.
That is right, it is Nostrand. Good guess. (Not bad for someone who drives everywhere.)
You did sell houses to people and now you say they are worthless. Do you take pride in the fact that you sold people assets that have no value and cheated them out of money? Rhetorical question.
If you don’t know of any of the mom&pop shops, it is because you never come to bed-stuy, sweetie. Why don’t you stop by some day and learn a little something abuot our neighborhood.
The cursing is simply an indication that you are wrong, yet again. You really have no comeback for anything so you curse and race bait. Tired and played out, just like you.
“Do you really think a $700,000 house is going to be selling for $420,000 and a $800,000 house is going to be selling for $520,000!!!!”
Yes:
House of the Day Nov 2007 – $630,000
http://bstoner.wpengine.com/brownstoner/archives/2007/12/house_of_the_da_417.php
Today, $489,000 and dropping…
http://www.corleyre.com/address.php?property_ID=102
I live in Stuyvesant Heights and I only refer to it when giving the area in Bedford Stuyvesant. If we took a look at the old maps or looked at the old Brooklyn Eagle online you see the area is called Bedford or Bedford Corners (before 1890) in the east and there is another neighborhood called Stuyvesant Heights that has been around since the late 1700s http://www.neighborhoodpreservationcenter.org/db/bb_files/stuy-heights.pdf
in the west. Bed-Stuy is a name that pop up later as a nick name like Soho, tribeca, Dumbo etc… Clinton Hill is a new name is was simply called the Hill 100 years ago and Bed Stuy 20 years ago.
I think this thread is proving What’s Cognitive dissidence point……
1st Comments like Dave’s “There are good and bad blocks even in Park Slope.” is a perfect example.
Of Course there are good and bad blocks in P.S. but come on – there isnt a single ‘bad block’ in P.S. that compares to the ‘bad blocks’ in B.S. in terms of per capita crime (both violent and non-violent), neglected and abandoned housing/lots, or lack of amenities/quality of life issues.
This is an objective fact – that anyone can verify with their own eyes as well as anecdotal and documented crime reports.
The other comment that I think is MOST relevant is the Whats when he says “if you think Bed Stuy has the amenities to justify paying all that money, you are going be in big trouble.”
Thats IS THE POINT that so many miss – it is the price relative to what a house, block, neighborhood is today (and in the immediate future) that is relevant (especially when things are slowing down). The prices in Bed Stuy (and many other neighborhoods) more accurately reflected what the sellers/brokers were saying what the neighborhoods WOULD BE, not what they are.