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!.
hey bknative,
i used to live off of myrtle a few blocks west of here –
trust me.
this stretch of bed-stuy/s.williamsburg./e.clinton hill or whatever it is being sold as lately LACKS THE CRUCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE TO MANDATE SUCH HIGH RE PRICES.
the NY(signs o’the)TIMES should’ve coined this article
“You paid WHAT for WHERE? DUH!”
I think we are going to run into a definitional roadblock as to which streets are considered Stuyvesant Heights and which are not.
Certain stretches of upper Stuyvesant Ave for one.
7andfive…please tell us which blocks in Stuyvesant Heights are “Shaddy” and why?
NEWSFLASH: This article was not meant to be read by anyone who has even a mild familiarity with Bed-Stuy. This is fluff that fails or begin to fathom the nuances of Bed-Stuy.
This lazy reportage reads more like creative fiction rather than jounalism…
Can people please stop acting like Stuy Heights is some magical place of Bed Stuy? Trust me it NOT and has some shady blocks as well.
similarly to many people here I find it very annoying that they try to generalize about the gentrification of bed stuy through the example of one far end of the neighborhood. I hardly think that Myrtle Ave is an accurate barometer for where the neighborhood is on the whole. I would love to see more info and analysis about what is happening in Stuy Heights.
It was an interesting article. I live in what I would call central Bed Stuy. All areas of Bed Stuy have a long way to go-although there are some incredibly beautiful blocks here and there. I love where I live but like some in the article I get frustrated with the lack of amenities. The majority of the restaurants/take out places should not be behind bullet proof glass.
But I love my neighbors. I had a friend visiting this weekend and she commented how nice everyone was in the neighborhood. After having everyone say hello to us on the street and even young boys opening the door to the corner store.
It will be interesting to see what happens to Bed Stuy in the next 3-5 years, especially with this economic downturn.
Bed Stuy is over, son.