Local Writes Brownstoner About Gentrification in Bushwick: High Rents Forcing Out Families
A Brownstoner reader and longtime resident of Bushwick sent Brownstoner her thoughts about recent changes and gentrification in Bushwick: “Just a quick email to see if you can help me understand what exactly is occurring in Bushwick. I have lived in Bushwick for what seems like forever and seen the changes that have happened here….
A Brownstoner reader and longtime resident of Bushwick sent Brownstoner her thoughts about recent changes and gentrification in Bushwick:
“Just a quick email to see if you can help me understand what exactly is occurring in Bushwick. I have lived in Bushwick for what seems like forever and seen the changes that have happened here.
Yes I must agree some things are in the best interest of all who reside in this area but then again many of our longtime residents are forced to leave. Why you ask — well the rents are increasing rapidly and it is very difficult for the families to pay this.
All of the brand new apartments that are being constructed are for people with money; Bushwick was the place to go when rent was expensive in Queens, now you can’t even afford an apartment in Bushwick. Why I ask is this happening — new faces at every turn, coffee shops on almost every corner, the local bodega is no longer there as the rent has increased and they lost their lease.
It is as though we, the ones who lived here forever, born and raised, are now having to leave our beloved boro because Gentrification is in full effect and we are left on the bottom of the barrel.
My Brooklyn isn’t the Brooklyn because another townhouse just hit the market with an asking price of $40 million dollars, it is as though we the ones who lived in Bushwick where everyone knew everyone and looked out for them in the only way we knew how are gone. Everything is priced to the max and we cannot afford it anymore.
How can a middle class family afford a rent of $2,000 or even $2,500 when the family consists of three children and a single working parent, when bills need to be paid and food on the table. I find this totally out of control — no one ever wanted to live in Bushwick and now all of a sudden it’s hip to live in Brooklyn, but it is as though the yuppies, yes i said it, are taking over our beloved Brooklyn and we the ones who lived here forever are being pushed out completely because we cannot afford to live here anymore.
At the end of the day we feel as though we are being displaced and no longer have a say. Again I ask where are we going to go when we no longer can afford our rent???”
How depressing to see all the cold-hearted comments here. It is easy to see the improvements that gentrification makes for a neighborhood like Bushwick, but so many people fail to notice what is lost in terms of community. The mayor’s affordable housing program should be used to keep people in their long term communities, even if they are not fortunate enough to be homeowners there. Working class renters bring a diversity to a neighborhood that is unpredictable and perhaps messy, but they are essential to making the richness of a New York neighborhood. They also keep neighborhoods like Bushwick alive for all the time that the wealthier folk are following the fads and the real estate bargains elsewhere.
That’s just not true. As Manhattan has gone out of the price range for people with middle class jobs, growth has slowed. Places where people with middle class jobs can still find affordable apartments (and let’s bear in mind, everywhere else in the country, affordable is defined as 30% or less of your income going towards housing costs.) i.e. Brooklyn/Queens has seen growth increase. As those places become unaffordable, people will go elsewhere: the Bronx, Staten Island, etc. Rinse. Repeat. What you are arguing is that it’s all well and good for the city to become a haven for the rich only. If that’s your ideal for a vibrant, interesting, and great place to live, I feel sorry for you. Not sure who you think is going to prepare your food at the fancy restaurants you want to dine at if none of those workers can afford to live within commuting distance to their job.
Heather, you said it perfectly.
I’m unsure of your point.
If home ownership was more easily attained in the 90’s, and lets assume people took advantage of that, these people should now be almost millionaires based upon the current market.
So IDK about all that “culture and pride” stuff. That seems to be the major issue, too much pride in something that does not belong to a certain set of people. A neighborhood, place, or community belongs to everyone. Long term residents do not own the neighborhood, and clearly do not own very much.
And during that 25 years of “transforming” a neighborhood, it might have been wise to structure that investment into the neighborhood for long term success and benefits. 25 years is a long time to get it right.
Do you honestly believe that everyone living in Bushwick back in the day was just scraping by? . Creating a nest egg for down payment in the 90’s was realistic.No i don’t think everyone in gentrifying neighborhoods could have done it. The overall majority of long term residents were comfortable with low rents because it fit their budget. Yes,pay rates were lower but home ownership, community pride and neighborhood culture was way more attainable back then. Long term residents had literally 25 years from “1980 -2005” of pre-gentrification to own,build and transform large swaths of their own neighborhoods and most never pulled the trigger.
Unfortunately laws are not built for the fraction of the population but for the whole. So a life changing even means life changing decisions have to be made. The world does not freeze because of your life event. There are no handouts.
So when life hands you lemons, write a cookbook about the ways you can use a lemon. And make millions off of it and buy the little Bushwick building you are just dying to stay in.
How is that even possible? Google.
Yasss. You better read her.
Sure, this is true, but generally speaking these taxes and implications do not outweigh the net profit the owner makes.
Secondly, given the exponentially rise in the rental market, the monthly rental rates that owner can get far exceeds most of their projections. They never saw this boom coming. And now they must scrambled to bring their properties up to par since for years they scape by doing nothing.
So if 1/3 goes to the government or not, owners still are making bank. And long term owners already made bank. Stop complaining about the neighborhood, cash out, and go gentrify another place as you did upon your first arrival.
As they should. Stop looking for the cheap apartment and look for that high paying job. It’s out there and clearly millions of people have discovered the secret. They are STILL flocking to New York City!