Rosie and Nelson Redux
Did any of you just listen to Rosie Perez and Nelson George discussing the impact of gentrification on the neighborhoods of Fort Greene and Clinton Hill? We find Nelson’s nostalgic but realistic take on things quite interesting to hear; he’s clearly thought through a lot of these issues. Rosie’s relatively un-nuanced views, however, rubbed us…
Did any of you just listen to Rosie Perez and Nelson George discussing the impact of gentrification on the neighborhoods of Fort Greene and Clinton Hill? We find Nelson’s nostalgic but realistic take on things quite interesting to hear; he’s clearly thought through a lot of these issues. Rosie’s relatively un-nuanced views, however, rubbed us the wrong way. Her main point seems to be that she doesn’t know as many people when she walks down the street but (1) she’s a movie star now, which impacts how people view and interact with you and (2) we don’t get the sense she’s even around very much. In the four years we’ve been taking our kids to school just a few houses away from hers, we’ve never laid eyes on her; in fact, we’re not sure we’ve ever seen the shutters on her house open! (Her house also has the obligatory-for-a-Brooklyn-celeb attached garage.) She was complaining about how people fight over tennis courts in Fort Greene Park now–and then a caller reminded her that she used to have bricks thrown at her by local kids when she was playing tennis. We get how people can miss (and idealize) things from the past, but Fort Greene and Clinton Hill have to be some of the friendliest, most neighborly, streets to walk down in the entire city. How about a little love!
“Don’t hate on the new people just because they are trying to make a better life for themselves.”
I’m not hating. I’m the one who said change is inevitable. I’m just saying that some people may not be comfortable with every aspect of change, and their feelings are every bit as legitimate as yours. If you’re truly interested in making positive change lasting, that’s one of the first things you should recognize and respect.
And in the current economic climate, if the biggest problem your neighborhood has is trendy cafes/bars opening then consider yourself lucky.
“Or, I don’t like feeling like a stranger in the neighborhood where I was once an example of its identity.”
Seriously though – neighborhoods are always changing. The reason why Ft Greene/ Clinton Hill is so much different today then the “good ol days” is because some of the old timers sold out, and made a killing doing so. Don’t hate on the new people just because they are trying to make a better life for themselves.
“starting to look and sound like bleecker street in the summer.”
I knew this would happen in Brooklyn one day. I just HOPED it wouldn’t.
“Just the classic case of “I’m cooler then you because I lived in this neighborhood before it was cool”
Or, I don’t like feeling like a stranger in the neighborhood where I was once an example of its identity.
oh. one more thing. for as long as rosie has lived here she’s been famous.
i see rosie all the time. debating her relative celebrity is obnoxious but then again, this is the site that posed the question about an educator’s performance and possible tenure as a “yes””no” random poll.
and not to defend her but rosie was in pineapple express, does a lot of v/os. was on broadway recently and is a cool person.
as for the”new ft greene”. no one wants crack back but crack was a city wide problem not contained to this area alone. i’m so tired of the rebuttal to people upset about the new attitude in the area is to make the case that there’s no middle ground between crime and community. I have been here since the mid 80’s. now i can go an entire day without seeing anyone i know and i’m not alone in this observation. i was out this past saturday. first i had to navigate my way down the street around strollers and parents standing in the middle of the street, talking, and blind to the idea that other people are trying to walk-and yes. i have kids. this neighborhood is too small to support all of the new events drawing throngs of outsiders. the flea is fun but the streets are blocked with oblivious hipsters. the crowd at habana(another nice place) spills over to the point where you have to walk in the street to get by. on warm days the park is so crowded there is no place to sit.it is starting to look and sound like bleecker street in the summer.
the neighborhood is no longer reasonable, there is a plethora of overpriced resturants catering to who knows who etc etc this used to be a friendly, look out for your neighbor place.with rare exception people don’t acknowledge passerbys they get miffed if things don’t change in their favor. they are angered by the things that made ft greene a nice place to live.i saw this place as “home”. i raised a family here, dedicated myself to community events- this no longer feels like my home.it is now a destination place.
Just the classic case of “I’m cooler then you because I lived in this neighborhood before it was cool”
oh I get it. You either get it or you don’t, one of those feelings.
I guess I have felt that way before, that “I get it, they don’t” mentality, but never been very proud of it.