ditmas-house-0209.jpgDespite Mayor Bloomberg’s celebration of “the luxury city,” there’s still a middle class in New York, although not in the zip codes close to hizzoner’s townhouse. In many cases, they live in Bay Ridge, Bayside, Brighton or Bensonhurst, in the vast sprawl that is Brooklyn and Queens. Some of the emerging middle class also cluster in places like Ditmas Park, a reviving part of Flatbush. The new population here is made up largely of information age “artisans”–musicians, writers, designers and business consultants who cluster in New York. They may have migrated there for the culture, but they stay because they find these neighborhoods congenial and family-friendly. “It’s easy to name the things that attracted us–the neighbors, the moderate density,” explains Nelson Ryland, a film editor with two children who works part-time at his sprawling turn-of-the-century Flatbush house. “More than anything, it’s the sense of the community. That’s the great thing that keeps people like us here.” — Forbes


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  1. I am a social media producer and a Black Republican i fully supported Bloomberg but i feel now he has truly disconnected from the average guy/gal i dont know if i will vote for Bloomberg if he runs it really depends on the competition but that disconnect is HUGE!!

  2. Cops and Firefighters starting out do not make much but once they hit top pay their salary with holiday pay, uniform allowance and longevity pay is 98,000K without overtime. With wach promotion the pay goes up in about $10,000 increments. They also don’t pay much for healthcare and get to retire after only 20 years at half of their salary which is why they work so much OT towards the end. I happen to think that they deserve every dollar of it but to say that they can’t afford middle class housing is a crock. Most don’t want to live in the city and many look down upon those of us who do. BTW, they can live in NYC, Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Putnam and Orange counties. Can’t live out-of-state or in Dutchess.