New Macro-Nabe Trend Launches with "Tri-Hood"
We hadn’t read anything in the press yet about a movement to merge the neighborhoods of Bedford Stuyvesant, East New York and Brownsville into the appropriately named “Tri-Hood”, but this tag-up on the walls of the Louis Armstrong Houses on Lexington and Throop may be the start of a new macro-nabe trend. Remember, you heard…
We hadn’t read anything in the press yet about a movement to merge the neighborhoods of Bedford Stuyvesant, East New York and Brownsville into the appropriately named “Tri-Hood”, but this tag-up on the walls of the Louis Armstrong Houses on Lexington and Throop may be the start of a new macro-nabe trend. Remember, you heard it here first!
Triple Threat [Flick’r, photo by Kevin Mason]
Having posted the Bed Stuy stats let me say that I think some people here just want to fight and stand on a soapbox – no one said that there is anything “wrong” w/ earning 30K a yr or being a renter – the stats were simply a response to a post calling Bed Stuy a solidly “middle-cass” area. This is factually wrong (despite certain blocks or pockets of affluence)and in fact is insulting by in essence trying to wipe away the major problem of poverty by simply denying it – hell thats essensially what GW Bush entire policy is.
I think the sad fact is that since Manhattan has discovered how wonderful and convenient Brooklyn is, Bloomberg has made it a policy to treat us as a suburb of Manhattan. He backs big development but cheats us on infrastructure. Manhattan gets new subway lines- Brooklyn needs them more. He is all about the money, not about the neighborhoods. It’s also true that all groups stereotype one another and too often never get to know one another. I consider myself lucky- I was in a biracial marriage for 18 years. Even though divorced, his family still considers me family. I am a white renter with an African-AMerican landlady who I am proud to say has been one of my closest friends for over 20 years. I try my best to respect the history and culture of my neighborhood because it is what makes it a wonderful place. Yes I know there are bad parts, but that’s true anywhere. So I say this from my own personal experience of many years – white people are much less knowledgeable about the Black community than vice versa. They tend to assume African-Americans are a monolithic group, poorly educated and on welfare. Most have never been in a Black person’s house or had one in theirs. I love Crown Heights- the people here have been kind and friendly. I’ve met everyone from the elderly lady who collects soda cans to a municipal judge. Elderly men refuse to let me shovel the snow (well, ok, they laugh at me first before they grab the shovel). These neighborhoods are so alive and rich in culture and history- It will be a real loss to everyone if they are gentrified to the point where they lose their identity. I truly hope that doesn’t happen.
I enjoy a good discussion on class, race, and gentrification of neighborhoods with the best of them, and some of this is really interesting. Some good points are being made, and some nonsense is being spoken as well.
Just for the sake of clarity, I have to correct something that was misquoted from the beginning of this discussion: I don’t know if Itjbukem is white, black or purple with stripes, but he is NOT the first person to say “free Mumia”, that was Anon. 11:15 AM. In fact, he never said it at all. The way these posts work, the poster’s name is below the line which separates posts. The previous poster’s name is in the same box as the next post. People who post or read this blog frequently know this. (It is confusing, Mr. B, sorry) I don’t know why Itjbuken hasn’t denied posting that, since he’s been ragged on ever since, but I want to clear that up, cuz if it was me, I’d be going nuts.
OK, my good deed for the day. Done.
I do think that many (not all) of the newcomers to Black brownstone communities do not take the time to appreciate and deal with the proud history of wealth, education and stability that have been here for generations. Just because there is no Starbucks, doesn’t mean that no one here drinks good coffee. Please take that metaphor to mean a wealth of things. Yes, the Bed Stuys, Crown Heights,Prospect Lefferts Gardens, and all the rest, have deep serious social and economic problems, but to dismiss them out of hand as trash and rubbish, as some have said here, or merely as untapped repositories of great homes waiting for a yuppie blessing, as others often intimate, is short sighted, and frankly, stupid.
Ron,
Red Hook is an exclusive waterfront enclave.
iyjbukem you are the most ingnorant black man on here. Free mumia is just another way for you to pretend that you are a educated black man. The man is a cop killer get it straight, just because he is black does not mean he should go free. He was found guilty by a jury of his peers. As far as bed stuy if you are such an educated black man you would not be living in a ghetto. The ghetto with crack whores and drive bye shootings. The area is pure trash along with Red Hook ,Lefferts, ENY, Brownsville, Canarsie, and all of the other crime ridden areas of NYC
iyjbukem you are the most ingnorant black man on here. Free mumia is just another way for you to pretend that you are a educated black man. The man is a cop killer get it straight, just because he is black does not mean he should go free. He was found guilty by a jury of his peers. As far as bed stuy if you are such an educated black man you would not be living in a ghetto. The ghetto with crack whores and drive bye shootings. The area is pure trash along with Red Hook ,Lefferts, ENY, Brownsville, Canarsie, and all of the other crime ridden areas of NYC
At last look, Fort Greene and Clinton Hill were still predominantly African-American. Further, contrary to conventional wisdom, the vast majority of African-American home owners did not sell out and leave these communities. A significant portion of them still remain to this day. What has change is the composition of their tenants – they’re now predominantly white! What’s wrong with that? Pull out some equity, buy yourself a home in the Catskills or Lehigh Valley and have your mortgage, expenses and lifestyle subsidized by whites willing to pay increasingly higher and higher rent! This is truly the greatest country in the world!!!
yes, it’s all about race and class and at some point it’s going to explode right in our face. i’ve directed some of my undergraduate and graduate professors in urban sociology to this blogsite. they are fascinated by the undertones and subtleties of race and class that take place. it’s truly worthy of a PhD dissertation!
Anonymous 08:59 PM, all of these neighborhoods in brooklyn have a long history, check it out sometime. your post only touched on a fraction of it.