Jeffries v. Broker on Neighborhood Names
Today The Brooklyn Paper ran an op-ed from Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries about why he’s introducing a bill to formalize the process of naming neighborhoods as well as one from a Rapid Realty broker named Lanishia Goodwin about why she supports new neighborhood handles. From Jeffries’ piece: “The consequences of realtors providing misleading information are broad….
Today The Brooklyn Paper ran an op-ed from Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries about why he’s introducing a bill to formalize the process of naming neighborhoods as well as one from a Rapid Realty broker named Lanishia Goodwin about why she supports new neighborhood handles. From Jeffries’ piece: “The consequences of realtors providing misleading information are broad. Working families are pushed out of rebranded neighborhoods as housing prices soar. Newer residents pay more to rent or buy, largely as a result of the deceptive marketing. This is why I plan to introduce the Neighborhood Integrity Act. This bill will require the city to develop a community-oriented process before brokers can rebrand a neighborhood or redefine its boundaries simply for commercial purposes. These new names rarely result from community input and are often disconnected from a neighborhood’s history, culture or tradition.” Meanwhile, Goodwin has this to say, in part: “In Brooklyn, even familiar names are nicknames for other neighborhoods. Prospect Lefferts Gardens was borrowed from a group of buildings in the Prospect Heights neighborhood, What about Ocean Hill and Kensington? They’re really Flatbush. And what about Stuyvesant Heights? Most of the owners of the million-dollar real estate in this historical area grew up there won’t argue that it’s Bedford-Stuyvesant…Brooklyn as a whole has also become such prime real estate—there are so many people moving farther and farther into Clinton Hill, Bed-Stuy, Crown Heights, and Bushwick—that it can no longer defined by just prime neighborhoods.”
Jeffries: Neighborhood Integrity Matters [BK Paper]
Goodwin: New Names Help Brooklyn Grow [BK Paper]
“Neighborhoods like CH are working class neighborhoods”
neighborhoods in NYC change all the time. crown heights wasn’t even always a working class neighborhood.
affordable housing is a problem everywhere. maybe we shouldn’t be landmarking everything and preventing an increase of housing density in neighborhoods well served by mass transit.
What kind of an idiot would buy a place based solely on the name anyway? If I like the block, like the house, like the local services, who cares what it’s called. I do find Jefferies arguement a bit flawed. I could be wrong, but are individuals willing to pay that much more strictly for the name? I’m not sure that’s the case, but even if it is, do we really want to have rent control for neighborhoods, which is basically what he’s making the case for.
Add to that the fact that sometimes a perceived fresh start is good. Most of the made up names that realtors came up with were due to neighborhood blight.
On the flip side Goodwin’s arguement makes perfect sense to me, whether some of her naming facts are correct or not. Some blocks in Bed-Stuy are nicer than some blocks in Clinton Hill that are nice than some blocks in Fort Greene, etc. I think you’d have a very hard time coming up with the absolute best block in Brooklyn.
For the most part, and I speak as a white person who moved to Crown Heights because a friend offered to rent me an apartment, I’ve found it a welcoming place to live. Jeffries isn’t really talking about whether or not someone is white- he’s talking about people who move in and want to basically remake the neighborhood to suit themselves. By buying at inflated prices, they drive up the prices for everyone. Neighborhoods like CH are working class neighborhoods- people can’t afford to plonk down a million dollars for a house but we have seen several places going for that. So those with less money get forced out.
On the other hand, rich people aren’t the only ones who want better amenities- people who have lived here for years want and deserve them too.
This topic has become the new “bike lane” thread.
Gentrification is the biggest problem facing Jeffries’ chances of ever getting re-elected.
I like to make fun of Bocaca as much as the next poster, but rebranding neighborhoods by realtors happens AFTER substantial change has already occurred. True that it is usually an attempt to extend the boundaries of a “desirable” neighborhood (South Slope, anyone?) But it does not trick people into moving into neighborhoods and it does not cause gentrification. I think this is a silly bill. New people do not pay more because of “deceptive marketing”; ok, it may be a minor factor tied into more advertising and press coverage, but the new names are just an identifier, really. All the changes that happened in Soho or the Meatpacking District, for example, were hardly the RESULT of the catchy nicknames.
Some neighborhood name changes may start with realtors, but they don’t stick unless people in the neighborhood and elsewhere start using them. Perhaps Jeffries should amend his legislation to have the police issue tickets to people who utter the forbidden names–they are at least as responsible as the brokers. How about focusing on some real problems?
” jeffries is on the record saying that gentrification is the biggest problem facing his district (was linked to in last thread on here)”
Really? Sad. Pretty racist thing to say.
You can’t legally prevent people from MOVING IN, because they are snooty, or White, or Black. It is illegal. It is called discrimination and realtors can loose their license for doing so. Look, I think it is silly to change neighborhood names, but this is a waste of time. I would say that he needs to be pushing harder for historic preservation.