Our Borough, Ourselves
For the past month the Observer’s been running a weekly column called “Brooklyn, the Borough.” Each installment is a first-person account written by Nicole Brydson, who grew up in Manhattan and did some time in Greenpoint and Hell’s Kitchen before recently settling in Prospect Heights. In grand old Observer fashion, the column sorta reads like…
For the past month the Observer’s been running a weekly column called “Brooklyn, the Borough.” Each installment is a first-person account written by Nicole Brydson, who grew up in Manhattan and did some time in Greenpoint and Hell’s Kitchen before recently settling in Prospect Heights. In grand old Observer fashion, the column sorta reads like “Sex and the City,” but instead of bed-hopping and social climbing the focus is one woman’s quest to identify herself via her new borough. Here’s what Brydson’s learned so far:
Lesson 1: Finding the right neighborhood is tough. Williamsburg=”hupsters.” Park Slope=”pretentious mommy-daddy colony.” Fort Greene=”just about perfect,” but a little too pricey. Prospect Heights=True love, at the right price.
Lesson 2: It’s possible to decorate on the cheap. Getting gear from Lowe’s and IKEA is all well and good, but how ’bout that beige carpet from the sidewalk? “So far, no bed bugs!”
Lesson 3: Gentrification is a bitch. “I feel destined to simultaneously be gentrified and gentrifying, but to most people I just look like the new white girl on the block.”
Lesson 4: Don’t expect sanity from a real estate agent who asks you to sign a lease on the hood of her Jag.
Looking forward to more!
Escaping Hupsters for New Prospects [Observer]
An Electric Boyfriend Works the New Apartment [Observer]
Destined to Be Gentrified and Gentrifying [Observer]
My Angel Gave Me Hell [Observer]
12:41 is right!
Now, let’s get back to the nitwit reporter.
These series of articles suck. Nicole acts as if the non-whites that she comes in contact with are animals in an African Safari.
‘There was also the bodega full of middle-aged Hispanic men whose conversation abruptly ended upon my entrance; and the disheveled African-American man who inquired with me about potential odd jobs after assuming that I was the new owner of my building.’
Nicole you are a terrible reporter. How can the Observer even allow you to write such racially insensitive and inaccurate dog$h!t? Are Manhattanites really that isolated from the rest of NYC.
‘(Boreum Hill) But though it’s a nice, and, at times, pricey neighborhood, she added, “One block in the wrong direction and it gets a little scary.†That one block takes you to the housing projects that are smack-dab in the middle of Boreum Hill, Carroll Gardens and Park Slope.’
Black and hispanic people are so scary and vicious aren’t they? They can be so savage.
My point in all of this was not to have a conversation about being gay or the things associated with it.
The point is…if we hope to raise kids (yes, I would like to have one some day) who have a good sense of self, a good work ethic and positive self esteem, it’s crucial that they not be told that no matter what they do, they are a winner. There is no reason to say they are a loser either, but it is important to stress that by working harder, or studying more, or whatever the case may be, they always have the chance to improve.
I witness so many kids who throw a temper tantrum and then are told by their mothers that they are the best kids in the whole world and given an ice cream.
What happened to punishing a kid if he/she acted out?
Listen…I’m no kid expert…but I am observant and I like to watch people. I’m sure ALL parents aren’t like this, but I do firmly believe that the way we will lift up each generation is to make sure they know that working harder is what gets you places.
If kids are told that no matter what they do, they are perfect, we will have a whole lot more people like George Bush on our hands who are unable to accept that they are ever wrong.
birkenstocks?
“Sorry my coming out a little late was such a burden on you.”
You know, I forgive you, but you should have done it MUCH sooner. Girls may hit on you even now, but when they find out you don’t swing that way, they will leave you alone. So don’t sweat it. Also that wasn’t MY girl you were banging, because I’ve never attached myself to one woman exclusively. Let this be a lesson to you.
“any cannolis left?”
No, those are only available on the Carroll Gardens threads. Sorry.
so abunch of guidos are angry and leaving brooklyn?
who cares
12:06 – I don’t assume someone who is gay comes in last or has been called a pu$$y.
I would like to hope (but know it is foolish) that a member of an unfairly discriminated and often ostracized group (even if you never personally experienced it) would have some sympathy for a child likely in a similar situation.
BTW – I am glad that you have apparently never felt like or were treated like a loser or an outsider but please consider that if the guys on the college football team KNEW you were gay – it is very likely they would have called you pu$$y
12:24….
LOLOLOL.
GOOD POINT!
best post of the day!