The Times of London Singing Bed Stuy's Praises
It sounds like London Times writer James Doran got quite a deal on his Bedford Stuyvesant brownstone. Given how well-preserved all the details were, $600,000 sounds undermarket to us. And what a great provenance! The story he tells of the former owner, a brewery heiress, is great stuff. The Heath Ledger angle might be a…
It sounds like London Times writer James Doran got quite a deal on his Bedford Stuyvesant brownstone. Given how well-preserved all the details were, $600,000 sounds undermarket to us. And what a great provenance! The story he tells of the former owner, a brewery heiress, is great stuff. The Heath Ledger angle might be a bit of a stretch but, hey, Doran’s at least setting the newspaper-reading public straight about the neighborhood which has caught more than its share of bad press over the years:
Bed-Stuy is more than just an incredible investment opportunity for an adventurous property speculator: it is one of the most fascinating neighbourhoods of New York, steeped in history and close to Manhattan’s sleepless streets, yet no tourist ever sets foot here.
Local blog Bed Stuy Gateway had this to say about the article: Is The Times doing a Lenten penance for the smackdown of an article it published on June 25, 2005 in which reporter Dominic Rushe called Bed-Stuy “a horrible and inconvenient area of Brooklyn with some lovely buildings and a nasty crack habit”?
Big Apple’s Core Appeal [London Times]
The Brits Are Coming [Bed Stuy Gateway]
Linus,
I feel that a lot of people boost just their own neighborhoods on this blog, and they criticize all of the other neighborhoods. I think that some of them are acting in a self-interested manner, trying to prop up their own property values.
I am just reminding people that if that is their goal, then they are better off propping up other Brooklyn neighborhoods, too. There is constant interaction between all of the neighborhoods of Brooklyn. If Bed/Stuy does well, then believe it or not, that helps Park Slope.
I also wanted to say that in the long term, the house in Bed/Stuy, and the 2 bedroom apartment with parking spot in Williamsburg will be much better investments than the closets that Mr. Doran lists in Manhattan, which are currently about the same price.
Ahhh Anonymous @ 2:42 that is exactly TRUE and from my perspective (and others here) I would never say anything knocking your nabe (or bringing up the crime stats) if the article (or any other) was about these amazing ‘other’ atributes… what gets me crazy is when people try to make the case that these problems don’t exisit or that they are the same everywhere – or try to make social/quality-of life problems a positive – as in “crime is a cool part of living in NYC…”
But your points about Bed-Stuy are well taken and entirely true which is why for many people Bed-Stuy is great
I’ve been living in Bed Stuy for over 2 and half years. I have a 4-storey brownston loaded with original details, in very good shape. I got it for what a studio would go for elsewhere. I used to get upset by all the bad press Bed Stuy gets. Tthere are a lot of good people who live there who deal with the constant negativity and that’s not right. It’s not Park Slope and probably never will be, but most people I know are friendly and solid neighbors.
Having said that, this writer was wearing some pretty thick rose colored glasses. The crime in Bed Stuy is BAD period. I live in the supposed “affluent” (laughable) Stuyvesant Heights and my two previous tenants have been mugged and I myself have been attacked. My neighbors across the street have had someone break into their house while they were sleeping. There was also a bout of gay bashing that went on and some others I know got attacked. As much as I hate to admit it, the crime is there and it’s a serious problem. Newcomers and old timers alike shouldn’t have to put up with it.
James,
Looks like you hit a few nerves here. I enjoyed the piece. I’m also a writer and live in Bed Stuy, also just a few blocks from the 81st precint. Obviously Bed Stuy is a massive neighborhood with plenty of rough patches. I’m amazed at the mix of poverty and affluence—BMW’s and Escaldes alongside abandoned lots and neglected tenements. But, since I’ve been in my N/E corner of Bed Stuy, I also have not heard a single gunshot and don’t feel any less safe here than I did in Williamsburg. The neighbors have been friendly but I can’t say I’ve been turning down a lot of dinner invites either. I also lived a London’s East End a few years back. Whenever I told a co-worker where I lived, I got the same reaction. “Dodgy Mate.†I didn’t get it. That was without question the safest and nicest neighborhood I’ve lived in–unlike San Francisco where my car got shot and gunfire was, at least in the mid 90s, a regular occurrence. Safety is ultimately subjective—regardless of what the numbers say most people tend to just go by their gut. And my gut constantly reminds me that there is no place to eat in the neighborhood. If you’ve found any restaurants, please, don’t be shy.
James @2:29 – sorry about that experience,
let me say that of course your personal story doesnt make Bed-Stuy any less safe than others whose anecdotetes were all positive –
but your comment:
” I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The same people could have taken the C to Hoyt-Schermerhorn and done the same thing to me in Boerum Hill.”
is both correct and wrong – you were in the wrong PLACE at the wrong time – but the SAME people (generally) do not take a train to commit the crime somewhere ele. ( I am sure our 84 Officer can verify) That by in large crime is a very local problem, and people dont travel to commit crimes Weird right – figure you’d go to a place where people dont know you, but our overcrowded prisons are filled with people who didnt figure that out (Real life isnt CSI- we are lucky our criminals are generally pretty bad at it).
Of course thats not to say that there arent people in Boreum Hill who would do the same or worse, there probably are- it just is statistically true that more of them have been in Bed Stuy.
What irks me about a lot of these discussions on Brooklyn nabes is that there is a presumption among some of us that there is only one standard for what makes a neighborhood “good” or “great.” More often than not, the standard for what is good tends to be Park Slope or Brooklyn Heights or the predominantly white, middle-to-upper income brownstone communities of the borough.
Those who for whom this standard is gospel honestly cannot understand how others of us might actually hold to a different standard: one in which, although the majority of residents may be low-income people of color, the houses are stunningly beautiful, the locations are strategically advantageous, and the majority of the neighbors are hardworking folk who are warm, friendly, outgoing and have quite strong “family values.” Do the latter neighborhoods tend to have more incidents of street crime and less access to quality goods and services than say Park Slope and Brooklyn Heights? Yes!
But, the fact is, there are those us (quite a few actually), who have made conscious and informed decisions to live in places like BS,CrH,PLG and we love it . .. crime stats and all.
First I want to acknowledge and say that I am verysorry to hear about James’ ordeal. Bottom line – there is crime (petty and violent) in Bed-Stuy, there are hard working people in Bed Stuy, there are yuppies and buppies in Bed Stuy, there are great and helpful neighbors in bed Stuy, there are jerks in Bed Stuy (I won’t go on). In other words – Bed Stuy is a mixed bag that is fine for some of us and not so great for others. It’s not the best neighborhood in BK and it is not the worst neighborhood in BK, but for some of us – its home.
Sorry, the above poster was me. I don’t want to confuse it with James, the writer of the article.
I have yet to post here, but, yes I was the victim of a horrifying crime and put through hell as two men attacked me, forced me into a crackhouse, stole ALL of my possessions at gunpoint and demanded my ATM code. They took my wallet, watch, cell phone, glasses and shoes. They made me wait for two hours in their house whilst getting my cash out the ATM with a gun to my head the entire time.
This was a balmy summer evening where I decided to take a nice walk at dusk to discover my new neighborhood.
I live on the border of Clinton Hill and Bed Stuy on Classon – a predominantly African American neighborhood and see drug addicts and prostitutes on a daily basis. They proposition me everyday.
I also see nice people with children. Nice young professionals and Pratt students.
The point is, I don’t put down Bed Stuy because of an incident that happened to me there. It happened. I’m glad I made it out alive. I don’t dismiss the neighborhood as dangerous and uninhabitable. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The same people could have taken the C to Hoyt-Schermerhorn and done the same thing to me in Boerum Hill.
As far as the immediate area I live in, the crimes that go on in front of my eyes on a daily basis seem petty – drugs and prostitution. The corner of Classon and Fulton is just not a pretty place (that hideous new construction makes it even worse) I will never walk back from the Franklin C at night anymore.
I think Bed Stuy is a neighborhood with lovely homes and some nice and some not nice people. Just like every other neighborhood, it has its ups and downs, its good sections and its bad.
Thanks for reading this admittedely lengthy post, but I was trying to drive a point home and I’m not quite sure that I did.