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]
EBomb, you wouldn’t LET your wife go out? And would she have a say in the matter?
I love the stories of the people on CHP’s old block. It’s what’s missing from most neighborhoods these days…the colorful characters.
I’m fighting a mean bout of insomnia so I’ll provide one last observation since I’m up.
If folks never endured the risk of living in relatively unsafe environments in pursuit of the American dream of homeownership, then I guess most of Brownstone Brooklyn would still be afflicted with urban blight and poverty today – though to varying degrees. Why should the development and growth of BS be different than any other neighborhood? Look at BrmH and CG in the 70’s/80’s and Wbrg, Bshwk, FG and CH in the 80’s/90’s. I recall that people use to make the same arguments about crime and safety with respect to these neighborhoods too.
With that being said, who among us have any regrets over our pre-gentrification purchases in these areas? Who among us do not relish being the envy of family, friends and coworkers simply because we had the foresight to recognize a market inefficiency and invest in severely undervalued communities in Downtown Brooklyn 10 to 20 years ago?
In the end, it comes down to economics. People have different risk tolerance levels and their decision to move to various sections of FG, CH and BS comes down to an appreciation for architecture, the availability of “affordable housing” and the conviction that things will someday improve.
I moved to FG in the early 90’s because it was the only neighborhood where I could afford to purchase a beautiful brownstone and live on a tree lined block. As a result, I was willing to tolerate the crime and filth on Fulton, Myrtle and Dekalb Avenues as well as living next to horrific and terribly dangerous FG Park. Now these sections of the “hood” are routinely touted as reasons to move into the area!!
Families moving to Bed-Stuy today are simply making, to a certain extent, the same economic decisions. Tell me, where else can you put 10% down to purchase a three to four family brownstone for under $800k, live in a large duplex apartment with backyard space and have your rent roll cover your mortgage, if not your entire carrying cost? In time, as property values appreciate, you are able to raise rents and pull out enough equity to finance other similar investments in the community or simply buy a second/vacation home outside the city (a lot of safety in the Catskills).
In earlier times, the use of rental income to cover your entire carrying cost was simply the norm in FG and CH but that’s no longer the case. In these nabes today home prices have far outpaced the growth of imputed rental income and new homeowners are overly infatuated with the downsizing of multi-family homes.
In this regard BS is the last frontier as it provides many young families with the rare opportunity to still live and invest in homes that are financially self-sufficient, i.e., it pays for itself. We use to call this, “living for free” and many of us wouldn’t dare to purchase a townhouse in the “hood” if the “numbers didn’t work”. To many, the “economic security” of living in BS for “free” far outweighs the “physical insecurity” of living in a high crime area.
In the end, it’s all about risk/rewards.
No neighborhood in Brooklyn is free from being insulted. Just as many Manhattan residents dis Brooklyn or NJ, Brooklyn residents dis other areas.
There is nothing wrong with a neighborhood being too Black or too White. etc
There will still be some white /asian/ hispanic people who will associate large numbers of black people as being the bad part of town.
There will still be some black people who will associate large numbers of hispanic people as the bad part of town.
There will still be some jews who associate large numbers of christians/ muslims as the bad part of town.
Narrow mind people come in every color/religion/ethnicity.
Good open minded tolerant people come in every color as well.
Well Ebomb I thought you sounded all right until that last paragraph. Since you don’t live in Bed-Stuy how would you know if James is “too rosy” or not? As far as not letting your wife go out alone after dark because you’re so sure she’d be harassed or attacked- what makes you think so? You sound pretty condescending and you seem to have that elephant in your room. I don’t suppose you remember the saying, “You get as good as you give?” Maybe James has a wonderful experience because he loves the neighborhood, flaws and all, and it shows. Alyndea said some very uncomfortable truths about attitudes and I say she is right. It will always be near unto impossible for someone to live in these neighborhoods if they have a closed mind, and fear their neighbors. As a white person in Crown Heights I know its a little uncomfortable to be in the minority. African-Americans were the minority for several hundred years, so now it just may be our turn. The demographics say White people will in the minority in NYC within the next few years- so what should we do? Run screaming in the streets? Maybe if we stopped thinking race is a boundary and made it a bridge, we’d have a better life all around. Our similarities as human beings are far more profound and far outweigh our differences. White prejudice is a function of a sense of power, entitlement and superiority. Prejudice in the Black COmmunity is a reaction to years of slavery, insults and rejection. We are so quick to point out the problems in the Black community while neglecting our own responsibility in helping to create them. That’s my take.
Uh..EBomb, I think your wife would make it alive down 80% of Bed Stuy’s streets, white(I assume)womanhood is not that rare a phenomenon these days. We have tv now, and we’ve seen them. You kinda blew your earlier praise there.
Frankly, I think that the reason so many Europeans move to our neighborhoods and have no problems is because they weren’t raised with the preconceptions that Americans have about race. Sorry, but that is our history. Forums like this allow a lot of our dirty linen to be aired, and I think that is a good thing. Political correctness may make for more civilized conversation, but the real nitty gritty comes out in these frank exchanges. It may not be pleasant, but it may actually change the way we all -black, white, Asian, Latino, and everyone else, look at each other in this city, and the world.
roz — im sleepy now, send me an email at this address and Ill send you more pics of the fire
but Ebomb….you dont live in Bed Stuy so how do you know???
My fiance has been going outside in Bed Stuy for nine months now and as far as I know she hasn’t suffered anything worse than a near death experience from slipping on the stoop I forgot to put salt on.
Wow. A truly incredible thread! Bravo to all. This site is an urban sociologist’s dream! Though not the primary purpose, Kudos to you Mr. B for providing a forum where New Yorkers from all backgrounds can express themselves and foster greater understanding across racial, ethnic, cultural and economic class lines.
I’ve been reading Brownstoner for well over a year and have to say that this is the most interesting series of posts I’ve ever read — hands down.
What I find interesting is not the talk about crime or race. I like the individual personal stories about life in the “hood” the best. I’m also very impressed that so many of you are such good writers.
One other observation . . . when folks move from one country to another, they often inaccurately judge their non-native country and its’ people. I’ve seen it happen many times, as I’m sure most of you have, especially when it comes to sizing up significant others of another nationality.
I think James D is a bit too rosy about Bed Stuy partly because he’s from England and not a native New Yorker. If I lived in Bed Stuy I wouldn’t let my wife go outside alone after dark — I’m sure she’d get harassed — maybe attacked.
Otherwise, thanks for stories, please keep’em coming!