The Trailblazing Beatniks of Bushwick

A collection of artists has pushed beyond the furthest frontier of Williamsburg gentrification, setting themselves up in an old schoolhouse at the intersection of Bushwick and Bedford Stuyvesant. High ceilings and cheap rent are the trade-off for exposed pipes and, in some cases, windowless bedrooms.

You could call their house an artists’ collective or a commune, except that its residents work independently and, aside from sharing groceries and some common space, earn their keep. They’re not squatters – everyone pays rent and utilities – and they’re decidedly not slackers: many them put in hours that would shame a first-year law associate. Although they are taking part in an age-old urban ritual, the exodus of young people from traditional bohemian strongholds to terra incognita, they don’t think of themselves as homesteaders.

Although the area isn’t the safest one in town, neighbors have been quite accepting of the shaggy, college-educated, and largely white crew of bohos. The surprising thing to us is that the living situation has held together so well for so long–communal living rarely is easy.
The 21st Century Garrett [NY Times]