Analyze This: New York Puts Brownstoner on the Couch
Considering the tone of what New York Magazine has written about some other blogs, we thought that this week’s cover story about Brownstoner, and its culture of commenting in particular, was reasonably thoughtful. Sure, it had some the magazine’s signature sensationalism, but underneath that were some interesting thoughts about what the commenting culture on the…
Considering the tone of what New York Magazine has written about some other blogs, we thought that this week’s cover story about Brownstoner, and its culture of commenting in particular, was reasonably thoughtful. Sure, it had some the magazine’s signature sensationalism, but underneath that were some interesting thoughts about what the commenting culture on the blog says about the collective psyche of Brownstone Brooklyn. Our only major gripe was that it played up the importance of one egomaniacal commenter over some of the more constructive aspects of the community. In the end, though, it did include one belief of ours that we’ve clung to from the beginning: That as messy as many of the threads get, the tough issues that underlie much of the change that Brooklyn has experienced in recent years—class, race, gentrification—are at least getting discussed, and often among people who wouldn’t otherwise be mingling offline. The conversations could be a lot more polite, but at least they are happening.
The Brooklyn Wars [New York Magazine]
Illustration by Zohar Lazar
The only reason I’m even looking at this blog is because of the New York article and “The What”…I’m Brooklyn Born, living in “The South End” of Boston which echoes life in Brooklyn, it was a ghetto, then a gay ghetto with many a workin hoe and now its just a continual cash flow…
“you guys are really big in your own little world that nobody else knows or cares about.”
I totally agree. I live (rent!) in Brooklyn and am in love with being here. The so called “war” is, as we all know, nothing unique to Brooklyn and nothing new to this city. The endless squabbling between renters and owners, Brooklynites and Manhattan dwellers, and gentrifiers and natives, sickens me and I’m never surprised.
Don’t we all live in this city (and move here) for the same reason? If New York doesn’t chew you up and spit you back to wherever you came from, then shut up and enjoy it. You’ve won.
i took a 2 month break and the NY artical brought me back. It had me rolling. Nice work the What!
The What, mon frere!
Bring the pain.
i only heard about this blog or about the what from article in NY Mag. you guys are really big in your own little world that nobody else knows or cares about.
happy renter on upper west side (only bitter if i lived in brooklyn)
Can anyone point me to a blog or website which is focused on rehabbing an old house or building a community? I’ve never found anything “the What” ever posted as being of the least interest. I nejy the forum pages here (got some great answers on my question about doorlocks, and used the archives to research some names for architects on my proposed addition), but I really don’t get a lot of the exchanges on the “mainpage.” So if there is some site which has the helpful stuff without the (seemingly straight male) masturbatory aspects, I would appreciate knowing about it. I’ve met Jon, he seems like a nice guy, but this is really, really tiresome.
Commuting from Brooklyn isn’t THAT much easier than a lot of the burbs. I mean, it takes me almost 40 minutes to get to freaking northern Chelsea from Bedford Avenue. You can get to a lot of LI and NJ from Penn Station in, say, 50 minutes. Yes you have to be on schedule, and you can’t take cabs from Manhattan when you’re drunk after a work happy hour, but who hangs out in Manhattan unless they have to anymore? So the real difference is that you have to like your neighborhood. And if you never leave your house in brooklyn because there’s nothing to do where you live, why pay a premium for it?
First: The What rules. I’ve been reading daily since the beginning and The What is the icing on the cake. JB is cool too ’cause he lived in south williamsburg and got out before they turned it into McCondoBurg. And nobody can make fun of him for being from Ohio.
Second: The most interesting part to me are the crazy reactions to The What’s posts. He’s usually not saying anything wilder than stuff like (and I’m very loosely paraphrasing) “You people are paying way too much to live in these sh*tty neighborhoods” or “this economy built on consumer credit isn’t sustainable”, and everyone reacts to it as if he’s completely out of left field. He’ll quote the WSJ and someone will respond with “That commie rag?” or “The news? The new is for renters”. He’s really not saying much that you can’t find in the mainstream and financial press. And the entire counterargument seems to be based on this idea that “Brooklyn (Prime) is different”, which is just sort of… bananas. Yes, Brooklyn is great and all, but a lot of formerly not-great places then became great and also saw a crazy run-up in prices, and they’re all having problems as well. Brooklyn “Prime” ain’t THAT different.
I’ve been reading Brownstoner since before The What(s) arrived. He, she, they, whatever have had some interesting things to share along with a TON of absolute nonsense, but it’s clear that this persona has really stirred the pot and created a lot of anxiety and defensiveness in many of this site’s readers.
I totally enjoyed this article — it was a great read — very entertaining and there was a lot of insight. (And no, I’m not the author, just another homeowner in Brooklyn.) The author did a great job of using the inconsistent, but always provocative presence of The What(s) and how they’ve been able to poke most of us where it hurts, even when we protest just the opposite.