Brooklynites Jumping Ship to Manhattan?
Could it be that many self-proclaimed Brooklyn loyalists are ready to trade it all in at the first sign of a recession? Was the borough’s surging popularity in recent years merely a function of Manhattan becoming unaffordable? Or is Brooklyn still a first choice for many? The Real Estate section cover story from yesterday’s New…
Could it be that many self-proclaimed Brooklyn loyalists are ready to trade it all in at the first sign of a recession? Was the borough’s surging popularity in recent years merely a function of Manhattan becoming unaffordable? Or is Brooklyn still a first choice for many? The Real Estate section cover story from yesterday’s New York Times certainly tries to create the impression that, given the chance, a number of folks who professed to like Brooklyn in recent years are finding the lure of affordable rents and proximity to work just too much to resists. Take Andrew Baisley, who describes himself as a “cheerleader for Brooklyn.” The Bushwick resident, though, just last month jumped at the chance to rent a $2,100-a-month one-bedroom in Chelsea. When you go to Manhattan, there’s an air of selling out, he says. I’ve accepted that. Let’s try to get a sense of how many fair-weather Brooklynites there really are out there:
Manhattan Calling [NY Times]
Feel free to disagree with me if you want – and my choice of using the word “culture” may not have been appropriate. I’ve lived all over Manhattan and Brooklyn and the UES is the only place I can look back and say I absolutely couldn’t stand – I know some like it, and many others agree with me. So when the What points to cheap rents on Craigslist for the UES and uses it as a barometer for an upcoming mass exodus from Brooklyn – I just don’t agree.
By the way, most museums have a free night. And it’s pay-as-you-wish at the Met.
like it or not Hipster “Culture” is culture.
also the size and scope of what people claim to be a “hipster” is so broad its confusing. Alot of people who use the term dont understand the size and scope of it.
NSP
sorry – that wasn’t my intention
I was just adding there are people out there still looking to pay a premium for a nice generous apt in a great nabe
I used to live on the UES and hardly ever had a problem getting the 4 /5 to midtown in the morning. Trains were very frequent.
“Obviously people want to stay in Brooklyn- huh guys?”
A lot of people do.
For some of us, it isn’t such a charged issue as others make it. I don’t see this as GRUDGEMATCH 2009!!! BKLYN v. The Isle of Manattan!!!
In a few months, I’ll be checking Craigslist every morning. And if I see a $2800 2 br in park slope, I might just check it out. But if there is also a $2700 2 br in a part of Manhattan I like, I’ll be checking that out too.
I do think the Brooklyn market is less efficient than the Manhattan market and what we are seeing right now is Manhattan is re-pricing faster than Brooklyn is and may overshoot further to the downside than Brooklyn will.
If the Manhattan market bottoms over the summer, Brooklyn probably won’t go down too sharply. But if Manhattan keeps going down, Brooklyn prices will accelerate downward.
hi wasder – big topic and I could spend a long time responding, but I guess I would boil it down to the following: The highs and lows of the business cycle soften as modern capitalism matures. There is obviously a lot behind that statement.
Did I say anything about “hipster drinking scene” ?
and if you think culture is spending 20 bucks to go to a museum then fine – the UES has culture.
I would never live on the UES, but that’s because of the commute and the lack of youthful energy. But the claim that there is no culture, when “culture” to the author clearly is synonymous with “hipster drinking scene”, is just beyond ridiculous.