Fear (of Condos) and Self-Loathing in Williamsburg
What happens when you mix the snide aspects of hipster culture with the gleaming new developments that have popped up in Williamsburg, Greenpoint, and Fort Greene? Condo shame, says the Observer. The hipsters who once scoffed at new developments like The Edge or nV are now—ironically, perhaps—experiencing a desire to buy units in these buildings…
What happens when you mix the snide aspects of hipster culture with the gleaming new developments that have popped up in Williamsburg, Greenpoint, and Fort Greene? Condo shame, says the Observer. The hipsters who once scoffed at new developments like The Edge or nV are now—ironically, perhaps—experiencing a desire to buy units in these buildings (gasp!). In the current market, it’s the modern units that are suddenly in the price range of 20- and 30-something new buyers, while the common brownstone fantasy still costs over $1 million. The article chronicles several 20-somethings such as Kendall Turner, 23, who bought a $449,000 one-bedroom in the Ikon building on McCarren Park in Greenpoint, or Nicole Ferejohn, 27, who refused to give in to her condo urges and continues to rent. Those profiled in the article make excuses and apologies; they feel guilt for their un-Brooklyn-y purchases; but in the end, perhaps the point is that if you price it low enough, they will (begrudgingly) come.
Condo Shame [NY Observer]
“BTW, I know this isn’t the place for it, but as a local, what are your 2-3 fave bars in Park Slope?”
The places I enjoy are, in no particular order:
Commonwealth
High Dive
Sharlene’s (really Prospect Hgts but right over the border)
None of these places are particularly destinations, but if you happen to be in the ‘hood and want a drink with friends, they are nice, laid back neighborhood joints.
I also really like Franklin Park (although it’s more Prospect Heights/Crown Heights). Great beer garden with terrific outdoor space.
i thought everyone does heroin now though. (it’s only 10 bux a bag!) definitely the one drug i would not touch with a 10 foot pole though. both my biological parents were hooked on that shit and dead now. i hope it doesnt make a come back like people have been claiming it is. conversations with coke and crackheads can be fun, heroin? gack. good luck.
*rob*
I used to love Williamsburg so much that I gave walking tours whenever anyone I knew visited New York. Even in the early oughts, when we’d moved away I would still come back and show people my favorite things: the cat bar (it was an abandoned bar full of cats); Moishe’s bakery; the Abbey; Orient Avenue; Cooper Park; fresh-filled cannolli at Bruno Bakery; seafood pizza at Nina’s 2; L-cafe; brunch at Oznots or Teddy’s; that little Mexican place on Bedford; Peter Lugar’s; Diner; BQE Pet store; Sweetwater; the Right Bank; Top’s; Las Palmas; El Maguy y Tuna; the abandoned waterfront; the Downer’s Pharmacy sign that the cheese shop idiotically took down… etc. I know I tend to pontificate on this topic a little too much, but I was a huge fangirl.
Even when we moved back in 2006 to a strange new Williamsburg, I was still optimistic — sure, a lot of the old stuff was gone, but there was some new stuff and some of it didn’t suck. I am still a fan of Oslo and Atlas and most of the new italian restaurants. But what got to me was the sheer unrelenting annoyance of pushing a stroller around construction site after construction site, over broken sidewalks and shadeless streets and seeing parts of Williamsburg that had once been vital and whole reduced to rubble and half-finished buildings… and then, on top of that realizing that even if we saved and wanted to invest in the neighborhood, all of the options were pretty horrific and really, really expensive.
I pretty much moved to Fort Greene/Clinton Hill with major doubts and under some duress and I have to say it’s the best decision I ever made. Sure, I miss Williamsburg, but the burg I miss isn’t the one that’s there now. What’s there now does have some charms, but the sheer inventory glut of new construction is going to erase most of that, one way or the other.
11217, you’ve warmed the cockles of my heart (and I apologize if I got aggressive myself). Which is much more than I can say for the dbag who shamelessly reprints my Brownstoner posts on Streeteasy to try and pick fights over the internet. BTW, I know this isn’t the place for it, but as a local, what are your 2-3 fave bars in Park Slope? I feel I need to indulge in the bar scene a bit more over there.
quote:
he felt that he would have failed if his kid ended up living in a lousy situation (e.g. dirty, small, walk-up building).
your cousin is a moron
*rob*
All this talk of coke and Union Pool makes me want to see for myself. I’m supposed to go out drinking tomorrow night in W’burg, I’ll steer that way.
My cousin is one of the aforementioned parents who ‘spoils’ their children, by, in part, paying their rent after they graduated from school. I asked him why he did that when his own parents didnt do that for him. His response was simply that he worked hard in order to be in the position to live a comfortable lifestyle and be able to afford to support his children well, otherwise making the money would be meaningless to him. I asked him whether he thought he was spoiling his kids, and he didnt see it that way – he felt he was giving his kid yet one more opportunity, and he felt that he would have failed if his kid ended up living in a lousy situation (e.g. dirty, small, walk-up building). Time will tell whether the kids grow up with warped values or not, though I see that the father’s desire for success was passed down to the kids. I asked him what he would do if he didnt have the money to afford the support, and he said he would do whatever he could to help his kids, plain and simple.
We agreed to disagree. But I think his viewpoint is shared by many in his position – they worked hard so that they could give their kids these things. I would have seen him loan his kids the money, rather than giving it outright, but each to his own.
“I’m enjoying this thread much more than our discussion on inventory, I must say!”
HA! Agreed!
I’m glad we’ve found some common ground as well. I enjoy hearing your views on this thread, and apologize for being such an arse the other day.
well that was exhausting.