Is Pete Hamill Responsible for the Brooklyn Boom?
Almost 40 years ago, the writer Pete Hamill wrote an article in New York magazine declaring Brooklyn “the sane alternative” to Manhattan. “Art galleries are opening. Neighborhoods like Bay Ridge and South Brooklyn now have boutiques and head shops. People who have been driven out of the Village and Brooklyn Heights by the greed of…
Almost 40 years ago, the writer Pete Hamill wrote an article in New York magazine declaring Brooklyn “the sane alternative” to Manhattan. “Art galleries are opening. Neighborhoods like Bay Ridge and South Brooklyn now have boutiques and head shops. People who have been driven out of the Village and Brooklyn Heights by the greed of real-estate operators are learning that it is not yet necessary to decamp for Red Bank or Garden City. It is still possible in Park Slope, for example, to rent a duplex with a garden for $200 a month, a half-block from the subway; still possible to buy a brownstone in reasonably good condition for $30,000, with a number of fairly good houses available for less, if you are willing to invest in reconditioning them.” This week, Hamill returns after a long hiatus in Manhattan, and finds, not surprisingly, that Park Slope is fancyland, and that some things have been lost in its transformation. “Today, there are dozens of real-estate offices along Seventh Avenue and more on Fifth Avenue, and many houses were going for $2 million and more,” he writes. The people he sees on 7th Avenue “are in their twenties, most of them gym-thin. Shoulder bags hang from their shoulders while other bags form humps on their backs. Their thumbs flick across tiny keyboards. They talk into cell phones. They never make eye contact with anyone, as if adhering to some paranoid manual of New York behavior. Instead, they glance into restaurants, hurry past art-supply stores, dress shops, delicatessens, heading to places that are provisional, not permanent, parts of their narrative. They rent.” Hard to buy when the places are $2 million, of course. He’s not completely nostalgic for the old, old neighborhood, though, the one that was dangerous. As he says, “Gentrification is better than junkies.”
Brooklyn Revisited [New York]
Sunset. Photo by arimoore.
for the record, i live in and love williamsburg.
I agree with wine in that the people buying in williamsburg are not doing so as an alternative to the EV/LES. I stand corrected.
11217 clarifies my point pretty well.
I’m glad to hear that, wine lover. You sound like you are a bit older though. And more established.
EVERY single person I know in their 20’s who lives in Williamsburg (you must admit there are quite a few there) all have said they ended up there by default and would rather be in the LES or EV. Literally every single person I know there feels that way.
So Williamsburg has the older more established set like you, the younger crowd and then the old timers who are completely cut off from what’s going on and have their own separate places where they shop/eat/drink. It’s not a cohesive neighborhood clearly.
You are fooling yourself if you think those 25 years olds won’t move back to Manhattan if prices drop far enough.
I hope Williamsburg continues to prosper, but I’m hearing reports from real estate agents that all of the new condos coming online in the neighborhood are piling up, and that new sales are hard to come by. In the next 2 years, thousands more (Northside Piers phase 2) will be coming on the market, and I understand they can’t even give them away right now.
That is going to have a major impact on prices. My ex who works for Corcoran has said that things are getting really ugly there with drastic price cuts not getting the job done.
If the youngsters leave Williamsburg, it is going to lose a lot of it’s luster. I hope it doesn’t happen.
if you live in williamsburg and would prefer to live somewhere else, you are seriously missing the point, and indeed, the neighborhood is not for you.
i disagree with A Guest that people buying in williamsburg would rather be in LES or EV. I know many many condo owners and I’ve yet to hear anyone say that. i personally have been in brooklyn for years.
honestly, i hope to stay in williamsburg for a long time.
i have a lot of friends and biz acquaintances in williamsburg plus i am active in a parents yahoo group which has hundreds? thousands? of members, and really, we all just talk about how much we love it.
Reading Sanata’s comment – hoping for a crash so the Slope becomes more affordable – reminds me of my own position 10 years ago.
Only problem with that scenario is that when the economy sours, it tends to drag down younger/entry-level hiring very quickly. The result: prices may drop, but so does the income of the average yout [sic].
If anyone’s actually been socking-away money to buy AND is fairly assured of holding onto their job, then do your best at timing the market. But my suspicion is that most people who own in PS, the Heights, Carrol Gardens, etc. will do their best to hang-on & avoid selling short. It’s just a matter of whether the last few years of problems [much less the current crisis] drag on for more than another 3-4 years.
When the crystal in a Williamsburger’s hand turns red, they move to Park Slope.
I’m one of those people, A guest.
If you gave me 10 million bucks, I would not leave Park Slope.
I think there’s something to be said for people who feel attached to their neighborhood. Especially in times like those we are about to embark on. I was just thinking yesterday in fact that if times get really bad, I’ll be out on the curb sweeping, planting flowers and doing whatever I can to make sure my neighborhood stays nice.
I highly doubt many of those 20 somethings in Williamsburg feel that way about their neighborhood (as you said) but in tough times that’s what you need is a sense of community. I don’t mean this as a Williamsburg vs. Park Slope thing, but one of the things I dislike about Williamsburg is the fact that people there don’t seem invested in their community like they are in many areas of Brownstone Brooklyn. That mindset just doesn’t suit me. It’s ok in boom times and has worked for Williamsburg thus far, but I agree with you that people will bolt the second they can find an apt. in the East Village for a price they can afford…
11217
While I’m always one for some good Park Slope vs. Williamsburg arguing – We agree in principal, although I’m not sure how much trees and beautiful architecture will be able to console someone the way things are shaping up right now.
I think what will hurt neighborhoods like WB/GP is the fact that they are transient neighborhoods that are seen as an alternative to Manhattan. Most people who live there now (rent,own) would rather be in the EV/LES etc, and if they could afford it would jump @ the chance (myself included)
Park Slope, Ft Green etc residents seem to prefer their neighborhoods over Manhattan, and frequently state if money was no option, they would never move back.
“Shit the lady that works at the front desk is maybe 25 and just rented a studio in Flushing. FLUSHING!”
What’s wrong with Flushing? You gotta live somewhere.
WHATEVS…
by relativly poor I mean I work in a struggling record label. The majority of my co-workers live in brooklyn or queens everywhere from Sunset park, bay ridge, park slope, prospect heights, crown heights, windsor terrace, ditmas park, astoria and even union city. Shit the lady that works at the front desk is maybe 25 and just rented a studio in Flushing. FLUSHING! You gotta be creative to find housing in the city because its a bitch.
however alot of these people would be labeled “hipsters” by whoever gets to label people thus they’re destroying _______.
these old NY Mag articles are very interesting. I reading the “Exodus” one now about how all the creative and young are moving to brookyn and queens. The damn article is from 1985. I was still shitting my pants and spitting up baby food in 1985.