Let's Talk About the Rushkoffs, Dammit
Since we’re about the only publication in town who hasn’t written about writer Douglas Rushkoff’s Christmas eve mugging outside his Park Slope apartment and subsequent decision to leave (and, along with his wife, to write about leaving) Brooklyn, we might as well throw it out there. His wife now famously wrote that she felt safer…
Since we’re about the only publication in town who hasn’t written about writer Douglas Rushkoff’s Christmas eve mugging outside his Park Slope apartment and subsequent decision to leave (and, along with his wife, to write about leaving) Brooklyn, we might as well throw it out there. His wife now famously wrote that she felt safer in the East Village in the 1980s that she does in Park Slope today, which sounded kind of silly until her hubby clarified that this was only because they knew the drug dealers in the East Village. We got a call from a reporter a couple of days ago asking whether we thought the incident would have a negative effect on real estate prices. In short? No. In long? No, no, no. The Rushkoffs decision to leave was an emotional, albeit understandable, one. Unless the entire city enters a 1970s-like downward spiral, we’re pretty sure Park Slope will be just fine.
Do You Care If the Rushkoffs Leave Brooklyn? [New York Magazine]
On Leaving Brooklyn [Steven Berlin Johnson]
The Rushkoffs’ original blog posts are no longer available online.
“Applebees, Outback Steakhouse, Fridays, Chochkies…
I was home for the holidays. This is an undeniable fact of the burbs. Anywhere in the country. Yes, there are always a few non-chain restaurants, opened by adventurous folk but by and large it is alllll chain all the time.”
We have 60 restaurants in my hometown and not one is a chain. Fast food not allowed (suburban zoning has its benefits). All of them are small and independently owned, and there’s everything from pubs to Thai and Indian food.
I got mugged in Queens… the neighbohood I grew up in and lived in for over 20 years. The incident has scarred me and I can’t wait to get the hell out of here…
Actually Geez he said alot more then that – but either way – the reason why people are debating it is b/c they believe is conclusion (about PS and Brooklyn in general) are self-centered.
Most people can understand that after being the victim of a violent crime, you have YOUR sense of security shattered and further understand that you no longer feel safe; HOWEVER just b/c Doug Rushkoff was mugged doesnt mean that thinking Park Slope (or other parts of Brooklyn) are idyllic (or even just nice) places to raise a family is a “fantasy”.
Some places have less crime then others ( notice I didnt say NO crime), some places have more (or nicer) parks then others, some places have more successful schools then others, prettier streets, better mass transit, more trees, better shopping etc, etc, etc. It isnt a ‘fantasy’ and if Mr. Rushkoff finds a simialr neighborhood that has all that PS has to offer in these (and other areas) that is ‘exponentially’ cheaper – I am sure everyone would love to hear about it – but Rushkoff’s sweeping statements about PS and Brooklyn not being ‘worth it’ is bound to raise the ire of those of us who havent found this ‘better place’ yet. Not to mention the hypocricy of noting all of his ‘problems’ with PS and then saying if he had 1m more dollars then sure he’d stay.
I’m telling you — Queens is the answer. But idyllic it ain’t.
What a bizarre thing this has turned into. I guess every online post you make is really just a Rorschach Test on the person who reads it. So little of the “replies” you see reference the full discussion. Usually just one point in one post has the replier in a tizzy.
I’ve also read most/all of the mushrooming online posts on this, and am baffled. What he’s saying, if you read the posts and replies, is that Park Slope is experiencing a massive, almost unprecedented run-up in prices, largely because of a belief that this is an idyllic place to live for families. He says that he had bought into this thinking, and was struggling to keep up financially, but the mugging and other incidents has made him realize that this is just fantasy.
AS SUCH, he’s saying that he and others like him should seek out other areas with less glowing real estate PR that are just as safe, but exponentially cheaper, and better options for families overall than trying to kill yourself with a giant mortgage.
Why is this so hard to comprehend from what’s been written? Man.
i haven’t read any detailed accounts. did they actually get mugged, or was it one of those incidents where no one shows a weapon or dishes out any beats, and just says gimme your loot. basically a verbal pocket pick?
“In many suburbs today, there are more restaurants and services than ever before – ”
Applebees, Outback Steakhouse, Fridays, Chochkies…
I was home for the holidays. This is an undeniable fact of the burbs. Anywhere in the country. Yes, there are always a few non-chain restaurants, opened by adventurous folk but by and large it is alllll chain all the time.
I fail to see what possible good comes of speculating on whether or not you will get mugged faster in Bed Stuy or Brownsville or Park Slope, if you take some kind of “test” by standing around with “Bling” in the middle of the night. Sounds like an episode of Jackass. How incredibly stupid.
What is it with people who have to constantly inform and remind us all of the “reality” that living in the city can be dangerous, and that street crime exists? No sh*t, Sherlock. But most of us choose to keep living in the neighborhoods of our choice, including Bed Stuy, etc, and we keep our eyes open, our doors locked, and our street sense on. No one is denying any kind of reality. Rather, we are moving on with our lives, getting up and going to work, raising families, going to the corner to get milk, taking walks on sunny days, and trying to improve our neighborhoods as we can, in many different ways. We don’t need other people to define our reality, We are living it, and doing all right, thank you very much.
“They are looking for a section that is cheaper with less poor black men.”
Queens!! But then they would have to live with being unfashionable, and being surrounded by people of yet more different races who are lower middle class immigrants like their grandparents probably were.