The Next New Brooklyn
We’ve been told Philadelphia is the new Brooklyn, or Brooklyn is the new Manhattan, and sometimes we’ve been told that Manhattan is the new Brooklyn. New York Magazine reprised the latter argument. Prices are falling in brownstone Brooklyn, they say —″Statistics from Streeteasy.com show 38 percent of townhouses suffering price cuts in recent months, averaging…
We’ve been told Philadelphia is the new Brooklyn, or Brooklyn is the new Manhattan, and sometimes we’ve been told that Manhattan is the new Brooklyn. New York Magazine reprised the latter argument. Prices are falling in brownstone Brooklyn, they say —″Statistics from Streeteasy.com show 38 percent of townhouses suffering price cuts in recent months, averaging an 11 percent drop”—and the market is softening in Manhattan. Given the choice between similar prices in two boroughs, apparently some people are saying, “I’ll take Manhattan”—not that we know any of them. Not to worry. Even if fewer Manhattanites have been scouring the borough for deals, all’s well here. “Brooklyn now has its own momentum,” they report. “There are far more pro-Brooklyn partisans than there used to be.” Anybody out there witnessed this move-to-Manhattan phenomenon?
Manhattan: The New Brooklyn? [New York Mag]
View of Downtown Manhattan. Photo by drunkcat.
A (relative) newbie’s perspective… we moved here from Canada last year, after falling in love with Manhattan. We thought we’d rent in Brooklyn for a while until we could find/afford a place to rent in Manhattan. (I work in midtown.)
Now we much prefer Brooklyn. You can breathe, you can see the sky, you can walk on the sidewalks without getting crushed by commuters or getting stuck behind throngs of tourists when you’re in a hurry. We live near Atlantic station and have all these amazing nabes around us, Park Slope, Prospect Heights, Fort Greene, Cobble Hill and on and on, full of indie shops and mom-and-pops and way fewer McChains than in Manhattan. And it’s a quick trip into Manhattan or out to Long Island whenever we want to.
We’ve had dozens of friends visit, and once they’ve done the obligatory tourist stuff in Manhattan and experienced the crush and chaos, we tour them around our favorite places in Brooklyn. By their second visit they are much keener on Brooklyn. Same goes for my European co-workers (creative/advertising/photography fields). When I tell them I’m in NYC – they see Brooklyn as a much more vital creative hub than Manhattan, with a brighter future and more opportunity.
Now we’re closing on a place in Park Slope and are committed to Brooklyn for the long run. We wouldn’t put up with all the downsides of Manhattan, and pay outrageous maintenance and taxes, for the sake of it being a better investment.
dave, good point. they did spring for a third paragraph, after all.
It may have been one of New York Magazines more “in-depth” articles.
😉
LOL, bxgrl has a bee in her bonnet for benson! bzz, bzz, bzz, bxgrl no likey no benson! tee hee.
anyway nym has no more to say than prices have dropped everywhere, including at the lower end of manhattan market. so those people who are willing to sacrifice more house (i.e., a brooklyn townhouse vs. a manhattan condo) for more manhattan (amenity, convenience, prestige, whatevs) might now be able to do so. seems less news than a way for brokers to keep the commissions coming in a soft market.
It is provincial and parochial to be so antagonistic about your particular bit of turf, but then again, I’ve seen this the world over (though not as much as I have in Brooklyn).
As to discussions that essentially boil down to who is “authentically” Brooklyn due to their attitude or history in the borough or neighborhood, they can get quite tedious and heated, and often don’t lead to anything but personal attacks on other posters. I’m sure we can all have a pissing contest as to who has more history in the Borough or who cares more about the neighborhood, or who is a jerk or is nice, but why would we want to unless to just provoke others?
Really 11217??? Never would have guessed!!!
I suggest you reread your sentence.
As for my personal animosity towards you? It’s in reaction to yours. take a look at the archives before you present your little self as a wide-eyed “Who, me?” innocent. In the venom department I got nothin’ on you.
I admit it…I’m kinda obsessed with Brooklyn.
The Ortners should have a street named after them… They are the reason Park Slope is what it is… Have you ever seen the before photos of PS in the 1960 and 70s.. It look like a bomb was dropped on the place…