There Was Hand-Wringing Six Years Ago Too
We came across a 1999 article by John McCrory (who’s been blogging for longer than it’s been called that) that’s both funny and enlightening to read in 2005. Concerned about the runaway prices in his neighborhood of Park Slope, McCrory decides to write a paper on gentrification and hyper-inflation. And we quote… Most observers agree…
We came across a 1999 article by John McCrory (who’s been blogging for longer than it’s been called that) that’s both funny and enlightening to read in 2005. Concerned about the runaway prices in his neighborhood of Park Slope, McCrory decides to write a paper on gentrification and hyper-inflation. And we quote…
Most observers agree that the recent wave of hyper-inflation in Park Slope is the result of intense new demand from households in the upper-income brackets. “You have a huge demand and a limited supply,” says Steve Sommers, who sells real estate in Park Slope. Even buyers ready to spend $500,000, he says, are unable to find property. Feeding the buying frenzy are “the people with bucks who have been made wealthy by the stock market.” Tim Ross, Ph.D., a researcher for the Center for Urban Research, also says the current wave of hyper-inflation results from Wall Street profits. He says the hypercompetitive housing market in Manhattan has forced many well-paid professionals to look to the outer boroughs. When they do, they limit their search to just a few attractive neighborhoods, of which Park Slope is one of the most prominent. “These folks simply won’t think of living in vast swaths of the city,” says Ross, “so their demand is focused narrowly on just a handful of neighborhoods.
Gentrification in Brooklyn [John McCrory]
you should try to find some articles from the brooklyn daily eagle in post-civil war time(available on the web), might be some interesting parellels.
http://www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/eagle/
re: gentrification/development
see “homeless hare” by chuck jones.
commute to midtown from forest hills is better than from park slope (7 ave vs. 71 ave)
Sunnyside Gardens.
Recently, a friend bought a large 1 bedroom pre-war coop in the historic district of Jackson Heights, Queens for less than $200K. He’s been quite happy with both his new apartment and the neighborhood. The landmarks protection for the neighborhood is a big plus.
Jackson Heights is really beautiful, lots of great architecture, and it’s landmarked, so you won’t be seeing any ugly WBurg-style development happening there, much less any new development for that matter. Still lacking a bit in nightlife options, but there are many, many trains, and it’s just 15 minutes to Manhattan.
My 1100 sf apt was only $225K, and prices are not much higher than that now. I am much happier there than I was in Greenpoint, which smells like garbage 2/3 of the year!
I am glad you posted this article. It is interesting and shows how people (Brooklynites) have moved out of Park Slope to get more for their money (i.e. Clinton Hill, Ft Greene Ditmas Prospect Heights, Windsor Terrace, Prospect Lefferts Garden). Kind of like Brooklyn Heights priced people out into CobbleHill Boerum Hill and Carrol Gardens.
Ride the wave….
Brooklyn Renaissance.
maybe it was just posted as another perspective on gentrification- not the first one ever to be written- the people that have been in brooklyn since before the dutch settled here need to calm down a bit- you’re running rampant on the blog and that is what is getting tiresome- what did your comment offer?
re: Queens – what are the really desirable neighborhoods, architecturally speaking? — A: Jackson Heights