Old-Timers Complain About Newcomers' Lack of Brooklyn Cred...
How annoying were these two letters in the Times a few days ago? The whole schtick about needing to have lived in Brooklyn your whole life to feel attached to it or have an opinion about it is getting really old! Clearly we’re not the only ones who feel that way. Reader feedback here.
How annoying were these two letters in the Times a few days ago? The whole schtick about needing to have lived in Brooklyn your whole life to feel attached to it or have an opinion about it is getting really old! Clearly we’re not the only ones who feel that way. Reader feedback here.
By italiana71 on June 29, 2010 11:20 AM
This is just typical Brooklyn pride. I say Fuggedaboutit!
This post is spot on. My boro is thorough!
Get in where you fit in and quite belly aching!!
thank you, Donatella. May you live to a ripe old age.
(in Brooklyn of course).
“I was born in LA but left at age 6 weeks. Raised in DC but have no ties there now – except Obama. Lived in London a long time too. Been in Brooklyn longer than any of those places so I’d think that makes me a Brooklynite since I don’t qualify anywhere else.”
Arkady, I’m afraid your request for true Broolynite status has been *DENIED*. In considering your application we would note you 1) did not cite the PS you attended by number, 2) describe corners around where you grew up where crack dealers used to hang out, or 3) name the old diner you used to go to for egg creams that’s so much better than the chi chi restaurants there now. We would also note you did not make one disparaging blanket comment about newer arrivals to your neighborhood, and your residential history strongly suggests strains of hipster. As such, we are forced to reject your application–as an alternative we suggest you contact LA or DC, as we understand their standards are less exacting.
Regrets,
Brooklyn
I was born in LA but left at age 6 weeks. Raised in DC but have no ties there now – except Obama. Lived in London a long time too. Been in Brooklyn longer than any of those places so I’d think that makes me a Brooklynite since I don’t qualify anywhere else.
“Old-Timers Complain About Newcomers’ Lack of Brooklyn Cred…”
Wow, that’s not how I read those letters at all – maybe because I’m a (sorta) true Brooklynite.
My issue with many of the new Brooklyners is that they seem to be desperate. Desperately seeking cool, desperately seeking validation. An unfortunate result of being priced out of manhattan – where they used to end up.
I didn’t think the original letters were so offensive, but to tell you the truth, the whole topic makes me want to put a plastic bag over my head. Anybody who defines themselves by their address, particularly in this global, mobile age is a priori pathetic. Total bore, Mr. B. why do you print these things?
Born on Eastern Parkway, raised in Crown Heights. PS 91, Brooklyn Tech. Been out of Brooklyn for almost 40 years. Now moving back, this time to Park Slope. Am I upset that Prospect is now actually safe safe and clean?
That the numbers joints on Fulton near Tech have been replaced by wonderfully diverse retaurants and pubs? That the crack houses on So. Elliott Pl are now beautifully restored brownstones? That a borough once known for 3 or 4 well regarded restaurants is now filled with literally hundreds of excellent establishments? Nostalgia is one thing, gaps im memory are another. So, welcome back to Brooklyn – for those like me, who never forgot where we came from, and all those who have yet to discover the “Brooklyn” in themselves.
I used to work across the street from the Arch Diner, one of the places mentioned in the letters. It was like being on fast forward, the NY acculturation process.
Yep, very annoying. So tired. I was surprised the Times printed them.