Comments on: Suleiman Osman’s The Invention of Brownstone Brooklyn: Gentrification and the Search for Authenticity in Postwar New York

By: Amy Stuart

Amy Stuart — Mon, 09 May 2011 20:58:37 +0000

I have lived in Bed-Stuy for five years and it is a wonderful community where people know their neighbors, greet each other in the street and the coffee shops, and work together to support the neighborhood. (I’m told we have the best-attended community board meetings in the city!) While the crime rate is higher than in many other areas (as is the poverty rate), it is not the defining characteristic of the neighborhood by a long shot; it’s defined by its beautiful architecture and gardens, its African American history and culture, and its strong sense of community. There has always been socioeconomic diversity, even during the most difficult times. Of course, Bed-Stuy is huge and should really be seen as several neighborhoods, each with a distinct character. But if it should ever turn into “the new Williamsburg,” it would be a tremendous loss for the community and for Brooklyn as a whole.

By: malgo

malgo — Fri, 06 May 2011 19:02:50 +0000

When they shot a man on the other side of the walk, I was just instructed to hide behind a parked car next time, as the bullet might have hit me by accident… I guess this part of the BedStuy hasn’t changed.
Thanks for the information on the books!

By: vince carducci

vince carducci — Fri, 06 May 2011 02:11:20 +0000

You might try Sharon Zukin's recent book: "Naked City: The Death and Life of Authentic Urban Places." There's a section in it on Williamsburg, also one on Union Square. I reviewed it for PopMatters when it first came out last year. Click here to read the review. I had a friend who lived in BedStuy years back. One time a drug courier was shot and killed on the stoop of her building. When she said something about it to one of her neighbors, he replied, "Be glad, it's what keeps the rent down." Zukin's books "Loft Living," which looks at SoHo, and "Culture of the Cities," which has a lot about Brooklyn, are also worth checking out.

By: malgo

malgo — Fri, 06 May 2011 00:34:02 +0000

I’m really looking forward to reading the book – but even more, I’m waiting for it’s “sequel” to describe the complexity of gentrification process in Brooklyn nowadays.
I happened to live in Williamsburg, and as many students I finally couldn’t afford to live there, so moved out to BedStuy. For more than a year already, I’ve been watching the process of transformation of this neighborhood happening literally NOW – and listening to old inhabitants complaining about “the New that’s coming”, and some new inhabitants complaining about “the Old has not yet left”…
The New happens to be young up-and-coming not-really hipsters; the Old – ghetto, drugs and shootings on the streets. But at the same time, the New brings in faster, more aggressive and less sympathetic culture of atomized strangers, and the Old cultivates neighbors’ community habits and self-support. BedStuy is a peculiar stage of “clash of lifestyles” (“clash of civilizations?”).
The optimists predict BedStuy to become new Williamsburg within the next 5-7 years. That’s definitely a sufficient amount of time to run a thoughtful survey on this area. And to investigate at what cost this process will complete.