I mean sure, no one is happy about dirt bikes revving at 2am. But that happens so infrequently, why even bring it up? Gentrification sounds like the rich person across the street from me that just moved in yelling at the group of black people laughing and having fun on the street at midnight. It’s Brooklyn, get over it.
Complaining about gentrification is like complaining about the day being hot and the night being cold. There are reasons for things. Look at those, then adapt.
This is something some people don't understand. Gentrification and things like it aren't only a racial issue. Sometimes you move into an area simply because the unemployed drunks and drug addicts can't afford to move there with you. I know I felt relief moving out of an all white trailer park into a suburban neighborhood. Nothing is worse that neighbors who have nothing to do all day but make noise.
People move in to areas that are famous for their grubby nightlife and “liveliness” only to then whine and protest about the nightlife and associated noise. Not moving there in the first place never crosses their minds.
It’s a wonderful hodgepodge of bars, restaurants, clubs, queer life, sex clubs, prostitution and general seediness. May it remain so.
lmao just marvelling at how blissfully rich and ignorant you have to be to not understand why some people might be mad at you for talking about gentrification as a good thing.
The most annoying thing in my rapidly gentrifying neighborhood is getting yelled at for biking on the sidewalk. If there is no bike lane, and there are not commercial properties on the street, it is legal to bike on the sidewalk. Gentrifiers think they are still in NYC and yell that it's illegal to be on the sidewalk as if I'm cruising around Manhattan. They are so smug, entitled, and wrong.
I've noticed the same people that are crying about the gentrification are the same people crying about the new buildings killing the culture of the city. It seems like they just want to kick all the new people out and just keep the status quo.
As a probably gentrifier in NYC, I can relate to both sides of this issue. I have friends who grew up in Brooklyn who are so incensed by gentrification that they throw garbage all over the street, in order to deter "more fucking billionaires from moving into their high rises". Feelings aren't always rational, nor are our reactions to them. I applaud outreach groups who are trying to find common ground here. As Mario says, “It’s the cheapest transportation option we have.” And everyone should be onboard with that, especially because it also helps solve congestion that makes quality of life worse for all residents (travel time, air quality, noise...)
It's easy to say 'too bad, you're a gentrifier complaining about further gentrification', and I agree with that to some extent.
On the other hand, I think what the sentiment of this article is getting at is the frustration that comes with watching culture and community being washed away at a large scale. Sure, enclaves of artists/musicians/hackers may set up shop in various neighborhoods throughout a city, but early on it's never enough to really remove the feeling of culture and community of where one is on a whole. But then at a certain point you hit some sort of inflection point where the flood gates open and the entire city feels foreign. This happened to Manhattan a while ago. Sure it's still uniquely New York, and it's still an amazing place that I love, but it's a borough for the wealthy now.
I encountered this feeling of resentment towards post-flood-gate gentrifiers recently on a subway ride on the Q train back into Brooklyn. If you've ever spent any significant time on the Q train you've probably experienced the emergency doors on one side of the train open, followed by a group of young guys entering the car exclaiming "It's show time!", followed by all sorts of acrobatic break dancing. It might not be all that amazing the 20th time, but it is what it is. A couple weeks ago this familiar act began happening and, at the risk of sounding prejudiced, a new-wave gentrifying girl yelled "Oh, no! Stop! I hate this!" while giving a stank face to everyone. My initial reaction: this is NYC, specifically Brooklyn, and it's for moments like this that we live here, so what are you doing here?
I had realized that Brooklyn had changed significantly, but for some reason this made me realize it's nearing the point of no return. You see people charging $2700 for 1 bedrooms in Bushwick and Bentleys cruising on Flatbush and realize the charm of the entire place is in danger of being lost.
Why is the author so quick to assume that everyone sees gentrification as something bad? There's been vocal opposition to it, but it doesn't mean that everybody feels that way.
So you believe that local culture consist of a lot of people getting drunk and shouting?
This has nothing to do with gentrification. Most neighborhoods that suffer this problem are working or middle class. Try doing that in rich quarters and see what happens.
The problem started long ago, aprox. 30 years. You could open a "tavern" with very few permits needed (and limited hours) or you could open a "pub", that you must isolate and comply with many regulations, and you set your hours, no matter the council.
Guess what many did and got a quick buck. Authorities turned a blind eye for the sake of tourism. When hours are enforced, people just go shop strong alcohol and drink in the streets. That generated a very bad problem years ago and there is a law against that.
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