NY Times Article on Williamsburg: What Has Happened To It Over The Years? (transplants, loft)

[jjbradleynyc]

Fascinating article on Williamsburg in the NY Times this week.

There has been a store for Hermes that is planned to open (or opened very recently) on north 6th street on the northside of the neighborhood. In addition, there is also a Chanel store, and many other high end/lux focused retailers open or opening in the neighborhood.

It's a tale of an area that went from drugs, murders and a prime place to pick up prostitutes in the 80s and 90s, to a trust fund/high earning neighborhood playground filled with luxury amenities, now in 2024.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/...-timeline.html


Personally, when I moved to NYC in April of 2001, I landed in south Williamsburg. Moved into the Gretsch Building loft on the 3rd floor, with a half view of the financial district and the World Trade Center. It was a gritty yet glorious area of past industrial prime, cheaper rents, artists everywhere, and a creative and weird scene at night that attracted the trendiest of everything.

[SeventhFloor]

I haven't been to Williamsburg in years, I honestly thought it would stay the same like the Lower East Side did after its Hells Square transformation, but I was definitely wrong about that. I guess Bushwick now is Williamsburg early 2000s.

[blanketyblank]

Bloomberg and Zoning reforms due to lower crime rates.

[MKTwet]

Williamsburg proved it’s not about the location. It’s all about the koolaid.

[SeventhFloor]

Originally Posted by MKTwet

Williamsburg proved it’s not about the location. It’s all about the koolaid.

What Koolaid, same thing happened to SoHo is what happened to Williamsburg
A lot of people on here simply don't know the history of NYC and its evident by their posts
The thing that is crazy is that all this information is there on the Internet and ppl still don't use it
Lol

[BugsyPal]

Williamsburg was bound to pop.

First went all the trendies and art crowd who were driven out of Tribeca and SoHo (those that didn't buy back in day when getting was good and cheap). Then came the gays; and you know where gays go (especially white well off ones) full on gentrification is never far behind.

While they've lost some turf it is the Orthodox Jews of Williamsburg who remain one huge force against full frontal gentrification. Still it is interesting how the Satmar and hipsters have learned to coexist. https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-nyc...ounterculture/

[blanketyblank]

Originally Posted by BugsyPal

Williamsburg was bound to pop.

First went all the trendies and art crowd who were driven out of Tribeca and SoHo (those that didn't buy back in day when getting was good and cheap). Then came the gays; and you know where gays go (especially white well off ones) full on gentrification is never far behind.

While they've lost some turf it is the Orthodox Jews of Williamsburg who remain one huge force against full frontal gentrification. Still it is interesting how the Satmar and hipsters have learned to coexist. https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-nyc...ounterculture/

Learned to co-exist? Who do you think owns/owned most of the RE in Williamsburg? It's Samar big-shots.


They're the ones who pushed for aggressive zoning reform in Williamsburg during the Bloomberg administration because they foresaw the demand once the city got cleaned up under Giuliani and started to boom under Bloomberg.

[Mr.Retired]

Originally Posted by SeventhFloor

I haven't been to Williamsburg in years, I honestly thought it would stay the same like the Lower East Side did after its Hells Square transformation, but I was definitely wrong about that. I guess Bushwick now is Williamsburg early 2000s.

It was grungy back in the 70's .
Now it's just grungy with nice tall buildings.

[MKTwet]

Can't get me to live there, it's not the best location for transit. Hardly any conveniences and area is noisy as hell with the traffic. Subways are horrible L and G are 2 of the worst train lines. The only reason it got popular because it was dirt cheap to live there in the 90s due to the crack drugs epidemic there and boarded up buildings being bought for cheap. Transplants are stupid, I still laugh when they tell me L train was shutdown by Cuomo due to service. It's one of the worst train lines.

[RagerNYC]

Originally Posted by jjbradleynyc

Fascinating article on Williamsburg in the NY Times this week.

There has been a store for Hermes that is planned to open (or opened very recently) on north 6th street on the northside of the neighborhood. In addition, there is also a Chanel store, and many other high end/lux focused retailers open or opening in the neighborhood.

It's a tale of an area that went from drugs, murders and a prime place to pick up prostitutes in the 80s and 90s, to a trust fund/high earning neighborhood playground filled with luxury amenities, now in 2024.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/...-timeline.html


Personally, when I moved to NYC in April of 2001, I landed in south Williamsburg. Moved into the Gretsch Building loft on the 3rd floor, with a half view of the financial district and the World Trade Center. It was a gritty yet glorious area of past industrial prime, cheaper rents, artists everywhere, and a creative and weird scene at night that attracted the trendiest of everything.

You are apart of why Williamsburg is the way it is. You were the guinea pig.