Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
But why is it on this forum that people advertising positive change in higher-crime neighborhoods get flamed for that? When someone says "I like Bushwick, it's slowly changing for the good" the response is "you're an idiot, hipsters are gonna get their asses beaten" with a strange sense that that is actually ok. Why aren't people applauding the ones moving into these neighborhoods and hoping that more will do so, bringing more businesses and more diversity?
Your gonna say "they drive the rent up" but that's ridiculous. Might be that in some heavily hipsterized parts of Bushwick there are some over-prized condos but that's not why people move to Bushwick. People move there precisely BECAUSE the rent is not as high as Williamsburg or Manhattan. Let's not get things backwards here.
And for the record, I am not living in Bushwick and am not planning on moving there. I am just sick of the negative attitude on this forum when it comes to nighborhoods who might transition.
Grigou I sorta agree with you..there is alot of negativity about communities which are improving. I think it is a product of who these posters are and their experiences. For example, if you are a poor/destitute person of color living in the housing projects, or your life revolves around it and the people, then for you, life really hasn't changed at all, and seems as bad now as ever. And to them, just because there are some new faces and stores, doesn't change all the poverty and violence that surrounds them, their family, and friends.
It is all about perspective, and I believe alot of the naysayers are so accustomed to a certain view, or rather the problems that still persist in these communities, that nothing else really matters. All the luxury condos in the world does not change the fact that drug dealing, violence, and extreme poverty are still the norm in too many housing projects.
I think change is occurring faster than most people think, but you can't really tell because it is being driven by the same colored folks. To everyone else who enters these communities, all you see are "the same" brown and black folks, when the reality is there are increasingly growing numbers of middle class brown and black folks moving in and driving alot of these changes. But the average person can't tell. There is alot of hype about the hipsters and whites, but at least in my area (the Southern Bronx), it is really middle class people of color who are making the impact and moving in to areas like the Yankee Stadium area, Melrose, Mott Haven, etc.
Agree with most of what you said there... I think it's also though how exaggerated the hype is when the reality is nowhere near the hype... and for those living there and do not have an agenda it just tends to become a little ridiculous and I think that's the reason for the responses you see...
Those who are supported the changes can trivialize what others say but the reality is that there is nothing trivial or minimal about what is said about hipsters and gentrification...
But why is it on this forum that people advertising positive change in higher-crime neighborhoods get flamed for that? When someone says "I like Bushwick, it's slowly changing for the good" the response is "you're an idiot, hipsters are gonna get their asses beaten" with a strange sense that that is actually ok. Why aren't people applauding the ones moving into these neighborhoods and hoping that more will do so, bringing more businesses and more diversity?
Your gonna say "they drive the rent up" but that's ridiculous. Might be that in some heavily hipsterized parts of Bushwick there are some over-prized condos but that's not why people move to Bushwick. People move there precisely BECAUSE the rent is not as high as Williamsburg or Manhattan. Let's not get things backwards here.
And for the record, I am not living in Bushwick and am not planning on moving there. I am just sick of the negative attitude on this forum when it comes to nighborhoods who might transition.
Prime example:
SobroGuy lives in the South Bronx and we don't poke fun at his neighborhood. Because he's a realist. His neighborhood has gotten better, but he knows its still bad and still has some work to do. He doesn't try to mask it for what it is. Don't stand there and tell me Bushwick is the new "anything."
__________________
"The man who sleeps on the floor, can never fall out of bed." -Martin Lawrence
I never said that. All I'm annoyed about is that as soon as someone says the slightest positive thing about Bushwick or Bed-Stuy (neighborhoods who are in shy transition if you want it or not) that person is shot down immediately. We should be thankful that these neighborhoods are attracting people who want to turn it around. Not ridicule them and try to chase them away.
I never said that. All I'm annoyed about is that as soon as someone says the slightest positive thing about Bushwick or Bed-Stuy (neighborhoods who are in shy transition if you want it or not) that person is shot down immediately. We should be thankful that these neighborhoods are attracting people who want to turn it around. Not ridicule them and try to chase them away.
That's all I'm saying.
There's more to it than just that....re-read the thread and you will see that its more to it than just "bashing" a neighborhood.
__________________
"The man who sleeps on the floor, can never fall out of bed." -Martin Lawrence
And Williamsburg has been experiencing a surge in crime this year so it is no longer considered that great an area...
Oh, god, here he goes... Anon, you have such and incredible hard on to take down hipster areas that you actually say things like this. Yeah, you're absolutely right dude: Williamsburg is no longer considered that great an area... Utterly laughable. I've tried to resist the urge to engage any further in your nonsense, but this one is beyond the pale. Your jealousy is completely transparent.
But why is it on this forum that people advertising positive change in higher-crime neighborhoods get flamed for that? When someone says "I like Bushwick, it's slowly changing for the good" the response is "you're an idiot, hipsters are gonna get their asses beaten" with a strange sense that that is actually ok. Why aren't people applauding the ones moving into these neighborhoods and hoping that more will do so, bringing more businesses and more diversity?
grigou, the reason is: these commentors are jealous and threatened. They want to live in a world where hipsters from out of town whose parents pay the rent get taught a lesson. They need their hard scrabbled lives to be justified by taking down others who are more fortunate / hip / annoying. They claim that evil realtors are engaged in a propoganda war emperiling innocent young white people. They disguise their glee at the prospect of hipsters having some violence befall them, by pretending it is some kind of warning. They hope to scare away gentrification, not becuase they are concerned with displacement, but becuase gentrification of a formerly rough neighborhood will take away something they value: their place in the pecking order. It is pitiful and transparent. It is also futile, because changes for the better are happening in these neighborhoods despite their feeble protests. You'll notice these people dismiss any evidence that the neighborhoods are improving and that people are happy there. They must in order to justify themselves. Facts be damned. Just remember, these people are spitting in the wind, and there is no real threat they are influencing progress.
look at the statistics... and open your eyes and observe williamsburg past bedford ave. East Williamsburg is still shady and Southside is still hot... @ tkak69 you have no idea what you're talking about and it seems as if you just come on here to disreguard facts and post your subjective opinions which hold no weight...
Do you even live by Williamsburg... I live on the borderline of Bushwick, Ridgewood and Southside and I know how the area is... Don't get me wrong, I've seen the changes but I've also seen the rise in burglaries and muggings in the area over the past couple of years as well... These tough economic times hit the hood the hardest and maybe it's not folk from the areas, maybe it is, but Williamsburg has been hit hard this year with a sharp increase in crime...
@ tkak69 you have no idea what you're talking about and it seems as if you just come on here to disreguard facts and post your subjective opinions which hold no weight...
Do you even live by Williamsburg...
I live in Bushwick. I agree that you are an expert in subjective opinions.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
