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As for gentrification. Bushwick is one of the neighborhoods that could change and maybe be a "decent" place to live in 20 years due to it's location near the city core. Unfortunately (well fortuate for the current longtime residents) that "fire" might die out very soon. This wave of gentrification. The city is now very expensive and the vast majority of people with money do not want to live in areas with problems like Bushwick.
I'm seeing people with very good jobs, and with loads of money buy in Bushwick. As a matter-of-fact, I gave a tour of Bushwick yesterday to an investment banker, a partner in the Marriott Hotel Int'l chain, and a major real estate developer. They are all very excited about the neighborhood and its potential for the future. People with money are a) beginning to be willing to sink cash into buildings in the neighborhood b) investors with big $$ are, as we speak, buying many buildings in the neighborhood to convert to higher cost rentals and/or condominium units, and c) People making $100k and up are asking about living in Bushwick when they walk into my office.
I call a "spade" a "spade" when I see it, but no one should ignore the fact that marginal to historically considered "bad" neighborhoods are definitely some of the best investments people can make. The 'hood is still rough in parts, but is rapidly changing for the better.
Soho was considered a "bad neighborhood" in the '60s--as were many more in and around the city. It all goes in cycles.
TamCat16, I think it is great that you are brave coming from another state and moving into a neighborhood with a bad rep. I think the majority of these posts are accurate...Bushwick is on the up and up. I think that even if it wasn't, you would still be okay. Most people that don't know any better equate black and latino with crime. The truth is you can find some really great people in these neighborhoods. I do have some advice for you; make friends with your neighbors...the worst thing a scared white girl can do in a new and uncertain neighborhood is not have the back of her neighborhood. I'm not sure how your neighborhood is but I live on the Brooklyn Queens border and Bushwick doesn't look as clean, as the Queens side does...but I walk at night all the time, and I feel pretty safe. i also take the lirr to the east new york stop quite a bit. It is a bit shady, I would be carefull alone there at night. You have to be careful anywhere you go, and always be aware of your surroundings. Just common sense things that if you are not street wise you may not be inclined to know. I am friendly with a lot of people on my block, because you never know who might stick up for you when you need them! The only bad experience I have had in my history of living in Ridgewood/Bushwick (14 yrs) happened in another neighborhood The West Village to be exact with its posh rep...some white guy tried to steal my purse in broad daylight. He did not succed, fortunately. I know a lot of people here and no one I know has had any bad experiences either. Oh I have one that ended up being quite funny: My friend a big boned mixed woman and was confronted by a drug dealer telling her to hand over her purse. She looked at him and laughed (which i would not reccomend in every instance) and she reprimanded him for his behavior. I guess he felt bad and apologized to her...long story short in the end he said "well can i at least get a kiss then". One bad story turned good...
Thanks for the advice gdowler, greatly appreciated! I have been herre 2 months now, and so far everything is ok. Yeah, the streets are dirty, yeah the bum asking for money by the subway stop, but all in all, its an experience. Just being here for such a short time, I feel like this area could be so great if they put in some good businesses, instead of 10 dollar stores all next to each other. At least put a rite-aid or something! I love some of the apartments here, so much potential! I havent really explored Bushwick that much, except for my little neighborhood, and its a decent area. A lot of working families. The one thing that I have to say is Im a little disapointed about New York as a whole. I came from a state that was racially divided. Whites in one area, blacks in another. So I was very excited to come to New York to experience all kinds of different people. But i've noticed, in my opinion, everything is so divided here. For example, here in Bushwick, mostly black and hispanic. Yeah, the occasonal white person(including myself). Where are the asians, europeans, etc...? Or, park slope....mostly white people....where are the blacks, hispanics? Even Manhattan. Yeah I know there are a ton of different people there, but do they actually all live there? Or do they just work there? I just feel that Nyc is more split up into class and race then where I came from. I hope Im wrong, and time will tell. PLease tell me if anyone else feels this way. I want to live by everybody, poor, rich, I want to learn from everybody! Yeah I know Im ranting!
Thanks for the advice gdowler, greatly appreciated! I have been herre 2 months now, and so far everything is ok. Yeah, the streets are dirty, yeah the bum asking for money by the subway stop, but all in all, its an experience. Just being here for such a short time, I feel like this area could be so great if they put in some good businesses, instead of 10 dollar stores all next to each other. At least put a rite-aid or something! I love some of the apartments here, so much potential! I havent really explored Bushwick that much, except for my little neighborhood, and its a decent area. A lot of working families. The one thing that I have to say is Im a little disapointed about New York as a whole. I came from a state that was racially divided. Whites in one area, blacks in another. So I was very excited to come to New York to experience all kinds of different people. But i've noticed, in my opinion, everything is so divided here. For example, here in Bushwick, mostly black and hispanic. Yeah, the occasonal white person(including myself). Where are the asians, europeans, etc...? Or, park slope....mostly white people....where are the blacks, hispanics? Even Manhattan. Yeah I know there are a ton of different people there, but do they actually all live there? Or do they just work there? I just feel that Nyc is more split up into class and race then where I came from. I hope Im wrong, and time will tell. PLease tell me if anyone else feels this way. I want to live by everybody, poor, rich, I want to learn from everybody! Yeah I know Im ranting!
news flash, NYC is one of the most segregated states. Dont be fooled by that melting pot mumbo jumbo people spew.
Thats too bad. Its such a class difference everywhere. Where I live, theres no nice shopping, food places......ahh why is it like that. Just because I cant afford a $5,000 apt, dosent mean I dont deserve a decent grocery store.
Tamkat16...amen to the too many 99cent/$ stores. It's so annoying. You should check out ridgewood...it is a really nice mixed neighborhood and right on the m/L lines. L- Myrtle/wyckoff, M-Myrtle Wyckoff, Seneca, Freshpond Rd (about 25-30 min. commute to city). You will find every kind of race here....and actually some pretty nice restaurants although again Nothing like park slope. But, there are a good number of parks here, and there is a nice new cafe on Myrtle avenue in Glendale/ Ridgewood called Dora's that is owned by polish i think. We definetely need a bookstore though. In general probably the same price for apts as in bushwick..maybe a little pricier. I was pretty fortunate to grow up here, leave for 8 years and come back to the same building (my grandmother has had for years and years). The people have all stayed the same. They all remember me from when i was a kid. It is a little weird, but nice. It is very weird to find a block in New York where people don't come and go with the seasons....a lot of these people have been here for 20 years and up.
Thanks for the advice gdowler, greatly appreciated! I have been herre 2 months now, and so far everything is ok. Yeah, the streets are dirty, yeah the bum asking for money by the subway stop, but all in all, its an experience. Just being here for such a short time, I feel like this area could be so great if they put in some good businesses, instead of 10 dollar stores all next to each other. At least put a rite-aid or something! I love some of the apartments here, so much potential! I havent really explored Bushwick that much, except for my little neighborhood, and its a decent area. A lot of working families. The one thing that I have to say is Im a little disapointed about New York as a whole. I came from a state that was racially divided. Whites in one area, blacks in another. So I was very excited to come to New York to experience all kinds of different people. But i've noticed, in my opinion, everything is so divided here. For example, here in Bushwick, mostly black and hispanic. Yeah, the occasonal white person(including myself). Where are the asians, europeans, etc...? Or, park slope....mostly white people....where are the blacks, hispanics? Even Manhattan. Yeah I know there are a ton of different people there, but do they actually all live there? Or do they just work there? I just feel that Nyc is more split up into class and race then where I came from. I hope Im wrong, and time will tell. PLease tell me if anyone else feels this way. I want to live by everybody, poor, rich, I want to learn from everybody! Yeah I know Im ranting!
Out of the mouths of babes...
You hit the nail on the head, but if the area does continue to develop, many of those dollar stores will go by the wayside. If gentrification continues, you will likely find many many more white faces and fewer people of color all too soon...and many more Manhattan style amenities, with prices to match.
That is my exact rant, which I've posted many times here. Things either seem to swing totally one way or the other in many parts of NYC. If "too many" folks of color move in, whites begin to move out. But to be "fair," the highest white flight era was when the city was effectively bankrupt and so people in all five boroughs began to move out. City services got cut and areas became abandoned saved for the poorest. But many don't see this, and blame all the people of color/poor, saying they caused the downfall of their old neighborhoods. It's a little more "black and white" (heh) than that since people in housing projects can be surrounded by drugs and crime with little easy way to escape. And I don't condone crime just because you're poor, but it's a helluva struggle in some areas.
But I would say that with most newly gentrified areas, money talks. As soon as whites start to arrive, odds are that the die is already cast. Old businesses close when their rents are doubled, and the businesses that cater to the wealthier class open up to accommodate those who wish to live in the style to which they have become accustomed elsewhere. The wealthier the area becomes, the more the new residents feel entitled to make it over in their own image. And so the cycle continues.
Yeah, a friend of mine told me about Ridewood. Seems nice, just the thought of moving again dosent seem like fun. The only problem of moving is I have 2 cats and a large dog. So finding an apartment thats animal friendly is a job itself. I just want to find a place thats affordable and safe. Safe meaning I can walk my dog around the block and feel not threatned. Thanks again !
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