Monday, November 4, 2013

Bedford Stuyvesant Rentals Are Part Of Gentrification There

By Allyson Burke


Brooklyn is not an attractive a location to live as Manhattan, but in recent years has become a haven for artists, hipsters, architects, attorneys, and other folks seeking lower rents, or properties they can own in New York. Bedford Stuyvesant rentals now appear affordable by comparison to Manhattan even though the prices are still high and climbing. Before 2000 Bed-Stuy had a reputation for being completely black, poor and full of crime. Now gentrification since 2000 has changed the character of the population and reduced some crime.

Bed-Stuy has long been, since 1930 when it joined the Brooklyn political community, a place for African-Americans, mostly lower income and many spilling over to Brooklyn from Harlem. Several public schools near by including a high school named after the entertainer and political activist Paul Robeson, are near by. Located in the northwest part of Brooklyn, Bed-Stuy is also known for lovely brownstone buildings which are fun to renovate. Social problems have long kept gentrification out.

As more and more young, upwardly mobile whites and blacks mingle in the surge towards neighborhood improvement through property ownership, rental opportunities and new business, Bed-Stuy is losing some of its older, disabled, ill and poor residents forced out by new pricing and few laws to protect them. The proximity of Bed-Stuy to the island of Manhattan makes it an especially good place to live and commute to work without paying Manhattan prices. However, older long time residents do not have that option.

Notable African-American entertainers and figures grew up there or have lived in the area. Some are Shirley Chisholm, Lena Horne, Richie Havens and Vanessa Williams. Numerous well known rappers have come from this politically charged neighborhood, and the most famous white person is probably Jackie Gleason who was born nearby in 1916.

the gentrifying class finds this neighborhood a hidden gem because of the excellent transport options, proximity to Manhattan, cheaper prices in property and rent, and architectural detail. Pratt institute is very near by as well. This is a school of note which caters to designers. Such neighborhoods are frequently considered new frontiers for those seeking opportunity and so they move in and prices go up as banks get the idea to invest.

The issue with gentrifying any neighborhood is that it tends to drive rents up, units off the market, reduce the number of rental properties available, thus making impossible, lower income people to remain there or go there. It almost always forces out long term residents which is does not sustain community, but causes displacement.

Immigrants have flocked to this area because of the African American populations and many are African and Caribbean. With the gentrification there are more middle income black families starting to live there. Pratt Institute draws, as a school of exceptional higher learning in the arts, a community of paying students, faculty and others to the area.

generally, some change in poor neighborhoods can produce effective changes in crime and poverty. New opportunities can become open to the children of older residents. But generally, gentrification waves in Bedford Stuyvesant rentals make for precarious relations between the new people and those who built an effective community for years.




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