Bedford Stuyvesant rentals may seem like a total contradiction in terms given the notorious history of this part of Brooklyn. There was a time when to rent in "Bed-Stuy" meant entering an uncharted and unknown ghetto with high crime rate and huge poverty level. The entire population was black and few others were comfortable there. Two waves of gentrification have occurred since the turn of the century. One was in 2000 and one was in 2010. Both waves have brought in hipsters, artists, architects, planners, club owners, restauranteurs, higher rents and greater police patrolling of the neighborhood. The fabric of the space is dramatically changing.
Black populations spilling over from Harlem were the first residents of Bed-Stuy when it incorporated into an official neighborhood in 1930. Several public school serving the community including a high school of business and technology named after Paul Robeson spot the area. Located in the northwest part of Brooklyn, Bed-Stuy is noted for its lovely brownstone townhouses. These buildings make great fixer-uppers for wannabe designers or clever architects. Social ills have always plagued efforts to improve this place.
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.
many notable African-Americans have been born, grown up and lived in Bed-Stuy. Among them are the politician Shirley Chisholm, singer Lena Horne, musician Richie havens, and actress Vanessa Williams. Rap music has been highly popular and numerous well known rappers have emerged from Bed-Stuy streets. The most noteworthy white person to have grown up there was comedian Jackie Gleason.
What makes this area attractive to the gentrifying class now is the lower prices for property, the transport, schools and overall affordability. It's location near to but outside of Manhattan and history of crime tend to keep it less expensive than other parts of New York. But, for gentrifying elements, it also seems a "frontier." People so want to live in New York that they will move to Brooklyn to start up, fix up, and put up.
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.
the history of immigration in Bed-Stuy is one of African and Caribbean influx. Many new families there are also black, but upwardly mobile and middle income. Landmarks such as Pratt make for a positive and educated community, one which will also invest in lowering crime and developing.
while some changes, especially in crime rates, are desirable in most lower-income neighborhoods, Bedford Stuyvesant rentals and their prices may indicate that this once historically poor and black neighborhood is rapidly changing and becoming a place where many African-Americans are no longer at home. It is not sustainable thinking to displace older residents and people with disabilities.
Black populations spilling over from Harlem were the first residents of Bed-Stuy when it incorporated into an official neighborhood in 1930. Several public school serving the community including a high school of business and technology named after Paul Robeson spot the area. Located in the northwest part of Brooklyn, Bed-Stuy is noted for its lovely brownstone townhouses. These buildings make great fixer-uppers for wannabe designers or clever architects. Social ills have always plagued efforts to improve this place.
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.
many notable African-Americans have been born, grown up and lived in Bed-Stuy. Among them are the politician Shirley Chisholm, singer Lena Horne, musician Richie havens, and actress Vanessa Williams. Rap music has been highly popular and numerous well known rappers have emerged from Bed-Stuy streets. The most noteworthy white person to have grown up there was comedian Jackie Gleason.
What makes this area attractive to the gentrifying class now is the lower prices for property, the transport, schools and overall affordability. It's location near to but outside of Manhattan and history of crime tend to keep it less expensive than other parts of New York. But, for gentrifying elements, it also seems a "frontier." People so want to live in New York that they will move to Brooklyn to start up, fix up, and put up.
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.
the history of immigration in Bed-Stuy is one of African and Caribbean influx. Many new families there are also black, but upwardly mobile and middle income. Landmarks such as Pratt make for a positive and educated community, one which will also invest in lowering crime and developing.
while some changes, especially in crime rates, are desirable in most lower-income neighborhoods, Bedford Stuyvesant rentals and their prices may indicate that this once historically poor and black neighborhood is rapidly changing and becoming a place where many African-Americans are no longer at home. It is not sustainable thinking to displace older residents and people with disabilities.
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