The Gentrification of Hip Hop

The image on the left is of a very common street art design/label found all over Williamsburg as well as Brooklyn’s other “creative spaces” like DUMBO and Park Slope. I see this specific form of street art all over social media, especially from people posting about their trip to “hipster” Brooklyn. These stencilled letters have a meaning much deeper than “Protect Yo Heart;” they reflect the manipulation and colonization of hip hop, specifically graffiti, and its use as a weapon for gentrification .

The rise of hip hop culture, which includes rapping, DJing, b-boying, and graffiti, provided African-American youth with an artistic avenue to express their frustrations. It created solidarity within an underserved and oppressed group and communicated their unheard voices. However, the culture that started as an innovative street art and form of resistance in the South Bronx has transformed into an instrument for corporate gain and now permeates as a one-dimensional yet moderately artistic genre of music. In his essay, “When the People Cheer: How Hip-Hop Failed Black America,” Questlove suggests that “Once hip-hop culture is ubiquitous, it is also invisible. Once it’s everywhere, it is nowhere (2014).” The culture of a marginalized and neglected community rose to prominence, but as it gained recognition it’s original purpose quickly faded and became exploited for material gain.

In the chapter “How Brooklyn Became Cool,” Zukin suggested that Black Brooklyn neighborhoods never benefitted from the rise in the cultural production and appropriation of hip hop. “Protect Yo Heart” and other forms of street art are typical and ubiquitous in gentrified communities such as Williamsburg and Bushwick. It represents the whitening of Brooklyn and the simultaneous loss of hip hop’s influence as an art form and as a medium for resistance.

Strategic Marketing of The Hamilton at Brooklyn

Some time in 2015, an abandoned factory located in between Sunset Park and Borough Hall was demolished. The construction went on for about year, and the site is now known as The Hamilton, a five-story luxury apartment building. The Hamilton’s official website showcases the various units available, the apartment amenities, and the perks of living in such a location. Given that I live a few blocks away from The Hamilton, I had to reevaluate my surroundings because it is the first luxury apartment building in my area, and seems like it does not fit in with surrounding businesses. Since some of the readings from this week touch upon the gentrification that occurs due to the development of old factories, I wanted to share my thoughts on the impact The Hamilton could have on my neighborhood.

Continue reading “Strategic Marketing of The Hamilton at Brooklyn”

What happens when a neighborhood reaches peak gentrification?

http://ny.curbed.com/2016/8/1/12342638/bedford-avenue-williamsburg-brooklyn-gentrification

Williamsburg has become the icon of what gentrifications means in Brooklyn, and for cities in general. However, the arrival of Whole Foods and Apple on Bedford Av have sounded a death knell for small businesses on the main drag. And now, as the MTA prepares for the L train shutdown, small businesses are even more imperiled. The reckoning that Williamsburg is facing in the coming year poses several questions: is it possible for a neighborhood to reach peak gentrification? Will the real estate bubble in the area collapse? What happens in the aftermath of gentrification?

There is little literature on post-gentrification, so finding out what happens after Williamsburg’s looming potential demise is a study in progress.

Gentrification in an Unhip Place

https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/letter-from-flushing-on-gentrification-in-an-unhip-place

Flushing is one of the neighborhoods that I consider myself to be involved in. Over the years, I saw it evolve from a place where only Asian people go to buy groceries, to a place where people would go to experience authentic Asian cuisine. Two of the most prominent changes that comes to mind in the last 10 years is the construction of Skyview shopping center and Citi Field. Skyview draws many brand names such as Uniqlo, Nikes, and Adidas, as well as countless other Asian cosmetic stores. Citi Field draws in many tourists who are baseball fans, and it is also used as a concert venue (notably Beyonce’s Formation Tour). A lot more food market has opened, providing inexpensive and delicious authentic food for all who goes there.

The negative effects of the successful commercial developments in Flushing are also alarming. This summer as part of my campaigning internship, I visited many apartments in Flushing. Although I never thought of the area as a particularly nice residential area, I was surprised to find out that the rent was much higher than what I would expect. Overcrowding is also a serious issue. Flushing High School is consistently ranked the worst high school in Queens because of overcrowding, and has experienced several principal changes over the years. The 7 train, which has its terminal stop in Flushing, is at its 99% capacity and cannot be improved with its current structure.

At the rapid pace that Flushing is developing, I would argue that it would soon become a more “hip” place.

$9 “Unicorn Latte” from a Williamsburg Cafe

The Unicorn Latte from The End

The End, a cafe that opened up recently in Williamsburg, is the perfect example of a business meant for the “creative class” and hipsters. The article describes the Unicorn Latte, one of the drinks the cafe offers, priced at $9 for a 12oz. cup. The explanation behind the high price is because it is claimed to contain healing ingredients, such as E3 Live, a blue green algae (and probably because it has a unique look and name).

In Sharon Zukin’s “Why Harlem Is Not a Ghetto”, she says that Harlem has been penetrated by many hipster cafes, boutiques, and the like, which attract those from the creative class and those with higher income. Similar to Harlem, Williamsburg has also been dotted with cool new cafes, which is one of the reasons for its gentrification. On another note, I found it entertaining how the author captioned a picture of a different latte, “Some other bullshit” and a picture of the cafe’s menu, “RIP Williamsburg. Again”. Someone doesn’t like gentrification!

Carlson, Jen. “This Williamsburg Cafe Is Selling $9 Unicorn Lattes”. Gothamist. N.p., 2017. Web.

Article can be found here.

Was the Creation of Central Park a Form of Gentrification?

I was just scrolling on Facebook when I noticed a good friend of mine posted a video about how an entire village was destroyed in the making of Central Park. I remember talking in class about the idea that sometimes we live in an area long enough that we don’t really know how it used to be before we lived there, or before people occupied the space in general. Since Central Park has been around my whole life and most of the history I learned in school included the park’s existence, I never really thought about what was there before the park. Even when I was learning about how the park was built, I never was exposed to the information presented in this video, and I presume it was because this is a part of history textbook writers and education leaders do not want us to know (but that’s another story for another post).

The video and article titled, “An Entire Manhattan Village Owned by Black People Was Destroyed to Build Central Park” posted on Timeline by Heather Gilligan are about Seneca Village, which was a village that spanned from 82nd to 89th street along what is the present western edge of the park. It is sad to me that we are too familiar with the housing regulations and racism in the housing market that was present in the 1800s because we still see it in today’s market (a lot more subtly, but it’s there). In the mid-1800s, white landowners did not sell property to black people, no matter their social standing. Therefore, black people who could afford to travel and settle down went to places like Seneca Village- refuge spaces for black people to live. Gilligan mentions that Seneca Village was a stop on the Underground Railroad, which gives Seneca Village an even more important purpose that stems even further back than the 1800s. If you were able to purchase land in Seneca Village, this meant that you had the power to vote (men only, of course, but for black people this was a very important step towards climbing up the social ladder). Abolitionist Albro Lyons and Mary Joseph Lyons were residents of Seneca Village (Gilligan, NY Public Library). Black people living in the village built schools for their children. Seneca Village was home for lots of black people living in New York at the time, and it was all destroyed in 1857 to make way for Central Park, a “public place” mainly for white elitists to show off and enjoy their leisure time (This sounds a lot like the Hudson Yards project that we discussed in class!).

Finding this information really made me think about all of the neighborhoods that were destroyed under Moses’ construction projects, as well as all the communities that we still don’t know about that were destroyed in the gentrification process. A memorial sign was put up in 2001 where Seneca Village used to be in Central Park, and you can still go there to read about this village today.

Gilligan, Heather. “An Entire Manhattan Village Owned by Black People Was Destroyed to Build Central Park.” Timeline. Timeline, 23 Feb. 2017. Web. 22 Mar. 2017.