The residents praise the diversity of the area, and wish for nothing to change. As an outsider, I have noticed that unless integrated into the community, the residents are less welcoming and are even weary of passer-bys. Most of the residents are young-aged to middle-aged adults settled into their lifestyle and ready for full independence. All the residents seemed to have financial stability and are fully satisfied with the neighborhood they lived. Because of this, I decided the weariness of outsiders did not stem from hostility but curiosity. Outsiders must not be seen beyond the invisible barriers often and once One ventures beyond the Line, the residents must be reminded that just beyond them lie one of the most popular neighborhoods in the United States.
Although the residents praise diversity, it was not present in race, age nor socioeconomic status. More diversity is present in the types of business Downtown provides than there was in the residents themselves. Religion was diverse however where I witnessed people of Islamic faith gather in a hole-in-the-wall location I walked past many times before but never took time to rid. Further down, I noticed a Greek Orthodox cathedral open to the public on a Friday, where again, a small crowd gathered. Now knowing the multiple projects underway meant to ‘diversify’ Downtown in socioeconomic terms, the nostalgia hits for the new barriers that will be made around the residents. The loiterers near the Department of Labor building and outside a food pantry down Schemerhorn Street will have to find a more discrete and organized way to worry about their future. A new high rise building said to be ‘affordable’ to those moving from Manhattan will be near those buildings and will probably have low tolerance for those damaging the pristine image of real estate commerce. People should have never had to go through the rezoning of 2004, and although the residents down near Court Street have yet to fear of such a dire situation, competition is rising, and with it, the cost of the area (Bonislawski). Downtown Brooklyn will no longer be the financial refuge they had sought out, but a new nightmare and a need for relocation. Such plans take decades to get afoot, and once they are underway, they are finalized (Davis 91).
Knowing this now, I will look for the subtle signs of change. New stores are being added and more people will come to buy. Little stores with less competition will close or be bought out by the major investors and the economic value of each location will increase. The subtle signs of change also include the receding of the barrier, more children attending the park with residents’ children, smiling with them and buying at their stores. It has yet to occur, but like the other major projects, such occurrence has a deadline. My newfound knowledge allows me to understand that every neighborhood, no matter how perfect and undisturbed from the outside, always has its own demon to slay, and in this case, the demon is Change. How can Downtown Brooklyn be resilient against with change when it has always been as symbol of innovative progress? I shall hopefully see by 2020.
Bonislawski, Adam. “Downtown Brooklyn: A Residential Dead Zone No More.” Observer, 9 June 2016, observer.com/2016/06/downtown-brooklyn-a-residential-dead-zone-no-more/.
Fraser, Lisa. “City Living: Downtown Brooklyn is the New Center of Everything.” Am New York, 15 Oct. 2014, www.amny.com/real-estate/city-living/brooklyn/city-living-downtown-brooklyn-is-the-new-center-of-everything-1.9507358.
Davis, Perry. “Partners for Downtown Development: Creating a New Central Business District in Brooklyn.” Proceedings of the Academy of Political Science, vol. 36, no. 2, 1986, pp. 87–99. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1173901.
“Downtown Brooklyn Rising: Read The Full Report.” Downtown Brooklyn, downtownbrooklyn.com/news/2016/downtown-brooklyn-rising-read-the-full-report.
