A humorous look at a serious issue
Colloquially known as Bed–Stuy, in the north central portion of Brooklyn. The area is bounded by Flushing Avenue to the north, Classon Avenue to the west, Broadway to the east, and Atlantic Avenue to the south. 
Historic Sites/Major Attractions:
- Stuyvesant Heights Historic District
- Prison Ship Martyrs’ Monument
Known For:
- Victorian architecture in its original form
- Very diverse community, both culturally and ethnically
- Touchstone of hip-hop culture with many ties to Harlem
Before:
- Prominent community for the city’s black population since the 1920s and ’30s,
- Largest collection of Victorian architecture
- Availability of housing at a reasonable price
- Black population about 75% before year 2,000
- Idea of “Do or Die” Bed-Stuy (http://nypost.com/2016/01/07/gritty-bed-stuy-is-starting-to-show-its-softer-side/)
- Called the “Largest Ghetto in the Country”
After
- White population in area increased from 2.5% to 15 %
- Blacks decreased from 75% to 60%
- Some houses for sale beyond $2 million
- Values of houses tripled
- Hailed in the New York Times as “Brooklyn’s newest investment region”
“This is not simply a story about a nice, young white couple buying a house in Bed-Stuy.” -Brenda Fryson, resident since the 1970s
From an outside perspective, the influx of industry and interest in real estate may seem like a good thing, but to people who have lived in these neighborhoods, these dramatic shifts are hated.
A Highline Realty video with the tagline “This is Bed-Stuy” was designed to highlight all the “wonderful things” about Bed-Stuy caused massive backlash from the actual community, who did not view it as representative of their culture.
This video highlights artisan pizza, gourmet donuts, and lattes, while neglecting the culture that has existed in this area for years. It is as if Bed-Stuy was born when these restaurants came in.
In a pamphlet regarding “The Fulton Street Project,” Bed-Stuy is established as a a place where gentrification has occurred and continues to, right before discussing how it can be changed even more. There is no attention paid to the culture lost, and the people being pushed out.
http://www.joomag.com/magazine/the-fulton-street-project-fulton-street-retail-issue/0784191001401383972?short
Bed-Stuy was the second largest black community in New York during the 1930s, that is was given the name . Most African Americans who lived in Harlem moved to here for better housing opportunities, locations, and convenience of public transportation. The population continued to grow with the arrival of West Indian and Caribbean Immigrant during 1960s and 70s. On the other hand, the Jewish population began to decline, especially when property crime increased and racial tensions were high. (Diane Pham)
According to some Bed-Stuy residents the community have undergone gentrification before. The face of gentrification are white middle class families moving into a low income area. However, in the early 2000s “young black professionals” (NYTimes) began to move into the neighborhood. Currently the people moving into the neighborhood are mostly white.
Patrick Dougher-Poet from Bed-Stuy
First came the Hipsters to tame the land to pacify the natives
the original man and then the settlers and homesteaders
brought their cavalry to stop & frisk me
making it safe for the yuppies
excerpt from Days of the Gentri-fire
With new people moving in, Bed-Stuy is now becoming overcrowded, rent has increased, and taxes have also increased. The houses are now valued at a million dollar range which was dramatic increase than how much they were a few years ago.
This was a story in conjunction with the WNYC podcast “There Goes the Neighborhood.” This story centers around Tranquilina Alvillar, who has been living in the same Bedford Avenue apartment for 25 years. In 2011, developers bought her building to convert it into modern luxury rental units. The only problem was, they couldn’t get her to leave—not with a cash buyout, or by changing the lock, or by demolishing the building all around her.
Gentrification is an ongoing process that brings change to neighborhoods, and can still be viewed in Bed-Stuy today.
New York Magazine collected accounts from a block in Bed-Stuy, naming the article One Block. The interviews were from new and old residents and their reactions to the changing neighborhood. Some of the older residents are not comfortable with the change. The newer residents want to become part of the community, but they are aware that their movement negatively affects the older residents. Below are a few experts:
Now this block’s very different. Everybody stays to themselves. Before we had more unity. It was more everybody communicating with one another, helping each other out. It’s not like that no more.
As the values of the houses are increasing, the taxes are increasing. The average African-American can’t afford it. You got to remember, they bought these houses for like $25,000, $35,000. Nobody wanted these houses. Bed-Stuy was considered a slum. All of the sudden now, these houses are selling for $1.6 million.
It seemed like it was going to be a long, long process, but in the end, it only took four months. All of the sudden, the judge told them they were out. And of course we’re very sensitive to that because these are people’s homes, but when people aren’t paying, it becomes a little different. If they’d been good tenants, we could have kept them. You don’t want to displace people.
Modern Gentrification
Airbnb recently began a campaign trying to persuade the City Council that it is beneficial to the economy in black communities. According to the startup’s latest internal analysis, Airbnb is growing faster in black neighborhoods than elsewhere in the city, and in Bed-Stuy/Bushwick has shown the most growth of all.
“Airbnb is a gentrifying tool that is being used by people moving into these neighborhoods, who are displacing long-term residents and turning around and renting [on the platform]”
-Bed-Stuy based data analyst Murray Cox.
Next: What Does Gentrification Mean for Us? Overall Look and Conclusion
