> A mere walk from the comfort of their coffee shops, art galleries and natural food stores the young, "hip" residents of East Willamsburg, Brooklyn are greeted with a different environment. Under the J train, on Broadway in Brooklyn, is a world that is very different than the world these young creative types are used to. Here, the coffee is not fair
trade and the food is not organic, there are not a handful of twenty-somethings on the corner,but rather a mother and her three children, and the sunlight does not beam through large loft windows. The two worlds are colliding into one another, yet the inhabitants do not mingle. One East Williamsburg resident said, " Most of the hipsters I know only go to Broadway to get cheap cigarettes."
Broadway is on the border of Community District 3, which is composed primarily of the area
known as Bed-Stuy. The area is mostly made up of low income families(30% living in poverty vs. 19% for the city as a whole) of African-American background( 80% of population vs. 25% of city as a whole). The rate of high school dropouts(42% vs. 32%) and pregnant teens(13% vs. 8.6%) are also higher than average New York City standards. There are often illegal vendors in the area, selling pirated films or conducting games of "cup and ball" for money. The train passes by over head, disrupting any peace and quiet the neighborhood might experience.
The question that lies in the future for Bed-Stuy is whether it will see the same sort of gentrification Willamsburg and, more recently, Bushwick, have seen. Already, there are two music venues, an art space and Brooklyn's version of Beauty Bar along Broadway. The strip is ideal for up and coming artist collectives because of the inexpensive rent in the area. The difference can be seen in the eight minute walk between East Willamsburg and Bed-Stuy; the lines are still there but they are beginning to get a bit fuzzy.
Map graphic from http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/gif/neigh_info/bk03.gif
All photos by Remi Gurak
Statistical information from http://www.cb3bedstuy.org/maps.htm
Posts
A World Away, Under the J
ReplyDelete> A mere walk from the comfort of their coffee shops, art galleries and natural food stores the young, "hip" residents of East Willamsburg, Brooklyn are greeted with a different environment. SENTENCE NOT PARALLEL--SUBJECT OF DEPENDENT CLAUSE IS NOT 'YOUNG HIPSTERS" Under the J train, on Broadway in Brooklyn, is a world that is very different than the world WATCH REPETITION these young creative types are used to. Here, the coffee is not fair trade and the food is not organic, there are not a handful of twenty-somethings on the corner,but rather a mother and her three children, HMM, A LITTLE SPECIFIC COMPARED TO DEMOGRAPHIC GENERALITY OF '20-SOMETHINGS'--MAYBE SAY, 'MORE LIKELY A SINGLE MOM WITH THREE DEPENDENTS' OR SIMILAR and the sunlight does not beam through large loft windows. The two worlds are colliding into one another, yet the inhabitants do not mingle. MAYBE SAY 'RARELY' MINGLE GOOD QUOTE--SET OFF AS SEPARATE GRAPH: One East Williamsburg resident said, " Most of the hipsters I know only go to Broadway to get cheap cigarettes."
Broadway is on the border of Community District 3 AND WHAT OTHER DISTRICT?, which is composed primarily of the area NEIGHBORHOOD
known as Bed-Stuy. The area is mostly made up of low income families(30% living in poverty vs. 19% for the city as a whole) of African-American background( 80% of population vs. 25% of city as a whole). GOOD STATS THOUGH A LITTLE MUDDLED IN PRESENTATION, MAYBE BETTER TO MAKE IT TWO SENTENCES. The rateS of high school dropouts(42% vs. 32%) and pregnant teens(13% vs. 8.6%) are also higher than THE NYC average [[CUT: New York City standards]]. There are often illegal vendors in the area, selling pirated films or conducting games of "cup and ball" for money. The train JUST THE J, OR OTHERS? passes by over head, disrupting any peace and quiet the neighborhood might experience. WELL, MAYBE, BUT ALSO BRINGING A CERTAIN VITALITY AND LEVEL OF COMMERCE
The question that lies in the future for Bed-Stuy is whether it will see the same sort of gentrification Willamsburg and, more recently, Bushwick, have seen. STATS? Already, there are two music venues, an art space and Brooklyn's version of Beauty Bar ADD COMMA HERE along Broadway. The strip is ideal for up and coming artist collectives because of the inexpensive rent in the area.STATS? The difference OR THE CHANGES? can be seen in the eight minute walk between East Willamsburg and Bed-Stuy; the lines are still there but they are beginning to get a bit fuzzy.
Map graphic from http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/gif/neigh_info/bk03.gif
All photos by Remi Gurak
Statistical information from http://www.cb3bedstuy.org/maps.htm
GOOD CHOICE OF LOCATION TO COVER, AND GOOD EFFORT AT REWRITING FROM FIRST DRAFT. NEEDS TO WORK A LITTLE HARDER TO DEFINE THE PLACE AND CONNECT IT TO THE ONE COMMUNITY DISTRICT, SINCE IT'S REALLY BELONGS TO TWO. AND IT NEEDS MORE STATISTICAL EVIDENCE, OR FIRSTHAND QUOTES, TO SUPPORT ARGUMENT THAT GENTRIFICATION IS IMMINENT.
GRADE: B +