The Changing Neighborhood For Bedford Stuyvesant Rentals

By Allyson Burke


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.

Now, Bed-Stuy is becoming home to young professionals and their needs, as well as to middle income black families. Cafes, bars, restaurants, clubs, galleries, and offices are the new skin of this neighborhood which is changing rapidly in its economic base and type of resident as a result. Long-term residents are feeling the strain on their properties and rents. They do not recognize themselves in the place and move. Sometimes they are offered cash to leave. The good transportation nearby brings in commuters and makes it a desirable place for people to live.

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.

the gentrifying class finds this neighborhood a hidden gem because of the excellent transport options, proximity to Manhattan, cheaper prices in property and rent, and architectural detail. Pratt institute is very near by as well. This is a school of note which caters to designers. Such neighborhoods are frequently considered new frontiers for those seeking opportunity and so they move in and prices go up as banks get the idea to invest.

the problem with such activity is that it dramatically alters the context, traditions, textures, and make up of the area. Older residents, many infirm or poor, with extensive histories in the community are offered cash sums to leave and others cannot stay as rents increase. The neighborhood out scales its original residents and they are no longer at home.

Bed-Stuy has a history of African and Caribbean immigration. New families moving in are upwardly mobile middle income blacks and the immigration continues. Notable landmarks such as Pratt Institute, a school of higher learning in the arts and architecture also make the potential for investment and profit much higher

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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