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Who’s Better, Who’s Best? Bed-Stuy vs. Bushwick
By The Changeling | November 19, 2007
Did you know that last week was Bed-Stuy Week over on BushwickBk? Apparently it was–they couldn’t stop talking about us over there! The latest Bed-Stuy post by Jeremy said that his Bushwick neighborhood was better than Bed-Stuy. He even goes so far as to call our neighborhood Pig-Stuy!
Beyond being the Run-Down Bodega Capital of the world, what has Bushwick had to offer us? Oh yeah, it’s the neighborhood that gave us Rosie Perez. Yeah, thanks Bushwick. Thanks a lot.
Look, Jeremy, you and the rest of Bushwick can drop the eminence front. Everyone knows that Bed-Stuy is better. Even the people in Bushwick know that Bed-Stuy is better. Let me break it down for you: if Bed-Stuy is Chaka Khan, then Bushwick is Taka Boom. (For those of you who may not know, Taka Boom is Chaka Khan’s younger and CONSIDERABLY less talented sister. If you need evidence for this, then click here to see Taka Boom in action.)
Let’s take a look at the data:
Architecture - Our buildings are better. We’ve got beautiful brownstones and tree-lined blocks. We have a house tour that has been going strong for 29 years. Do they even have a house tour in Bushwick? Even the new construction in Bed-Stuy is better than the new construction in Bushwick. Bed-Stuy’s Kodachrome Building could put the smackdown on Bushwick’s 358 Grove any day. On this measure alone Bed-Stuy wins.
Star Power - Bed-Stuy gave us Chris Rock and Mos Def, and Bushwick gave us Rosie Perez. I’ll let you do the math on that one. Bed-Stuy wins.
Human to Feline Ratio
If it weren’t for the compassion of the T-N-R King Jimmy Legs, the cats in Bushwick would outnumber the people 77 to 1. For God’s sake they bring the mobile spay unit TO BUSHWICK just to try to stem the rising cat population over there. Sure, we have a whole population of inbred, unintelligent, unsocialized pit bulls that walk around with their unintelligent, unsocialized owners, but compared to the feral cat overpopulation issue over in the Wick, our pit bull issue is nothing. At least there aren’t any stray pit bulls in Bed-Stuy. Bed-Stuy wins.
The YMCA Factor - The Bed-Stuy Y is reason enough to rate our neighborhood over Bushwick. They don’t even have a YMCA, do they? The horror! Bed-Stuy wins.
The Subway Factor - Ok, this might be where they get us. The two neighborhoods share the JMZ lines, so the battle is between our G line, which is notoriously lame, our A/C line and their L train. Bed-Stuy is underserviced when it comes to train lines, but Bushwick’s L train is no keeper. It’s crowded and the last time I took it those little train arrival signs (the ones that are supposed to tell you how many minutes you’ll have to wait) were waaaay off. Let’s call it a tie. Bed-Stuy and Bushwick both lose.
The Blaring Car Stereo Factor - The stereos on our chromed out SUVs blast the latest from Kanye West, while the stereos on their chromed out SUVs blast the latest from Aventura. This is a no brainer–Bed-Stuy wins.
The Chicken Factor
Pollo Tropical? Gone, baby, gone! Bushwick couldn’t even support a halfway decent restaurant! Pollo Tropical opened in Bushwick this year and closed unceremoniously THIS YEAR. If they’d only set up shop on this side of Broadway, they would still be in business. I’d be hard pressed to think of a chicken joint that didn’t survive in Bed-Stuy! Bed-Stuy wins!
When Blogs Attack
Bed-Stuy has a better blogging community than Bushwick. Let’s face it, the only Bushwick blogs worth reading are BushwickBK, Got the Jimmy Legs, Last Night’s Dinner and A Dash of Bitters. A whole four. Bed-Stuy has at least 8 excellent blogs that I can think of off of the top of my head: Lambent, Vast & Ruthless, Antbed.com, This is the Diaspora, El Blunt and Beautiful Nomad(o), Bed-Stuy Banana, Do or Die, Tres Chic Style Blog and of course, the Bed-Stuy Blog. There are more, but I simply don’t have the time to list/link them here. TOP THAT, Bushwick! Bed-Stuy wins!
Considering they’re on the losing end of a lot of battles, just when did Bushwick get so damn saditty?
Dearest Bed-Stuy neighbors, let’s hold hands across the internets and give thanks this holiday week that we don’t live in Bushwick. I’ve listed just a few reasons why Bed-Stuy is better than Bushwick. If you can think of more reasons, list them in the comments section before you head off for the holiday. Let’s put Bushwick back in its place!
Shares crash
Hopes are dashed
People forget
They forget they’re hiding
Behind an eminence front
It’s a put on
-The Who
Eminence Front
November 19th, 2007 at 12:44 pm
Hi Guys,
I recently move to the Stuy and I am truly feeling it!. I found your blog and its awesome. This clash of the titans piece had me cracking up… you all are hilarious. But the truth is the truth. Bushwick does not hold a candle to Bed Stuy!
Peace
November 19th, 2007 at 1:06 pm
Changeling, great job! You did your homework!
Bedstuy brownstones beat the frame homes of the wick by far. Better community of people too who take pride in their homes.
If a pitbull gets loose watch out - those things are dangerous so I’d take the stray cats versus them. I think the problem is there is so much garbage in front of wick homes and on the streets, the cats come a running over to eat!
No good community places to gather in the wick, and their online community of blogs which should be helping this, just isn’t.
I like the L and yes it’s crowded, but if weekend service is still interrupted, give me the A/C line anyday.
Way more loud music in the wick, and it’s really loud.
Real shame the only good chicken place left the wick. People should have supported it better.
A+ on this report.
November 19th, 2007 at 1:17 pm
I adopted two stray cats from Bed-Stuy (on Halsey, between Tompkins and Marcy, and on Fulton, at Tompkins), so I don’t think we’re entirely innocent in that regard, either.
However, I am afraid of dogs, and love cats, so I don’t hold it against either neighborhood.
Plus, I think the A/C trains are awesome, so I think that speaks highly in our favor. And almost makes up for the crappiness of the G train.
November 19th, 2007 at 1:59 pm
Thank you, Changeling!
November 19th, 2007 at 2:10 pm
usually when i meet people and i hear that they live in bushwick my response is “{awkward pause}… i’m sorry”. i mean, where is bushwick anyway? i thought the neighborhood took off like a thief in the night and is now known as “east williamsburg”?
ah, i kid. to be honest i’ve spent very, very little time in bushwick. once was a trip out there about 10 years ago to hang with a guy i dated briefly and i have always tried to remember where it was because it was absolutely beautiful. his family owned an old mansion and it was quite an amazing home on a wide tree-lined street. don’t ask me where it was in bushwick, though! the other times i’ve been there were to go to rubulad parties and i have rued the day that they left their old home on flushing in the clinton hill/bed-stuy area. that part of bushwick was a wasteland.
also, as an ex-L train rider may i refer to you to some of my old blogs entitled “late again, thanks L train”, “dear L train, why must i hate you so?”, “assymetric haircuts: friend or foe?”, or, perhaps my favorite, “hipsters behaving badly”. now the L train works well in theory. i was at the bedford stop so it SHOULD have only taken a few minutes for me to get to work…. that’s not taking into account the 3 trains i would have to let pass each morning before i could board one. I’d say the L and the A are pretty much tied for overall suckiness.
anyway, this was an awesome blog, changeling. neighborhood pride is good for everyone. even those unfortunate enough to have to live in bushwick. *wink*
November 19th, 2007 at 2:28 pm
We have a long list of late great residents including Jackie Robinson, Tommy Potter (jazz great) and Eubie Blake. We also have a growing commercial base anchored by http://www.shopbedstuy.com. Jay Z and Biggie Smalls claim Bed Stuy as does Mike Tyson, Riddick Bowe and Michael Jordan.
November 19th, 2007 at 2:43 pm
Good posting. I was laughing the whole time and most of it is true. I was born and raised and hope to grow old here. anyway, here’s some more to add to the Bed-Stuy celebrity list.
Lena Horne
Jackie Robinson
and Norman Mailer - went to the old Boys High school
Lawrence Fishburne also lived here at one point. I saw him nearly every Sunday in my church. (this was like 15 years ago)
I think poet June Jordan is from Bed-Stuy but I really can’t remember.
About the animal situation I don’t see as many pit bulls and stray cats as I used to and the addition of the Veternary clinic with the grooming place across the street provides a great service for pet owners.
November 19th, 2007 at 3:06 pm
Changeling,
Thanks for the shout out, hile I do not knock anyone’s community, hands down Bed-Stuy has Bushwick beat any day…
November 19th, 2007 at 3:06 pm
oops forgot the w (While)
November 19th, 2007 at 3:09 pm
hey now, i defended the Stuy on the bushwick blog! i will send my feline minions to your neighborhood to create more traffic snarls and force the city to install even MORE speed bumps on your streets!
and lest we forget the J train? hello? i can see ignoring the M train, that doesn’t make anybody look good, but come on, the J is solid (plus it deigns to transport at least a few bed stuy folks as well).
finally, a point of order: the mobile spay clinic serves ALL our broke-ass neighborhoods (it was at Tompkins Park last week!):
http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=pro_nyc_calendarspay
Grip it and Snip it, fools!
November 19th, 2007 at 4:18 pm
SHIRLEY CHILSOM THE ORIGINAL BOYS HIGH AND ORIGINAL GIRLS HIGH GREAT ARCHITECURE THE BEDSTUY 10K AND MANY,MANY MORE MAKE BEDSTUY THE ONLY CHOICE OUT OF THE TWO
November 19th, 2007 at 4:52 pm
Jeez, I’m glad you guys are friends!
November 19th, 2007 at 4:53 pm
Oh dip. You done your research. Don’t you be mentioning Rosie Perez TWICE like it’s two different points, ok? That’s just mean, cuz she’s extra talentless. You forgot about Eddie Murphy, though. And Mae West, anyone?
I just saw the other day that Pollo Tropical is gone. Those clowns. They couldn’t sell chicken and plantains on the border of Bed-Stuy and Bushwick!? Next you’ll tell me a fur hat superstore went out of business in South Williamsburg.
November 19th, 2007 at 4:57 pm
What I like about your post is its tone. The tone is fun and light. The tone from the Bushwick blog was bitter, and the blog postings (see the Red Hook post) is way negative.
I assume that some of their blog writers are trying to get some traffic by, for example, viciously attacking our poor neighbors. But I will never return there.
Use wit, not snit Jeremy.
Taka Boom was sensational and perfect analogy.
November 19th, 2007 at 5:18 pm
Changeling, I have to admit that I had been feeling out Bushwick for our next home, but how can I consider living in a nabe that can’t keep a chicken shack open? That’s just sad.
November 19th, 2007 at 6:24 pm
Eddie Murphy is from Bushwick.
November 19th, 2007 at 6:38 pm
Well…
First, my block in the Stuy has a Bushwickian number of stray cats, but I agree with everything else.
Oh, and you forgot about Hattie Carthan!
November 19th, 2007 at 7:00 pm
Changeling, that was really entertaining - nicely done! Having lived in Bushwick for about 10 years “back then” and still have friends & family there - I must admit Bed Stuy wins hands down! I currently live in Bed Stuy and would not trade it, at this point, for the ‘Wick.
November 19th, 2007 at 7:29 pm
Hey everyone, thanks for adding to the Bed-Stuy celeb list! I should’ve remembered Hattie Carthan. I didn’t know about Lena Horne, Jackie Robinson, Eubie Blake, Norman Mailer and the rest. Jeremy, if Norman Mailer was alive today, he would’ve come over there and stabbed all of you.
@ Jimmy Legs: Touche! You got me on that mobile cat neuter/spay point. I didn’t know it was over here last week! JLegs, you know everything to know about being an urban cat owner. You’re like Bushwick’s Cat Whisperer.
@ Jeremy and Comingtoamerica: Ya’ll sure ya’ll wanna use Eddie Murphy to score cool points? These days you’d get more points by saying that you were the neighborhood where CHARLIE Murphy grew up.
@ Everyone: Jeremy’s my buddy, so cut him some slack. Freud would say that the vitriol in his post is just the manifestation of his unconscious desire to be a Bed-Stuy resident. It’s just a garden variety defense mechanism known as a reaction formation. Don’t stop reading his blog, though. Whenever he posts a rant, just be sure to give him hell in the comments section!
November 19th, 2007 at 7:32 pm
WINE!!!!!!
Bed Stuy has TWO, count ‘em, TWO, BRAND NEW wine stores selling wine you can drink. Over in Bushwick you ask for wine you get maddog 20/20 if you’re lucky.
I live pretty near Bushwick and, I shit you not I, when I moved here two years ago I went into the liquor shop on I think Grove by Broadway and asked if they had any wine (bullet proof screens were too scratched up to see through) “Sure we do” said the little old asian lady, “what kind you want?” As I paused to think whether I would prefer a fine Pinot Noir or perhaps a Beaujolais with my Crown Fried Chicken she beat me to it with a “large or small?” as she brandished two vats of Arbor Mist before me. THAT, my friends, is Bushwick. Now I’m off to finish the bottle of Sancerre we had DELIVERED FOR FREE by the owner of Olivino, just one of Bed Stuy’s new fine wine emporiums.
November 19th, 2007 at 8:34 pm
Tell it like it is Lorenzo!!!!!!!! I’m Rolling!
November 19th, 2007 at 9:06 pm
I agree that parts of Bed-Stuy are nicer than parts of Bushwick, but I can’t help but feel like this piece and most comments read like they came from the fingertips of a bunch of immature children. The writer of the BushwickBK blog is no better, and although I live in Bushwick and I’m proud of it, I don’t support their views. There is no need for a pissing contest just because some jerk with a laptop on our side of broadway thinks he’s better. There is plenty to love in each neighborhood. Bushwick is just behind the curve on gentrification, but it’s coming around. I recall that Bed-Stuy was a total shithole just a few years ago, but the restoration efforts there have shown everyone how beautiful the neghborhood once was, and can continue to be. We’re hoping that Buschwick will be the same some day, although the buildings there were never of the quality of architecture that you find in Bed-Stuy, they’re still beautiful. To each his own, and respect to those of you who have restored your home and earned your bragging rights. Also, we don’t live in East Williamsburg, it’s West East New York!
November 19th, 2007 at 9:07 pm
Also, we just buy cases of wine and keep them in our cellar. D wins!
November 19th, 2007 at 10:08 pm
[Tips hat.]
Next stop Olivino.
November 19th, 2007 at 11:00 pm
hey — i love rosie perez! and now she lives in fort green, which is better than either bed-stuy OR bushwick. you all are being silly.
November 19th, 2007 at 11:59 pm
Rosie Perez lives in Fort Greene?!? What did Fort Greene do to get that lump of coal in its Christmas stocking?
November 20th, 2007 at 12:35 am
oh lord, bushwickbk SUCKS as a blog. I don’t understand how anyone can entertain some entitled, mean-spirited, self-centered, navel-gazing, racist’s rants as being anything other than drivel unworthy of a look anyway. How often does anything get posted on there anyway–twice a week? If that blog is representative of the neighborhood of Bushwick, it’s a sad statement. Actually, aside from that, I like both hoods.
November 20th, 2007 at 12:57 am
when i first saw the headline, i must admit i was a bit dismayed, as i hate when one neighborhood deems itself better than the next… but this has been the most entertaining post i have ever read on this blog…
I CANNOT STOP LAUGHING.
i love and live in bedstuy, i walk/ride my bike around bushwick on occassion and althougth most of its architecture sucks - the good is really good. anyway IMO bedstuy does win - its just you know, nice and charming inspite of it’s ills.
Changeling - excellent job - Taka Boom (there are tears streaming down my face) thank you for the laugh.
November 20th, 2007 at 7:36 am
Well, of course another vote for Bed Stuy here. As I posted in Jeremy’s comments, we can simply kick their asses any day of the week.
I live right around the corner from the A express, so I’m not caving on that issue.
As for the cats and pitbulls, let’s just say that the population of strays in the entire city is out of control and we all need to do our share to help out.
November 20th, 2007 at 8:15 am
Hill-arious! I just moved to Bushwick from Bedstuy. I love you guys.
November 20th, 2007 at 8:57 am
“D” you’re trippin. Bed-Stuy was not a shithole a few years ago. Problems-yes, less amenities-for sure, but a shithole? Hell to the No! Add to that VIP list media moguls Earl Graves and Anatole Broyard, though the later preferred to pass as white. An a-list group of residents underscores the work ethic of generations of bed-stuy families. In fact, it is these families that give the nabe its character. Hard times from disinvestment and the drug trade-no doubt. But always (and now as evidenced by this thread) a proud community of strivers!!!
November 20th, 2007 at 12:09 pm
I am so glad hoodie has reaffirmed my take on the BushwickBK blog. Please don’t defend the racism and classism there. Read the post on Red Hook. It is really, really heartless. I’d love to quote it but I will not go back.
November 20th, 2007 at 12:51 pm
i just read the post on red hook. i’m sorry, but it’s laughable. how is one to take a rant seriously when the writer admits they’ve never even been to red hook? i can read no more, it makes my eyes hurt.
November 20th, 2007 at 1:02 pm
hey D
we’re just joking you know
but Bushwick does suck, so I understand why you’d be feeling pissy
November 20th, 2007 at 3:55 pm
yup, that’s right Earl Graves was born and rasied on Jefferson and Lena Horne on Chauncey. Bet when the honeymooneers claimed the 300 block of Chauncey St. as the home of Ralph Crandall no one called it a shithole then…
November 20th, 2007 at 5:24 pm
I like both neighborhoods. But only during daylight hours.
November 20th, 2007 at 5:49 pm
The Honeymooners - one of my all time favorite shows - didn’t have much to speak of in the way of housing.
November 20th, 2007 at 7:04 pm
Jackie Gleason grew up in Bushwick!
heeeeee — this was so funny!
November 20th, 2007 at 7:31 pm
BedStuy is better, because of the people in it, and the people on this blog.
BushwickBk.com has some awful mean spirited people on it, and the other websites are run by people who are friends with the BushwickBk.com creator. The neighborhood will continue to suck, and never even have chance to improve with an online community with people like that.
November 20th, 2007 at 8:28 pm
lmao… east new york is better ‘n both of you all…
November 20th, 2007 at 9:28 pm
Jackie Gleason grew up in Bushwick, but the fictional address for the show is located in Bed Stuy…
November 20th, 2007 at 9:59 pm
Actually, Eddie Murphie grew up in Bushwick, Arthur Miller grew up there (and Williamsburg) and mentions Bushwick in Death of a Salesman.
You forgot the M line which goes smack dab through Bushwick too.
Bushwick was also home to some great Vaudeville theaters back in the day and today is home to an arts community which makes Bed-Stuy look like Canarsie.
Also, there are tons of Bushwick blogs but we just feel like we have to advertise, since we got nothin’ to prove.
November 21st, 2007 at 12:25 am
Hrag, you get points for bringing up Death of a Salesman and for mentioning the old vaudeville theaters. But an arts community? The artists are over here in Bed-Stuy. Look Hrag, just because you live down the street from two or three people who make sock monkeys for a living does not mean you live in an arts community. Besides, our Bed-Stuy Craft Group can make sock monkeys that’ll sock it to your Bushwick sock monkeys any day.
November 21st, 2007 at 9:44 am
Someone mentioned the 10K race in Bed-Stuy. Bed-Stuy is also one of the neighborhoods the NYC Marathon runs through. Can’t get a bigger race than that!!!
LMAO @ “sock puppets”
For those who think we are being childish, or spiteful, come on…this is nothing more than a friendly rivalry, I like it. It’s a fun thread and it keeps both communities on their toes so-to-speak.
November 21st, 2007 at 9:57 am
As always, the Changeling speaks the truth. I can’t disagree with one single point.
November 21st, 2007 at 10:33 am
the bed-stuy blog readers/writers should gather and raise our glasses to
a) this awesome blog that continues to inform and entertains us.
b) the many reasons we love our neighborhood.
c) to offer the universe a collective thank you that we don’t live in bushwick.
i kid!!! (only about c though)
November 21st, 2007 at 11:22 am
ah, but which neighborhood has the most HPD violations? look pretty even-up to me, alas.
i like sock puppets.
November 21st, 2007 at 11:24 am
OMG, Petra. HILARIOUS. I am totally going as Taka Boom for Halloween next year.
#39 - You said: “BushwickBk.com has some awful mean spirited people on it, and the other websites are run by people who are friends with the BushwickBk.com creator.”
I’m not quite sure what you’re getting at here. I’m friends with Jeremy AND I’m friends with Petra (and with Jimmy Legs, for that matter) in real life, not just on the internet. What does our friendship have to do with anything?
And “Awful mean spirited people?” Really? This just reinforces how very easy it is to make assumptions online about people you don’t know personally.
I’m not going to make a comment on which neighborhood is “better” - it’s totally subjective. But I’m all in favor of, as Shands termed it, a continued fun, friendly rivalry.
November 21st, 2007 at 12:31 pm
RE:The Changeling’s comment
As an art critic, I can tell you that is true. As the laboratory of innovation, Bushwick is still a drive force in the city’s cultural scene even if there isn’t a solid sense of a “Bushwick arts community” yet.
You might want to check out the December 2 “Open Spaces” event by Arts in Bushwick which could be a starting point to familiarize yourself with the scene…it is a day of curated group shows in galleries and alternative art spaces.
November 21st, 2007 at 12:38 pm
LIU is coming to Bed Stuy also in the way of an Associate Degree program, contact Dean Cabrera at (718)488-1397 for more info. Take that Bushwhack.
November 21st, 2007 at 3:23 pm
#48. Meaning since you are friends with him you don’t step in when you should during his rants, mean comments, and put downs for people, etc. on the site. When he took a break from blogging he wrote “all my enemies get a break.” It’s the people that may help improve an area, but so many have been turned off by him, with people like you on the sidelines letting it all happen. We tried to get to know him,it wasn’t much better.
November 21st, 2007 at 3:24 pm
@Jennifer Hess: LOL! Dressing as Taka Boom for Halloween! I wanna do it too. I think there will be room for 2 Taka Booms next Halloween.
@Hrag: Hmmm. You offer a very interesting proposal. An Open Spaces event in Bushwick. I think I might have to attend this event. Will anyone there be sewing sock monkeys? (Just kidding! About the sock monkeys, not about attending. I really think that it sounds like a cool event. Is there a website for it?)
@Leo: Leo, can you tell us more abou this Long Island University partnership?
November 21st, 2007 at 3:40 pm
I also feel that I need to step in in defense of Jeremy. We’re friends, so it’s hard for me to read the comments that mention him and his BushwickBk blog in a negative light. We all have a right to like or dislike any blog, but I cannot stress how wonderful a person he is. And he can make maduros.
November 21st, 2007 at 4:11 pm
#51 So let me get this straight. It’s not cool for Petra to praise blogs done by “friends of Jeremy” because we don’t step in and make him play nice on his own site? And we’re supposed to feel like we have some obligation to do just that? Please.
Sometimes I agree with what I read on BushwickBK. Sometimes I don’t. Often, I think people miss the subtle humor and sarcasm contained in certain posts. Mostly, I keep my opinions to myself.
Jeremy doesn’t need me or anyone else to defend him, nor does he need me to influence his behavior online or elsewhere. BushwickBK is his site, and as such he has every right to speak his mind and air his opinions there. If you don’t like what those opinions are, you can choose not to read them. Even better, if you don’t like how BushwickBK portrays the community, why not start your own Bushwick-centric blog? There’s plenty of room out on the internet for different voices.
November 21st, 2007 at 5:04 pm
And who can forget Dr. Frederick A. Cook (http://www.cookpolar.org), the Bushwick explorer noted for his arctic travels and his claim to be the first person to travel to the North Pole! Now that’s amazing!!!
Hey Changling (did I mention this discussion has been great?!)…here’s the site for the Bushwick arts event (http://www.artsinbushwick.org), thought the org is new and has posted not much more than a hold page at the moment.
The main Bushwick Open Studios event is in June and I blogged about it here: http://hragvartanian.com/2007/06/03/bushwickopenstudios2007/
And BushwickBK has this past event’s map here: http://bushwickbk.com/archives/46
November 22nd, 2007 at 12:36 pm
you ALL have GOT to be kidding! the architecture in bed stuy “LOOKS GOOD?” from the outside. Just don’t get shot standing outside looking at it. If you live in bed stuy and need something to eat. Bring it BEFORE you come home. There’s not a vegetable or a palatable restaurant within 3 miles of where you live. You can tell bed stuy’s a Victorian neighborhood, cause the cops had to resort to bringing out the horses everyday at 2 o’clock for crowd control cause cars and guns just weren’t enough to fend off the brush weilding villians….Yeah bed stuy looks soooo much better than bushwick (heh!) just don’t walk down lafayette or quincy or marcus garvey or Hull st or chauncey. How can bed stuy NOT look better after 5 years they finally took down the rotted scaffolding on the corner of Albany and Fulton… and let’s face it what neighborhood has more “matching projects” than bed stuy. I mean it’s so hard to distinguish between breevoort projects and tompkins projects and those things on lexington vs. gates and marcus garvey. For now, I’ll take Bushwick Ave. over all that crap but listen, if the rate of foreclosure goes up any higher I look forward to buying all those $600 and $700 thousand dollar homes next year for $399,000 -$450,000.
November 23rd, 2007 at 4:09 pm
another great blog out of bed-stuy:
urbanbotany.blogspot.com
check her out…
November 23rd, 2007 at 4:37 pm
http://www.shopbedstuy.com
November 24th, 2007 at 9:12 am
BEDSTUY GET TO KNOW YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD EXPO
THURSDAY NOV 29TH 6PM-9PM JHS 258
141 MACON STREET BTW MARCY AND TOMPKINS AVE.
THE EXPO INCLUDES BLOCK WATCHER TRAINING
INFOMATIONAL AND VENDOR BOOTHS
AND A SCAVENGER HUNT
November 24th, 2007 at 11:22 am
Both of you are transplants and have no true history or ties to Bed Stuy or Bushwick… which there is no competition between the 2. Both communities are made up of working class citizens who blood sweat and tears build the vibrant areas you boast and brag about in your blogs all in an atttempt to gain social acceptability for your growing egos. Its young gentrifiers like you who are causing distruction while ruining the social integrity of our communities.
November 25th, 2007 at 10:52 am
Bed Stuy to i–
Don’t kid yourself. These neighborhoods need new blood desperately.
What these communities don’t need however, is a racist. like Jeremy. It is truly disheartening that his Red Hook post is being defended.
And I know sarcasm when I read it.
November 25th, 2007 at 3:07 pm
Hi all,
I love both neighborhoods…as a former Bushwick resident, and a current Bed-stuy resident. I have to say I’m quite disappointed in in this blog, as a self identified afro-boricua I take offense to “kanye west winning aventura music” that comment goes beyond a battle of neighborhoods into a place I know we don’t want to be at…cause it should NEVER EVER be Black vs. Brown. Jeremy’s postings are racist, and are NOT representative of Bushwick folks. Just like THIS posting is not representative of Bed-stuy folks. Let’s not indulge their opressive writing.
Bushwick and Bed-stuy are currently facing some incredible challenges in preserving the beauty of our communities which I hope is not run down by gentrification. Our communities can NOT afford to be divided…because this is a crucial time for us to join in the effort to put a stop to gentrification, or at least make sure our people benefit in some way…ie: making sure a percentage of new developments are affordable units (just to name one tactic).
Lets embrace the beauty both neighborhoods have to offer…and figure out ways to uplift one another. Communities United will Never be Defeated.
xol
November 25th, 2007 at 9:31 pm
“Oppressive writing?” Xol, what are you talking about? And West’s music is better than Aventura’s, in my opinion, and that has nothing to do with their backgrounds or black vs. brown. Where is your sense of humor? I certainly hope that YOU are not representative of this neighborhood!
November 25th, 2007 at 9:59 pm
I think anyone who thinks they are the “real” neighborhood and others are not are full of shit…we all choose to live in a place and get an equal voice.
I’ve learned quite a bit about Bed-Stuy from this string.
November 26th, 2007 at 5:43 pm
Wow, this just keeps going on. All this just buttresses further my observation that New Yorkers are a bunch of whiny, overly-sensitive, humorless, reverse-provincial brats. Fuck, how many times can you people call me a racist without citing ANY evidence? Can you please cite one thing? And every negative mention of my “Red Hook” post (uh, actually it’s about gentrification in general, and not subtly at all, I add) is also free of citation.
So make with the photos of me in my white hood or quit your whining. You embarrass yourselves — though you do contribute to my and Petra’s well-being through the healing properties of laughter.
January 31st, 2008 at 7:45 am
I can’t help but notice that no one mentioned the white people who came from Bed-Stuy.
Carl Sagan, one of the world’s most famous scientists was born and grew up in Bed-Stuy. Jackie Gleason was from Bed-Stuy. Because it is mostly black now, does that mean we sweep this neighborhood’s white history under the rug?
I wonder if any the black people who want to “rise up” and “protect THEIR neighborhood” from the hipster influx realize that white people were in the neighborhood far before any blacks set up roots here?
White people built all those nice brownstones, and white people lived in them for 50 years before blacks ever came to the neighborhood. It’s a dirty secret I know, but it’s true.
January 31st, 2008 at 11:29 am
of course the counter to your statement, ben, is that while white people may have settled the neighborhood and built homes here they eventually left when it took an economic turn for the worse, let it fall apart, teeter on the edge of urban blight, and was resuscitated by the black community gradually over the last couple of generations.
also, it is not as if there are no cultural or historical ties for the black community here. check out weeksville as evidence of that: http://www.weeksvillesociety.org/node/2
my point isn’t to argue with you, it’s just that it isn’t quite as simple as that. and every single neighborhhod in new york city has seen the populations change over their histories in terms of economics, race, religion, etc. what is at hand here is that people are very affected by the change that is actively taking place before their eyes, not being read about in the history books.
January 31st, 2008 at 1:34 pm
It’s not simple, that is true. It’s usually presented in simple terms from the other side however. That it is a “black neighborhood” that whites have their eye on. Harlem, sure… but Bed-Stuy has been a white neighborhood for at least a majority of its history.
I don’t believe Bed-Stuy should be a white neighborhood in the future. But I do believe that it should be an eclectic mixed neighborhood, given its eclectic mixed history.
By the way, it isn’t so far ago that it is “in history books”. My father, who is white, was born and raised in Bed-Stuy… as was his mother, also white. Unlike say Harlem, it Bed-Stuy a very real white history that was not very long ago. I’d like to visit it again someday when whites are a part of the neighborhood fabric again.
May 8th, 2008 at 5:02 pm
Not sure about the cats point - on my (Bed-Stuy) block, the chicken places seem to attract stray cats. Note to chicken lovers: don’t toss bones up and down the sidewalk on your way home, OK?