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
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
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.
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.
Thank you, Changeling!
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*
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.
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.
Changeling,
Thanks for the shout out, hile I do not knock anyone’s community, hands down Bed-Stuy has Bushwick beat any day…
oops forgot the w (While)
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!
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
Jeez, I’m glad you guys are friends!
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.
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.
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.
Eddie Murphy is from Bushwick.
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!
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.
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!
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.
Tell it like it is Lorenzo!!!!!!!! I’m Rolling!
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!
Also, we just buy cases of wine and keep them in our cellar. D wins!
[Tips hat.]
Next stop Olivino.
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.
Rosie Perez lives in Fort Greene?!? What did Fort Greene do to get that lump of coal in its Christmas stocking?
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.
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.
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.
Hill-arious! I just moved to Bushwick from Bedstuy. I love you guys.
“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!!!
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.
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.
hey D
we’re just joking you know
but Bushwick does suck, so I understand why you’d be feeling pissy
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…
I like both neighborhoods. But only during daylight hours.
The Honeymooners – one of my all time favorite shows – didn’t have much to speak of in the way of housing.
Jackie Gleason grew up in Bushwick!
heeeeee — this was so funny!
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.
lmao… east new york is better ‘n both of you all…
Jackie Gleason grew up in Bushwick, but the fictional address for the show is located in Bed Stuy…
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.
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.
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.
As always, the Changeling speaks the truth. I can’t disagree with one single point.
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)
ah, but which neighborhood has the most HPD violations? look pretty even-up to me, alas.
i like sock puppets.
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.
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.
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.