Search Results for: gentrification

A new report from the Regional Plan Association finds that residents of the Bronx are at highest risk of being pushed out due to gentrification compared to other New Yorkers, according to DNAinfo. The report, titled "Pushed Out: Housing Displacement in an Unaffordable Region," looks at the effect of rising housing costs in New York City and addresses what it names "A Crisis of Affordability." The report found the threat of being pushed out due to lack of affordable housing was a threat in 71 percent of census tracts in the Bronx. Following in displacement risk was Brooklyn at 55 percent, Manhattan and Queens at 31 percent each and Staten Island at 15 percent.
People moving out, people moving in

Affordable Housing

Design team suggests a new mission-driven gentrification model geared toward artists and small businesses

Image: mx.org

February 23, 2017

Design team suggests a new mission-driven gentrification model geared toward artists and small businesses

We’ve definitely seen a lifetime’s worth of the trajectory that runs from warehouse to art studio to luxury loft, starting with neighborhoods like Soho and picking up speed as developers got into the act, anticipating the next "it" enclave with manageable rents attracting the young and creative. A team of New York-based designers developed a proposal for reaping the benefits of economic growth in the city's industrial areas without pricing out all but the wealthiest players. Soft City reports the details of this “mission-driven gentrification” concept, which suggests an all-new development model for the city's manufacturing neighborhoods (known as M1 districts), helmed by mission-based organizations and a building typology that caters to small businesses and artists.
Bright ideas, this way

Washington Heights entrepreneurs come up with a new business plan for gentrification

Andra Mihali/Creative Commons

December 5, 2016

Washington Heights entrepreneurs come up with a new business plan for gentrification

By Metro New York

Andra Mihali/Creative Commons Washington Heights is changing. New businesses are sprouting from Dominican roots that are catering to a diversified clientele—and introducing new objectives to entrepreneurs about surviving in New York City. The largely Dominican district has, for better or for worse, resisted gentrification for decades and relied on its traditions in foods, hair salons, […]

Uncategorized

October 31, 2016

Tensions over gentrification escalate over Crow Bar controversy in Crown Heights

By Metro New York

Even before it opened its doors, the new tavern on Franklin Avenue in Crown Heights was under attack. The name of the place, Crow Bar, was racist, complained many residents of the neighborhood, which was once predominantly black. The residents point out that Crown Heights was known as “Crow Hill” for much of the 19th century, and […]

Uncategorized

August 26, 2016

With $2.5 billion in Brooklyn real estate, Hasidic investors are a formidable gentrification driver

We hear so frequently about the players behind Manhattan’s billion-dollar real estate projects and how foreign investors are pouring a global vault's worth of currency into New York City property, often shielded by LLCs. It's illuminating to get a closer look at the city’s larger real estate landscape–one that has changed so much in recent decades–and learn who's behind the soaring property values, skyrocketing rents, frenzied flipping and veritable horse-trading that has driven the unprecedented and transformative gentrification beyond Manhattan’s rarified development scene. A recent story by The Real Deal titled “Learning and earning: Hasidic Brooklyn’s real estate machers” reveals that a huge slice of the borough’s real estate pie is owned by the Hasidic community. The ultra-orthodox sect reportedly includes some of Brooklyn’s wealthiest property owners, to the tune of $2.5 billion.
Find out more

Real Estate Trends

August 25, 2016

Bushwick map lets locals track gentrification; the Jersey Shore’s midcentury resort architecture

Today is the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service; to mark the occasion Google has created five interactive tours. [Curbed] Bushwick residents designed a digital map to help residents stay abreast of changes to the neighborhood’s housing landscape (aka gentrification). [Bushwick Daily] The U.S. cities with the most Olympic medals. [CityLab] This photo series captures the nearly 150 […]

Uncategorized

August 15, 2016

The Evolution of Greenpoint: From Oil and Sewage to Gentrification

Since Greenpoint started to attract displaced Manhattanites in the early 1990s, the cost of renting in the neighborhood and nearby Williamsburg has shot up a staggering 78.7 percent. According to a 2015 study published by NYU’s Furman Center, Greenpoint/Williamsburg is the most rapidly gentrifying neighborhood in New York City. What many newcomers don’t realize is that […]

History

August 2, 2016

The Gentrification of Williamsburg’s Bedford Avenue; Frisbee Masters Headed to New York

The championship for Freestyle Frisbee–a combination of gymnastics, dance, performance art and Frisbee–is coming to Brooklyn. [WSJ] A survey of Williamsburg’s Bedford Avenue as it approaches “peak post-gentrification.” [Curbed] Inside Brooklyn’s first Apple store (on Bedford Avenue). [Architizer] Summer Streets returns this weekend, and there will be a three-story waterslide at Foley Square. [Gothamist]

Uncategorized

May 24, 2016

Cat Colonies Fall Victim to Gentrification; City May Get Park Benches That Charge Your Phone

New York is home to about 500 feral cat colonies, many of which are under threat from gentrification and development. [NYT] The former president and CEO of Nathan’s Famous talks about selling hot dogs on Coney Island for 100 years. [Crain’s] A new report shows that 77 percent of L train riders would prefer a full […]

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May 18, 2016

Video: ‘Degentrify America’ Takes on the Issue of Gentrification in Five Minutes

The definition of gentrification may be difficult to pin down, but filmmaker Nelson George is attempting to do so in his five-minute short "Degentrify America." In the film, George melds together national headlines with interviews and animation to paint a picture that has become all too familiar in metropolitan areas across the country. Most notable, however, is the appearance of Crown Heights resident and co-founder of the Crown Heights Tenants Union, Donna Mossman, who speaks candidly about the evictions, injustice and other ills that come with this particular kind of change. Crown Heights recently ranked #8 on NYU’s Furman Center's report of New York's 15 fastest gentrifying neighborhoods.
Watch the short film here

Uncategorized

May 16, 2016

New Studies Show Historic Preservation Doesn’t Cause Gentrification Woes

The city's preservation groups have reported that the results of a series of studies, prompted by the 50th anniversary of the city's Landmarks Law, have put some numbers behind the claim that landmarking doesn't harm, and may actually improve, the economic balance of neighborhood development and growth. According to Simeon Bankoff, executive director of the Historic Districts Council, "This is the first time which preservationists–who tend to be from the humanities and subsequently math-averse–have put real data behind anecdotes." The combined reports represent the most comprehensive study to date of the impacts of historic preservation in New York City.
Find out what the numbers say

Policy

February 2, 2016

The Urban Lens: Documenting Gentrification’s Toll on the Mom-and-Pops of Greenwich Village

By James and Karla Murray

6sqft's new series The Urban Lens invites photographers to share work exploring a theme or a place within New York City. To kick things off, award-winning authors and photographers James and Karla Murray bring us 15 years of images documenting the changing storefronts of Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village. Are you a photographer who'd like to see your work featured on 6sqft? Get in touch with us at [email protected] Bleecker Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenue South was once a huge Italian enclave with many traditional "mom and pop" stores catering to the large Italian families who resided in the neighborhood. By the late 1930s, it also had a significant bohemian population with many artists, writers, poets and musicians living in the area who set up galleries, coffee houses and music shops. Due to widespread gentrification and escalating real-estate values, the neighborhood has changed drastically and its unique appearance and character is suffering. We are here to take you on visual tour to experience how many of the truly authentic shops remain on this venerable Greenwich Village street, and to show you what has replaced the ones that have vanished. Many of the shops you'll encounter ahead have been featured with full-color photographs and insightful interviews with the store owners in three of our widely acclaimed books on the subject, but we've also rounded up several more ahead.
Walk the Greenwich Village of yesteryear and present

October 26, 2015

‘Do the White Thing’: Jimmy Kimmel’s Latest Sketch Mocks Brooklyn Gentrification

25 years after the original “Do the Right Thing” was released, Jimmy Kimmel has made his own hilarious and painfully accurate sequel, “Do the WHITE Thing.” [DNA Info] The sign that marked Andy Warhol‘s former home at 1342 Lexington Avenue has been removed by its current owners. [NYDN] The iconic NYC diner will likely go extinct as […]

Real Estate Trends

September 8, 2015

See Brooklyn Before and After Gentrification in This New Photo Series

Brooklyn's hipsterization is pretty much widely accepted as fact at this point, but still not a day goes by without some article, essay or artwork pointing to how the neighborhood has lost its authenticity. The latest photo series to emerge documenting the substitution of the borough's street cred for artisinal goods and overpriced organic cocktails is Kristy Chatelain's "Brooklyn Changing." Though Chatelain isn't quite what you'd call a longtime New Yorker—she moved to Greenpoint from New Orleans in 2006—unlike the rants of her fellow new-era Brooklynites who bemoan how different things are since they moved in, her series comes off as a thoughtful study in just how quickly things changed in North Brooklyn over just five years.
More photos here

August 24, 2015

Should Poor Neighborhoods Stay Poor to Avoid Gentrification? Mayor De Blasio Speaks Out

Recently on the Brian Lehrer radio show on WNYC, Mayor De Blasio addressed questions about the effects inclusionary development–i.e. giving developers the green light to build market rate housing if they set aside 25-30 percent of the units for low- and middle-income residents–has on the quality of life in lower-income neighborhoods. A growing concern among housing activists is that reliance on this kind of inclusionary zoning leads to gentrification that pushes out the lower income residents due to the 70-75 percent of market rate units bringing new, wealthy residents and new businesses that will cater to them.
Hear what the mayor has to say

Affordable Housing

Gentrification Sale: Get a Single Hand-Cut Summer French Fry for Just $8.99!

Image via Bill de Bodega

July 7, 2015

Gentrification Sale: Get a Single Hand-Cut Summer French Fry for Just $8.99!

Jarritos with an $11.99 corkage fee, a hipster breakfast for $8.99? Act fast because you won't want miss out on all the great deals going on at the Washington Heights "Gentrification in Progress Sale." A row of mom and pops located along a stretch between 162nd and 163rd streets got a Williamsburg-worthy facelift on Monday as Brooklyn locals Doug Cameron and Tommy Noonan plastered storefronts with scathingly sardonic signage pointing to the area's demise. The campaign, first reported on by Vanishing NY, was created in response to the ousting of several of the block's 30-plus-year-old businesses by a new landlord in order to make way for commercial tenants willing to pay higher rents.
See more here

Policy

April 30, 2015

Hell’s Kitchen, Once the ‘Wild West,’ Now Undergoing Rapid Gentrification

There's yet to be an exact agreed-upon theory as to where the name Hell's Kitchen came from, but most historians agree that it had something to do with the poor tenement conditions and general filth of the neighborhood in the 19th century. Its reputation didn't get any better in the 20th century, though. After the repeal of prohibition, the area became overrun with organized crime, and until the 1980s it was known as a home base for several gangs. Today, Hell's Kitchen is no longer the "Wild West," but rather a rapidly gentrifying community ripe for new development. A neighborhood profile today in the Times looks at the transformation of the neighborhood, also called Clinton or Midtown West, which is generally defined as the area from Eighth Avenue to the Hudson River between 34th to 59th Streets. Summed up, "New buildings are going up, and older ones are being converted to high-end residences. The development of Hudson Yards and the High Line just to its south and the addition of the Time Warner Center on its northeast border have spurred growth. Prices have gone up but are still generally lower than in surrounding neighborhoods."
Find out more ahead

Going Green and Curbing Gentrification: How the Bronx Is Doing It Differently

Image: View Grand Concourse via photopin (license)

April 20, 2015

Going Green and Curbing Gentrification: How the Bronx Is Doing It Differently

By Emily Nonko

“Ladies and gentlemen, the Bronx is burning." The infamous phrase, uttered in a 1977 broadcast of a Bronx fire, has stuck in the mind of many New Yorkers even today. Indeed, the Bronx saw a sharp decline in population and quality of life in the late 1960s and 1970s, which culminated in a wave of arson. By the early 1980s, the South Bronx was considered one of the most blighted neighborhoods in the country, with a 60 percent decline in population and 40 percent decline of housing units. Although revitalization picked up by the '90s, the Bronx never quite took off like its outer-borough counterparts Brooklyn and Queens. While media hype, quickly rising prices and a rush of development has come to characterize those two boroughs, the Bronx has flourished more quietly. The borough, nevertheless, has become home to growth and development distinct from the rest of New York City. Innovative affordable housing, adaptive reuse projects, green development and strong community involvement are redefining the area. As Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. said during this Municipal Arts Society discussion in 2014, this is "The New Bronx."
Keep Reading About What's Going on in the Bronx

April 9, 2015

East Harlem: From Manhattan’s First Little Italy to El Barrio to a Neighborhood on the Cusp of Gentrification

A lot of attention is paid to West Harlem, or what many people traditionally consider THE Harlem, thanks to its rich history rooted in places like the Apollo and up-and-coming hot spots like the Studio Museum in Harlem and Marcus Samuelson's renowned restaurant, the Red Rooster. But east of Fifth Avenue, there's a history just as deep, and the neighborhood is at that fragile stage where it could easily be thrust into a wave of gentrification at any time. Defined as the area bound by Fifth Avenue and First Avenue from 96th to 125th Streets, East Harlem is commonly known as Spanish Harlem, or El Barrio by locals. What many people unfamiliar with the neighborhood don't know, though, is that this area got its start as Manhattan's first Little Italy. And if you're the type of New Yorker who doesn't venture above 86th Street, you're likely unaware of the slew of new developments sprouting up in East Harlem thanks to a 2003 57-block rezoning.
Learn about the neighborhood's transformation here

Race Drives Gentrification and Neighborhood Boundaries, Study Finds

Photo by brandon king cc

March 6, 2015

Race Drives Gentrification and Neighborhood Boundaries, Study Finds

Focusing in on just race can be taboo when looking at gentrification, but a new study finds that an area's racial composition is actually the biggest predictor of how a changing neighborhood is perceived. CityLab recently dissected the study conducted by sociologist Jackelyn Hwang to find that the way that blacks and whites perceive and talk about change in their neighborhood is often wildly different. This gap in perception has wide-reaching effects for changing neighborhoods because not only does it polarize the individual groups, but it can also have a tremendous effect on where neighborhood boundaries are drawn and investment is distributed.
Find out more here

February 20, 2015

Anti-Gentrification Architecture; See Williamsburg as It Was in the Early ’80s

Should we take note? Ugly architecture proves resilient against gentrification—at least in Amsterdam. [Failed Architecture] What did Williamsburg look like in ’80s? A 1984 documentary called Living Los Sures gives us an incredible look at the trendy neighborhood’s Latino past. [Brooklyn Magazine] Permits have been filed for a 305-unit property at 30 Sixth Avenue, part of Forest City […]

Real Estate Trends

February 2, 2015

Great Piggery War Was an Early Gentrification Battle; Meet the Man with the Most Pizza Boxes in the World