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Williamsburg Gutter Punks Get Ink
By
Jen Carlson
Published Jul 15, 2009
Modified Jul 15, 2009
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Jul 15, 2009
Modified Jul 15, 2009
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While Williamsburg sits stagnant in a confused state of purgatory, the abandoned and stalled luxury condos have become a haven for one group: the gutter punks. The Daily News gives the group a two-story treatment today, saying the "heroin-addict hobos from around the country are overrunning" the area. And as with every other newcomer to the Brooklyn neighborhood, they're hated by those who came before them.
Not too long ago we pointed to the Williamsboard community, where there's a massive thread on the punks. Some say they're friendly, some say they're smelly, some are sick of their panhandling and fighting. One local told the paper, "It's like St. Marks in the '70s. It's the bad old days all over again. There's crack and heroin all over the neighborhood." Indeed, the punks shoot up at the same cafes you pay 4 bucks for an iced latte.
Reportedly they escape their middle-class upbringing by hopping a freight train to the city, where they make up to $150 a day panhandling before returning to their chosen neighborhood to catch some shut eye (or shoot up). Many squat at 510 Driggs Avenue, an alleged hot spot for heroin and the stalled site of a 50-unit luxury rental complex. One such 22-year-old told the News, "I've got to sleep somewhere, and I might as well do it in Williamsburg. The girls here like it that I'm dirty and I ride trains." It's like the heroin hipster version of batting ones eyelashes, he makes $15/hour in Union Square by simply holding a sign that reads: "Traveling Broke and Sexy."
Tagged
brooklyn
condos
development
gutter punks
heroin
hobos
williamsburg
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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