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Breaking Trend Alert: Some Parts of Brooklyn Very Popular!
By
John Del Signore
Published May 25, 2010
Modified May 25, 2010
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By
John Del Signore
Published May 25, 2010
Modified May 25, 2010
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The Observer has published another one of their infuriating manufactured trend pieces, and what they found MAY NOT SHOCK YOU. Called "BroBos in Paradise" (a riff on David Brooks's BoBos in Paradise), the article basically boils down to Stuff White People in Media and Publishing Like, Brooklyn Edition. Reporter Leon Neyfakh, who used to cover publishing for the Observer, corralled precious comments from mostly-media people to paint a very contrived picture of bourgy Brooklyn as a place that might one day be "romanticized in the future the way we romanticize San Francisco in the '60s and, yes, New York in the '70s."
It's chock full of deliberately annoying quotes from maddeningly self-aware New Yorkers, as if specifically catering to eye-rolling reblogs just like this one. Such as: "At the outdoor Brooklyn Flea Market in Fort Greene, which was trending on FourSquare at the time with 19 check-ins, proud BroBos roamed about picking through jewelry, antiques and records and partaking of the luxury popsicles on offer at the People's Pops stand. A young woman remarked to a friend, 'I only like sour ales.' " Another BroBo "searched for owl trinkets to add to the collection he has in his Kensington apartment. 'I guess it's pretty typical, but I like owls.' "
But the best, most bile-building quote of all comes from a recent NYU graduate who calls B.S. on Neyfakh's BroBo boosterism: "People live in Brooklyn because it's cheaper. It's not a money thing or a class thing, but it's sort of admitting defeat—an inability to be in New York. Living in Manhattan presents an interesting challenge: to always be confronted by people who have really won." We hate to say it, but if this means war, we're siding with the owl dude.
Tagged
brobo
brooklyn
paradise
williamsburg
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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