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Who Will Win Williamsburg's Soul?
By
Jen Carlson
Published Dec 13, 2010
Modified Dec 13, 2010
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Dec 13, 2010
Modified Dec 13, 2010
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Question: If Blue Bottle Coffee became really successful and started setting up shop on every block of every major city and suburb, would the Williamsburg residents currently championing it turn their cold-hearted backs on it and procure their coffee elsewhere? Currently the creative young locals who took over the neighborhood are fighting change, which is being brought in with the new luxury condo-dwelling residents. Hipster enemy #1: Duane Reade, formerly a little store owned by three brothers, currently a chain that's been acquired by Walgreens.
The Guardian reports that the drugstore is at the center of the fight for Williamsburg's soul... a soul that allegedly was carefully crafted by the current locals, all of whom "appear to have beards, piercings, lots of tattoos and belong to at least one band. Most also tend to write a blog and spend all night drinking or involved in art projects."
One such local, 32-year-old Jennifer Nelson, told them Duane Reade "is not the kind of place that I want to shop. We simply do not need another drugstore here. It is not just an urban issue. It is a capitalism issue." Another said, "All of a sudden our little, quaint place was being infiltrated by the big brands." The Guardian wonders if "the hipster apocalypse may be nigh."
Fear not, kids, surely there is another working class neighborhood you can infiltrate, price the current residents out of, and sip your precious nel drip” coffee in peace angst.
Tagged
brooklyn
duane reade
gentrification
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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