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Bushwick Residents Fleeing For Ridgewood Because Of <em>Girls</em> Or Something
By
Ben Yakas
Published Aug 17, 2013
Modified Aug 18, 2013
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Aug 17, 2013
Modified Aug 18, 2013
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Did you know that rent is expensive in NYC? I know this must be a shock, but you better sit down because there's more: it's getting more expensive in gentrified areas of Brooklyn. The NY Times Comedy section Real Estate section reports today that the latest neighborhood to have been struck by this phenomenon is Bushwick. And now Bushwick residents being priced out are fleeing for nearby Ridgewood—and somehow, Girls is to blame for all this.
At least that's what it seems like based on the first graf of the story:
It was only a matter of time, after Bushwick was given a featured role in the HBO show “Girls,” that the young creative types who established this gritty Brooklyn neighborhood as an artists’ enclave began to be priced out.
There are also mentions of Roberta's and the L train and Anne Hathaway, so your Brooklyn Gentrification bingo card is probably a winner right about now.
The average monthly rent for a studio in Bushwick was $1,675 in July, up 27 percent from July 2011. It's also going up in Ridgewood—perhaps this is somehow related to all these people flocking from Brooklyn? Just thinking out loud here—but it's still cheaper than Bushwick or East Williamsburg. That is of course assuming that all three places aren't the same place, which they sometimes are, depending on who you're talking to.
But all hope is not lost for Bushwick: Colony 1209, a 120-apartment rental building going up on DeKalb Avenue, is expected to open this fall with studios and one- and two-bedrooms. It'll include amenities such as indoor bocce courts and a vintage arcade with games like Donkey Kong. And David J. Maundrell III, the founder of brokerage aptsandlofts.com, says it's very important how they appeal to “trendsetting” 20-somethings. “I have to be authentic with this,” he said of his marketing strategy, which includes employing " a photographer living in Bushwick to capture the essence of the neighborhood" for ads. “They don’t like corporate,” he said of prospective tenants. “You can’t fool around.”
But clearly, Ridgewood is the new Bushwick is the old Bushwick is the new East Williamsburg is the old Ridgewood. At least we can all take some comfort knowing that we're still stuck in the same real estate trend story gentrification loop as we were two years ago.
Tagged
brooklyn
bushwick
gentrification
queens
rent
ridgewood
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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