Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

StoryAndAHalf t1_jb74y4i wrote

The article is weird as it paints Ridgewood in a way that it seems like a victim. First off, it’s not gentrifying. Prices going up is not a sign of gentrification in itself. Rent burden is lower in Ridgewood than neighboring areas as well as borough - meaning the area is more affluent even if it’s not in Manhattan standards. I will say that yes, housing did triple, and rent is stupid high. That has not happened overnight, this is 2+ decades of constant increases.

Secondly, it fails to go into history of Ridgewood which has historically been occupied by Italian and German populations before Hispanic populations in mid-2000s. The Hispanic population is still large, but like the German and Italian populations, gave way to new expats, with increasing Black population from Bushwick to the west. There have also been expats from different states as well but no not “general white people” whatever that means.

2

iknowyouright t1_jbardqq wrote

Do you live in Ridgewood? I've been here almost a decade and to say Ridgewood isn't gentrifying is insane.

We went from shitty Chinese food and Corato's pizza to having two Michelin Star restaurants in like 4 years. The amount of kitchy knick-knack shops on Woodward ave is insane, and they are almost all newly in business in the last 4 years as well.

3

StoryAndAHalf t1_jbas6nr wrote

Been there for more than 2 decades actually.

E: to address those kitschy stores - Ridgewood has had stores open and close every year. I remember Ridgewood theater, I remember FYE, the Wendy’s before current one, ABC moving 3 times, KMart, even a damn beepers store. A decade ago, there were like 4 locations of Esparks (like Starbucks, but blue). So it’s not just last 4 years. It’s been like this as far as I remember.

2

iknowyouright t1_jbavuam wrote

Well I'll believe you since you've been here so long, but damn if rents haven't skyrocketed alongside these Williamsburg-lite stores. It certainly feels like gentrification

2

StoryAndAHalf t1_jbaw7ao wrote

My parents bought their house for 200k in late 90s. Before then we lived in Brooklyn. By the time I was looking for homes in the area, maybe 2012 or 2013, they were 750k average. Now over a million. So yeah, it’s been crazy trying to stay in the neighborhood.

3

euge_bush t1_jb7sl97 wrote

sites like thecity and curbed are re shill sites

−5