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Bushwick is changing. 8-10 years ago I didn't know many ppl over there. My old band played a loft party back in 2002 off the Morgan L and I remember getting lost getting to soundcheck and being worried. A couple friends moved to an illegal loft space off the Jefferson L stop in 2005, kicked out in 2007. They just settled with the old landlord.
But since then numerous people I know have moved to Bushwick, mostly off the Morgan, Jefferson, and Dekalb stops. Video post facilities, basements studios, etc are popping up. A couple I know just bought a place off the Halsey L stop, and while one half doesn't like it so much, the other half firmly believes that this is a good investment. I recently went to a party off the Halsey L, didn't stay too long since I was about 12 years older than everyone else, but most of them lived nearby. I remember drinking outside with a couple ppl, and the NYPD who pulled up told us to finish the drinks and get rid of them before they make their next pass around the block.
Being off the L is a huge plus vs other neighborhoods, but it's not enough for me to want to move out there. I'm heading over to Bed-Stuy.
This is definitely somewhat true... The immediate areas surrounding the L line are pretty much the only parts of Bushwick seeing changes and definitely some more than others... To give you an idea based on the eye test circa 2012 (btw, Morgan ave. is already East Williamsburg that is the cut-off between Bushwick and East Will.) Jefferson ave. station L from Cypress ave to Wilson ave from Flushing ave to Dekalb has seen the most changes in Bushwick probably because of its industrial appeal to the hipster crowd... The area around there I would probably say is somewhere between 60% Native/Immigrant Hispanics about 20% hipster (mainly white but asian, hispanics and black hipsters are present around here as well), about 10% Black (native NYers) and about 10% Native asian/ethnic white mainly the hustling chinese folk that have lived in this neighborhood for years already along with the working class Polish/Romanian/Albanian and old school italians.
The Dekalb ave. stop has always been one of the best parts of Bushwick due to its proximity to the hospital and high traffic location... The demographics around here haven't changed much and you can see by the stores along wyckoff ave down through wilson and on, there really aren't any "hip" stores around there and heading towards the myrtle and wyckoff stop. Around here, what you mainly have are working middle class hispanic/south asian/black families and a small but stable working middle class white population which has always been around there... Myrtle and Wyckoff really hasn't seen much change but Halsey along with a brief stretch of the Moffat stop has experienced some changes in recent years... Interestingly, this is one of the shadier parts of Bushwick but similar to Harlem, the level of shadyness varies from block to block... For example, immediately off the Halsey stop on the L train is a converted loft building that has ridiculously cheap rents around there and it's where most of the hipsters that live around that area live... Across the street there is also a new condo building that opened up, but as I mentioned in a previous post, the hipsters moving to the halsey stop are looking for cheap rents, not overpriced condo buildings... I know people that live in that condo building and for the most part, it's majority hispanic/some black/some asian... I'm sure there are a couple of white folks who invested in the neighborhood that possibly bought into the condo but from what I can see that condo building probably represents the demographics of that area immediate area well... From Wyckoff to Evergreen from about Hancock to George (relatively small area) I'd say the demographics are somewhere around 60% hispanic 30% Black 10% hipsters (mainly white, then asian, hispanic, etc.)
Personally, while I can see why people would think the area is worth investing considering the hype, I would never look into that area around Halsey... It has always been considered one of the hot crime spots for Bushwick and I really never understood the interest in that area other than it elevating your cool points with other hipster friends... For those that live there, it is a high target area for muggings/ GL's and burglaries and there have been a few reported rapes right off the train station and one happened right along the staircase of the L train on the George side... There have also been a number of recent shootouts around there so like I said, it's not an area I would recommend... Same goes for Moffat...
Now, interestingly, I don't know what the deal is with Bushwick/Aberdeen but believe it or not I have seen a couple of hipsters come out of that station which shocked the hell out of me considering it's the stop right before Broadway Junction... Since I try not to venture out that deep in the hood too often I'm wondering if someone who lives nearby knows if there has been any new construction around there or if these people were just random targets who were suckered into buying what they thought was the "up and coming" part of Bushwick...
There's barely anything around Aberdeen/Bushwick. Bushwick Avenue around there is nothing but a long line of car washes.....
I know when I head to visit fam in East NY and I pass by Bushwick avenue around there I see nothing but vacant lots, gas stations, bodegas and broken down 3 family houses filled with graffitti... That being said, I've seen two or three (Williamsburg type hipsters getting off on that stop so I'm still wondering whether I'm missing something around there... I'm thinking maybe they're on Broadway and taking a quick look at that avenue around there in a recent pic on google maps (Broadway ave and Aberdeen St - Google Maps does look a lot nicer than Bushwick ave. so I guess that might be where one or two have ventured... I stay amazed though at what people would sacrifice for proximity to the L line... I originally questioned whether hipsters would move into East NY and Brownsville... Nothing would surprise me anymore... Safety, QOL, value of life means nothing when it comes to proximity to the L line...
So is it fair to say that Bushwick has the same crime issues that the Lower East Side/East Village had back in the 80's when Hipsters were moving to that neighborhood? It just seems that crime doesn't seem to deter the flock of Hipsters to any neighborhood. Once they discovered it they will just keep coming and coming... LOL
So is it fair to say that Bushwick has the same crime issues that the Lower East Side/East Village had back in the 80's when Hipsters were moving to that neighborhood? It just seems that crime doesn't seem to deter the flock of Hipsters to any neighborhood. Once they discovered it they will just keep coming and coming... LOL
I'd have to agree. In the words of a friend "white people will go anywhere". She was referring to an old timer neighborhood bar (in Bed Stuy) that has since turned decidedly "hipster" because, well, the bar is there, they live near by, and as my friend said, white people will go anywhere. I guess that keep coming mentality is how the West was won...
So is it fair to say that Bushwick has the same crime issues that the Lower East Side/East Village had back in the 80's when Hipsters were moving to that neighborhood? It just seems that crime doesn't seem to deter the flock of Hipsters to any neighborhood. Once they discovered it they will just keep coming and coming... LOL
Can't really compare... Different timeframe... Different group of people... Different sections of the neighborhood... Proximity to Manhattan wasn't a concern obviously... Overall things were worse regardless of the neighborhood but in comparison East Village was never as bad as LES and Bushwick... Also for the record, majority of LES still has it's questionable areas that hipsters never really ventured towards consistently even nowadays (Ave's C and D) for example... Furthermore, those moving into East Village and LES at the time should not be compared to the hipsters of today as they are complete polar opposites... Back then, there was legitimate respect for the city and the people in the neighborhood... not like today...
Also, the hipster population of today isn't as stable as you think... From what I've seen in Bushwick, they can be a pretty transient bunch... I know of a few that have come and gone in Bushwick because it wasn't as cracked up as they thought it would be and i've even seen a few homeowners that bought in during that craze around 07' 08' when the hipster scene was exploding across Brooklyn, only to have to sell out for a loss when the market really collapsed a few years later... The ones who stay are one of three groups 1) the old-school kind who mix with the locals and actually appreciate the neighborhood for what it is... 2) those that keep to themselves, and when they do open up shop in the neighborhood give a middle finger to anyone they consider "undesirable" or 3) those that are hoping against reason that the neighborhood becomes what you compare it to (a williamsburg/east village/les border east village type scene)...
To get to the point you made... Is it possible that Bushwick can become like a Williamsburg/East Village type scene... personally, I highly doubt it. Could it possibly be like a Harlem or LES where parts have gentrified considerably while others remain as they were? I think this is the more likely scenario of the two...
She was referring to an old timer neighborhood bar (in Bed Stuy) that has since turned decidedly "hipster" because, well, the bar is there, they live near by, and as my friend said, white people will go anywhere.
LMAO! Yep. I walk by it every day and think "what type of janky hole in the wall is this place?" I've never been there but two friends have. Said it was the most odd mix of white hipsters and old timers (with heavy on the white hipsters).
I love how they mention Bushwick yet they talk up East Williamsburg... Again Morgan ave is in East Williamsburg, the Mckibbin lofts and other industrial lofts nearby are in East Williamsburg, Clinton family favorite Roberta's is in the heart of East Williamsburg... Just about the only two things they mentioned that was actually Bushwick was the Jefferson stop which borders, (take a wild guess)... East Williamsburg and Knickerbocker Park as the only potential greenspace for the area... try again... sorry.
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