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If you live in Ridgewood you are not part of the gentrification LOL... Ridgewood is not ghetto... Maybe to people living in Ohio or Iowa it may be classified as such because of all the hispanic and working class European folk but Ridgewood is not ghetto at all and has a significant working class white population...
And yea Halsey has one development on Eldert St but other than that Halsey is still a long way to go from being a good area... It has improved in recent years however but is still shady...
Gentrification just means higher income moving in which displaces lower income people. I know here in NYC it is almost universally identified with ghetto areas mostly of color but the word in it of itself does not equate a ghetto area. Also I can't speak on Ridgewood since I don't know the #'s for that area but there very well might be an increase in rents and more higher income people moving in...
If you live in Ridgewood you are not part of the gentrification LOL... Ridgewood is not ghetto... Maybe to people living in Ohio or Iowa it may be classified as such because of all the hispanic and working class European folk but Ridgewood is not ghetto at all and has a significant working class white population...
There are sections in Ridgewood that are pretty ghetto, like the area near Halsey Street and the Bushwick border.
@ Tkak you're seriously saying KNICKERBOCKER AND DECATUR has a bunch of hipsters now? And you talk about me exaggerating... Wow... I have no comment for your posts anymore... The ridiculousness is beyond words...
I said the Wilson stop of the L train has seen a huge increase of young people (hipsters of whatever). The Decatur block between Wilson and Knickerbocker is very nice - half of the buildings are newly renovated. New young people of all kinds. My neighbors tell me how that block used to be the worst of the worst, and now its probably one of the best. The block north between Kinckerbocker and Irving is stilll pretty sketchy, though. One block and it totally changes.
I said the Wilson stop of the L train has seen a huge increase of young people (hipsters of whatever). The Decatur block between Wilson and Knickerbocker is very nice - half of the buildings are newly renovated. New young people of all kinds. My neighbors tell me how that block used to be the worst of the worst, and now its probably one of the best. The block north between Kinckerbocker and Irving is stilll pretty sketchy, though. One block and it totally changes.
I walked past there the other day to get to a friends house on Moffat... Nothings changed bro... Decatur itself is still as its always been... There are no demographic changes to that specific block and I can confirm this from irving to central... I didn't walk up to evergreen because I didn't need to but I doubt there would be change the closer you get to Bed-stuy/East NY either... And I take the L train everyday to get to Broadway junction and transfer and in the morning and at night, on the hippest train of them all which is where every hipster in this city has to ride on at least once in their life... These are the percentages I see of people getting off on that station (60% Black 30% Hispanic 10% White)... And this is the only method of transportation for the broke hipsters who decided to venture out that far into Bushwick... Also the demographics of that official area list it around 93% Black/hispanic 4% Asian 3% white where ten years ago the population hovered around 1%... Not exactly the bunch of hipsters that you speak of...
Also, to the person that spoke about gentrification meaning higher income people moving in... I agree with you... thats why I said Ridgewood is not gentrifying... If anything, the people that live in the neighborhood on average make much more than the supposed one or two hipsters that have moved in along the M train... So how does that equate to gentrification?
Now I hope you see my point... People don't use factual statistics to formulate their opinions on this site... They go by what they see and according to Molly, because she is white and is a hipster, she is automatically gentrifying this broken down hood of Ridgewood...
What's the reality? Molly probably makes $40,000 less than what I make and probably lives in a broken down apt. with 2 of her friends... but because she is white and I am hispanic, it makes her a pioneer for gentrification... Give me a flipping break...
Also the demographics of that official area list it around 93% Black/hispanic 4% Asian 3% white where ten years ago the population hovered around 1%... Not exactly the bunch of hipsters that you speak of...
Demographic stats come from the census - those are from 2010. So your numbers are two years old. My point is that a lot has changed even since then. I live here. I like living here. I love my house. I feel safe (I have a security system, because i'm not stupid). I see the new white kids, and the new white family and their 6 year old little boy who moved in four buildings down from me. I stand in the bodega and bull**** with the latinos and blacks and hipsters. I am (excellent) friends with several black families who have lived here for generations. (I went to a wedding.) We talk and marvel at the changes (they like it). We are glad when the "messy" people move out. We wonder together what they are going to turn the old burnt out drugstore into once its renovated (Someone bought it a year ago, we hope they fix it up soon.) We marvel at the new buildings being renovated on Decatur and Schaeffer and Central and a couple have started on Wilson. We lament that black kids are still shooting other black kids, but we're glad it hasn't happened nearby for while now. I hear stories of the old days, how bad it was, and how glad everyone is that it's getting so much better. So keep your judgements in your own neighborhood, okay? Leave us alone to enjoy where we live and to be proud of it and to enjoy watching it grow and improve.
I highly doubt that whole block has changed that much the past 2 years, and even if it has, you're still surrounded by crap. Most of the ghetto neighborhoods in the city have a couple of decent blocks in them [except maybe Brownsville], but that doesn't really matter much. It's not like that particular street is gated or shielded by a huge bubble that keeps the garbage out. My old hood of City Line [which btw, is probably actually a safer hood then Bushwick] had a few ok blocks [likes Elderts Lane and Forbell Street between Atlantic and Mckinley], but the neighborhood was still bad overall.
Honestly It's getting really annoying when people keep bragging about Bushwick, the area sucks. Plenty of better [not to mention cheaper] neighborhoods in Brooklyn.
I highly doubt that whole block has changed that much the past 2 years, and even if it has, you're still surrounded by crap. Most of the ghetto neighborhoods in the city have a couple of decent blocks in them [except maybe Brownsville], but that doesn't really matter much. It's not like that particular street is gated or shielded by a huge bubble that keeps the garbage out. My old hood of City Line [which btw, is probably actually a safer hood then Bushwick] had a few ok blocks [likes Elderts Lane and Forbell Street between Atlantic and Mckinley], but the neighborhood was still bad overall.
Honestly It's getting really annoying when people keep bragging about Bushwick, the area sucks. Plenty of better [not to mention cheaper] neighborhoods in Brooklyn.
Thankyou doomdan... couldn't agree any more... @ Tkak my problem isn't with you being proud of your neighborhood and talking up the positives... My problem is with people in general (sometimes you included), who falsely advertise a neighborhood knowing it can be a potentially dangerous investment for those who are clueless about the city asking about that area...
If I owned a house on Dumont or Hemlock St. in East NY... you really think I'd promote it to my friends or people trying to get honest answers about the city... You think i'd tell them sure it's a great area, on the come-up... Much lower crime rate than in the 90s... etc.? HELL no. I wouldn't do people wrong like that and falsely label something for my own selfish purposes... That's what pisses me off about people who talk about Bushwick like it's now fairytale land when the statistics themselves only point to an increase in the crime rate and FYI, most of them do happen by you unless you consider you're immediate area to be one block...
That's all i'm saying... Sure Bushwick is better than it was in 1970, 1980, 1990 and even 2000... But what about the last five years? What does the crime rate indicate? Not the white population... what do the actual statistics tell you? Reading them, with objective eyes, it should tell you that the neighborhood is worse overall now crime-wise as opposed to five years ago and it the crime rate has only continued to increase overall since 08' when it bottomed out...
@ Tkak my problem isn't with you being proud of your neighborhood and talking up the positives... My problem is with people in general (sometimes you included), who falsely advertise a neighborhood knowing it can be a potentially dangerous investment for those who are clueless about the city asking about that area...
So when I said this: "At this point, it's feels too sketchy for me to walk around after 2 am;" I was falsly advertising the neighborhood? I disagree. I think I give a balanced picture compared to the implicit warnings that people like you hammer over and over that young white people are likely to be mugged, beaten, raped, or whatever it is you're implying. Crime has ticked up this year in Bushwick and everywhere. About 11% in Bushwick over last year. The warm winter and bad economy did a number on us. Bushwick is huge, btw. There are some really terrible pockets, and some less than terrible pockets. And there is most definitely a steady stream of young people moving in to some pockets near the L train, like the Wilson stop and others. It's not a flood. It's not turning into Soho. It's not "hipster central" like Morgan, but the kids are moving in and changing the energy little by little. That's just the reality. The thing is I don't have to convince you, because I never will. But I'll continue to set the record straight and provide what I think is a much more balanced and accurate picture.
I live on this stop. Moved here two years ago. The area is changing rapidly and daytime and evening walking is perfectly safe (as NYC goes). L train is fine. At this point, it's feels too sketchy for me to walk around after 2 am; but I'm 40, and I don't need to do that any more. But there has been a huge increase in young folks (hipsters or whatever), and I see people coming an going from that train at all hours, so there are young people like you commuting on a "club schedule" now.
Objective and unbiased ok...
I'm just pointing out that I don't see that HUGE increase you speak of along Moffat st... Nor do I see the PERFECTLY SAFE walking in the evening either... But I guess I'm just overexaggerating the facts that i read and see first hand about that area...
Is this a good area? Or maybe a once bad area now coming back? The apartment I saw was near the corner of Decatur and Knickerbocker.
I love these Bushwick questions. Of course it's not a good area, but I don't fear for my safety. In fact, the area between the Halsey and Wilson stop has grown on me. Without question it's hood, but those are my type of people.
When I moved there (Halsey), I made it a point of principle to introduce myself to all of the people who hang out on my block-the dominicans, the old timers, the little badass teens running around, thugs, the women -old and young, corner boys, ni**as, everyone and anyone who is not a fiend. If you move out there, I suggest you do the same.
We all get along now like some quasi happy family. When I come home from work I find it satisfying to truly know my neighbors--they smile at me, and I smile at them. They open the doors for me, ask me about my day, ask me about my cats. I reciprocate. Everything is simpatico as they say. We are all human; if you're friendly with the long term residents, they will be friendly with you. They will tell you where to go for this and where to go for that, which areas to avoid and which areas aren't so bad.
Oddly enough, when I lived in Williamsburg, I noticed a lack of desire to be friendly and outgoing from the white professionals and artists. I don't know if they were scared/didn't like me because I am a minority, but I always got the cold shoulder. Now the tables have turned b*tches, the tables have turned. Happy Friday to all. just my two cents.
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LOL... Ridgewood is not ghetto... Maybe to people living in Ohio or Iowa it may be classified as such because of all the hispanic and working class European folk but Ridgewood is not ghetto at all and has a significant working class white population... 
Thankyou doomdan... couldn't agree any more... @ Tkak my problem isn't with you being proud of your neighborhood and talking up the positives... My problem is with people in general (sometimes you included), who falsely advertise a neighborhood knowing it can be a potentially dangerous investment for those who are clueless about the city asking about that area... 
