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I know the street named after Kazimiroff by the Botanical Gardens, but not him, so I googled. Good luck with your move, Dedalus. I'm sure you'll like it.
I met him, in 1973. He gave a guided nature tour of Hunter's Island, in Pelham Bay Park. Great guy, he said that he still found arrowheads and other Indian artifacts up there.
The Bronx is my favorite place on earth, believe it or not. I was a city kid who wanted to be a country kid...but I had to settle for Pelham Bay Park, and Van Cortlandt Park. Not a bad deal, as it turned out.
Nick, you've been blowing that same tune forever. Give it up. You're just a bitter person who got left behind.
I live in a large one bedroom apartment, in a very nice area of Queens, $1,400/mo., close to the subway. And I have seen apartments for much less, also in nice areas. And I don't work on Wall Street.
So, shush up already. You've been trolling around this board forever. Go outside and play.
Quote:
Originally Posted by NickL28
Well obviously a majority of people 'can afford to live decently' because the real estate market in the NYC metro area is very healthy and rents have surged in recent years whereas in the rest of the country they stagnated or rose by only the inflation rate even as housing prices have surged.
You cannot find even a studio apartment in the worst of neighborhoods in NYC or on Long Island for less than $1,000 and $1,500 will get you a tiny one bedroom in southern Queens far from the subway.
Check out all the condos going up in downtown Manhattan & Brooklyn . Most are sold out by the time construction is complete. The average buyer usually is single and in their 20's. Does everyone work on Wall Street these days??
Gentrification is a good thing; kicking out the bums and turning bad areas into nice neighborhoods. So, what's the problem... do you prefer abandoned buildings over occupied buildings?
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Originally Posted by CrazyJerzyKidUNO
It really is a shame. Im 22 and even when i was 10 can remember a completley different world in NYC. Even in the last 4 or 5 years its just changed so much. Gentrification is a ***** in more ways than one. And now with Jersey City and the rest of Hudson County gentrifying it seems like there is no hope for the NYC metropolitan area. Our best bet is to hope the Bronx gets a huge influx of Italians or Russian Jews that will fix up areas but still keep a strong sense of community. Doubt it though.
Gentrification is a good thing; kicking out the bums and turning bad areas into nice neighborhoods. So, what's the problem... do you prefer abandoned buildings over occupied buildings?
Bums. Yep, I guess that's what you call them out here.
I enjoyed Sgoldie's post a lot, the one in which she shared her memories of the 60's-and-70's New York and then said the likes of "get over it and accept the present". I agree.
It is a natural thing, to be nostalgic about the past. "Oh when the Jews still lived in the Lower East Side instead of those white hipsters!", "Oh when SoHo was an artists community and not a shopping mall!", "Oh when New York was cheap and there was middle class!".
Blah Blah Blah. How about "oh remember when it was the 19th century and there were no cars". Nostalgia. We fall into it, as the ones before us and those before the ones before us did. Always longing for the past...
But it doesn't help!
New York has changed, for good and for the better. Yes, there are luxury condos all over, rich people, too many tourists and Williamsburg sucks.
But don't you all prefer this New York of now to the one we had 15 and 30 years ago, as Sgoldie said?
Don't we all prefer the gorgeous town of today? Or would you like to go back to the crime out of control, fear in your bones, graffiti, drugs all over, murder in your doorstep?
Or maybe you'd like to go back to New York in the 30's or 20's and drive a horse wagon through Delancey Street. I don't know.
I live in the present and love it. So I'll take the annoying white hipsters and the silly Miami-style glassy condos and stay in the greatest city on earth.
Gentrication ofcaurse makes a neighborhood safer. But along with that especially in NYC it makes a neighborhood steril. Before the WTC was built that area was full of historical homes. All knocked down because of Gentrification and the constant need to be bigger and better all to get money. Im not saying that the economic growth of a city isnt important and as a buisness move gentrification is a must but when looking into the heart and sould and the people in a neighborhood its not in the best interest. They just get kicked out. If you really want a neighborhood to flourish embrace locally owned buisness. If a realtor can invest money on a house in a bad neighborhood, then a banker can give a loan to a small buisness owner and allow him to continue serving his own community.
Gentrication ofcaurse makes a neighborhood safer. But along with that especially in NYC it makes a neighborhood steril. Before the WTC was built that area was full of historical homes. All knocked down because of Gentrification and the constant need to be bigger and better all to get money. Im not saying that the economic growth of a city isnt important and as a buisness move gentrification is a must but when looking into the heart and sould and the people in a neighborhood its not in the best interest. They just get kicked out. If you really want a neighborhood to flourish embrace locally owned buisness. If a realtor can invest money on a house in a bad neighborhood, then a banker can give a loan to a small buisness owner and allow him to continue serving his own community.
As I've said before, better a few muggers than a herd of Starbucks Latte Chuggers.
Gentrification like most things in life is a mixed bag. Yeah it is good that neighborhoods get better as wealthier people move in but it is also bad that neighborhoods get yuppiefied and lose their individual identities.
Plus is it good that people are being priced out of so many parts in the city? That is not a good thing at all. I think if things continue to develop as they currently are going, NYC will see a very, very, very, wide gap occur within the next 15 to 20 years between the rich and the poor and this could lead to all kinds of ugly problems. Think 70's NYC all over again but much worse.
Every generation of New Yorkers has said we are experiencing too much change, placing a negative emphasis on change.
I can remember as far back as a nickel subway ride with a free transfer to the bus, trolley cars, and a clean Brighton Beach #2 and Steeplechase. But, no matter how much it changes, or whether it is clear or dirty, there really isn't anything like New York City, and for that very reason, folks flock to the Apple like the snake required, and add their flavour to the tastiness of a City that never sleeps, and offers its inhabitants challenges not found elsewhere.
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Originally Posted by Sgoldie
I agree that NY has become very expensive. So have many other places, especially urban ones as that's where the money, jobs, and excitement are.
Let me recount my experience of the late 60's-early 70's. Everyone had large attack dogs and the streets were filthy with litter as well as dog droppings. There was graffiti everywhere. It was even being taught in college as an art form. People on the street or subway would size you up well in advance and without exception divert their eyes downward when near. You were always afraid of being robbed or attacked. Mace, knives, guns, and drugs were everywhere.
Now, more recently, the city is clean, safe, and friendly. People talk to you on the street and are helpful. It's safe for women to walk alone after dark. The size of dogs has shrunk considerably, having to do with picking up after them, and are now cute instead of lunging. I see more businesses in total and fewer ones with massive bars on them. Sections of Manhattan that had been pretty gruesome have been cleaned up (meatpacking, seaport, etc). All in all, a much nicer place I think.
True, the mix of immigrants has changed. That's nothing new either, it started with the Dutch moving up the Hudson and will change in every generation. I haven't met a single immigrant, or any person for that matter of any race, who wasn't extremely nice (and glad to be here). If you're lamenting the sparcity of European heritage you can thank Sen. Kennedy whose first official act was to do away with quotos that favored them.
As to the characterization of palookaville - life, and everywhere you reside are what you make it. If it's not your cup of tea, move, or change it. Everyone has power. Keep your good memories. Things change in life, that's one of it's big lessons.
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Accept the Present
