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Probably as rents continue to spiral higher & higher in all 5 boros & especially outside of Manhattan. Rents in the Bronx have increased significantly in the last few years and a one bedroom apartment that rents for between $1,000 - $1,200 a month is probably the cheapest in any of the 5 boros.
The Bronx will probably be like Jersey City & Hoboken NJ where the relation between rents & incomes is completely out of wack. In Jersey City NJ the supposed, alledged median income for an individual is around $50,000 a year but an average one bedroom rents for around $1,500. In the Bronx the average individual income is something like $35,000 a year but the average one bedroom rents for something like $1,200 a year. Completely out of wack in relation to the 45 times the monthly income rule. Meaning that as rent stabilization laws continue to be weakened in the next few years and and more & more apartments rent for $2,000 and over (where only six figure earners can qualify) means that the Bronx will become like every other place in NYC.
This is a difficult but interesting issue. All of New York City is going strong, getting better by the hour. But The Bronx is still the poorest borough and the poorest county in the nation. And that's counting with North Bronx, Riverdale and the nice areas!
The concentrated poverty and accompanying problems will make it difficult for The Bronx to stand out and escape its misery, no matter how much they gentrify the South Bronx ("SoBro") with white yuppies and artists.
This is a difficult but interesting issue. All of New York City is going strong, getting better by the hour. But The Bronx is still the poorest borough and the poorest county in the nation. And that's counting with North Bronx, Riverdale and the nice areas!
The concentrated poverty and accompanying problems will make it difficult for The Bronx to stand out and escape its misery, no matter how much they gentrify the South Bronx ("SoBro") with white yuppies and artists.
I think there's something about all these comments that show there's a huge economic gap in NYC that's constantly widening. I don't think that's a good thing. Some might claim it's survival of the fittest and it can't be avoided, but sometimes you can't have rich people (who can afford expensive real estate) without the existence of the working poor and middle class (this was especially true when factories were essential to the economy...but...outsourcing etc.... that's another post), and that spirals right down to employment of nannies and maids. So where exactly are all those people in the nebulous area btw. wealthy/"living comfortably" and welfare-acquiring to go if they're being displaced?
There has to be a balance, and the increasing lack thereof makes this city weaker by the second...........But in any case, another scenario is this: this crazy real estate trend might reach its climax and cool down and NYC just might not be the biggest city in the country anymore. It's a stretch, but cities aren't supposed to be composed entirely of yuppies anyway.
No the Bronx is definitely not going in the direction of being all white. In fact, as long the as the current trends hold, the population of white people is and has been shrinking the Bronx. Former white neighborhoods that had white majorities as short ago as 10-20 years now have white populations under 10%. Probably the best example of this is Parkchester (although that occurred earlier, back in the 1970s).
There are only a handful of white neighborhoods left in the Bronx and the boundaries of these neighborhoods have been progressively shrinking over the years. Most of this is a result of an inflow of Hispanic and West Indian immigrants. I personally see no reason for this trend to slow. There are currently only three white immigrant groups who come to the Bronx in any decent numbers and they are the Irish, Italians, and Albanians. I don't think there are currently many, if any, Italians coming into the Bronxs as of late. The number of Irish immigrants coming to Woodlawn apparently has been slowing and in some cases reversing with Irish immigrants returning back to Ireland in great numbers. The Albanians seem to still be coming over but not really in any large numbers enough to affect population trends in most neighborhoods.
So where does that leave white people in the Bronx. Currently they only make up about 15% of the population, with black people making up 35%, and Hispanics 48%.
There are also only a handful of neighborhoods in the Bronx where white people live anymore in significant numbers. Riverdale, Woodlawn, Morris Park, Throggs Neck, City Island and Country Club are the only white neighborhoods in the Bronx I can think of.
We decided to buy a house in the Bronx 3 years ago, after looking for coops in Inwood/Harlem/Washington Heights. We're a middle class, mixed race family. The house we bought is close to Bedford Park Blvd/Mosholu Parkway, which reminded us of Inwood. We bought a huge old house on the worst block in the area. We had an SRO next door, and on the other side, an absentee landlord who didn't care who he had living there. On the corner was a bodega that blasted loud music and had a lot of people hanging out. Now 3 years later, the bodega is closed--it was converted into an apartment, the SRO is gone--the new owner has kicked everyone out and is gut renovating the building, and the other house has a new live-in owner who is fixing up the house and has evicted the problem tenants. There was a strange, scary looking house on the next block up that was empty for years. This year a young white family bought it and is living there. This is our experience.
Just looking for opinions. Does anyone think that BX will become all white and gentrified like the rest of NYC in the near future?
I think it is already starting to happen. But there is going to be a mix in the Bronx. Certain neighborhoods not all of the BX will be gentrified. You can see it slowly starting to happen in Parkchester, some parts of the South Bronx, some parts of Fordham, and basically any neighborhoods relatively close to Manhattan. Bronx has the cheapest rents by far, it won't take long for all the twentysomethings and professionals to figure out, hey its not that bad over here and it is cheap. It is happening much slower than the gentrification we saw in other parts of the city, but I think in maybe 2 to 3 the changes will start to become more drastic.
I'm living in Fordham right now, right by the 4 and D trains. I really like it so far. Cheap rent, big apartment, a lot of stores just within a few blocks. I'm close to Arthur Avenue also, which is really nice, and the only real "Little Italy," left in the city.
I'm Hispanic BTW. Technically I'm contributing to the gentrification around here, since I'm part of an income group that generally wouldn't move around here. The apartment I rented would more than likely have been rented by several people who together make what I make.
But I want to save money and If have the option to be able to not totally dedicate my paycheck to rent, I'm going to take it.
Last edited by NooYowkur81; 03-26-2007 at 08:08 AM..
What a mistake it would be to have NYC a gentrified park! What made NYC interesting, vibrant, exciting and different was its mixed population, racially, socially and economically.
Gentrification is a trend that destroys that unique feel and pushes out people who have much to offer--I like Spanish restaurants, Caribbean restaurants, different colour skin, a local bodega on as many street corners as possible and people chattering in a thousand tongues!
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