'Are You A Gentrifier?
No one wants to see their identity lazily compartmentalized into "hipster" or "sociopath" or a "Staten Islander," but assigning reductive labels to describe otherwise disparate populations is what makes our city country Internet great. It's no secret that Bushwick is changing, along with plenty of other neighborhoods—but who's responsible? And does anyone ever want to admit that their mere presence in a place is altering the landscape of the community?
In light of landlords licking their chops (and casually evicting long-term tenants) at the thought of charging higher rent to wealthy newcomers, we decided to take a stroll in the area surrounding the Halsey Street L stop and chat with residents there—some of whom have lived in the neighborhood for a month, others who have never lived elsewhere—about what they make of the changes arriving increasingly rapid-fire to the few blocks of cityscape they call home.
Are long-time residents peeved about entitled art students driving up their cost of living? Are gentrifiers aware they're gentrifiers? Spell check refuses to acknowledge the word "gentrifier" even exists—does it? Or are we all just people trying to get by, man?
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