11211 Love

Williamsburg, 2012

So this fellow wants to secede from Williamsburg. 

I am not going to write a screed on gentrification, though I do find the changing neighborhood interesting. 

I mean, when I moved here 9 years ago, it was a hell of a lot scrappier (as was I, though I was never all that scrappy.) But I did the living in a loft with 5 people whose names I barely remember thing. And mourned the L cafe and so on. 

Now, of course, we have grown into those uncool people with strollers and fancy coffee who annoy the artistes. 

What I suppose I take issue with is the idea that the neighborhood has changed simply because of an invasion of new and different people. Thing is, guy, there are plenty of creative professionals who've been here for a while, but who happen to now live in condos instead of lofts. Who simply chose to invest in a neighborhood they love. And to breed here!

Sure, some of the changing demographic is all about the new. But some of it is just that the neighborhood is growing up. Happens to the best of us.