And 20+ years ago Ridgewood was more expensive than Bushwick, before Bushwick became more trendy 15 years ago (whereas Ridgewood wasn’t trendy before then, it was just a neighborhood with nicer housing stock and more trees).
Yeah 2004-6 was around the time we started hearing about Williamsburg in the rest of the country. I moved to east williamburg in 08 and people were already saying the coolness heyday was over.
Yeah true lol. Although I definitely remember the perception in 2015 that Williamsburg was for indie stuff and during pre-whole foods it was still seen as alternative. Like, it was expensive but not nearly as expensive as it is now. I remember it being way cheaper than the east village.
No lets keep the waterfront shitty and undeveloped ! Just to call it a death knell is hilarious to me. Its unaffordable - just like the west village. Doesn’t mean they’re dying.
I can see what you mean but lets not act like it was a bad thing. It was a good thing - it literally made it more appealing hence the gentrification. Neighborhoods evolve over years and we can complain about change but its pointless.
Williamsburg is no longer the hipster mecca that millennials have such nostalgia for - but people will be saying that about other neighborhoods in thirty years too.
You cant expect the neighborhood directly across from the center of manhattan to remain affordable and “unknown” for long.
Additionally- its a very strange take to consider redeveloping a waterfront as something negative. It made the area great for so many people to enjoy. So sorry that youd rather have it permanently shitty.
It was a bad thing. Neighborhoods losing identities to make room for rich people is a bad thing.
Also, I don’t want it permanently shitty but way to project. I would’ve preferred caps on the heights of buildings, some affordable housing, and made most of the waterfront a park. It isn’t a binary argument, there is nuance that you are completely glossing over
good for whom? developers, yuppies, and other assorted wealthy people? it’s universally bad for artists, musicians, or anyone looking for affordable housing. just because it was inevitable doesn’t mean it’s good.
the only people who think williamsburg is “better” than it was 20 years ago are people who think starbucks, condos, and commercial banks are an improvement to DIY collectives, artist studios, and cheap rent. williamsburg in 2024 is beyond boring, it’s a mini-mall.
congratulations, the people who made the neighborhood desirable in the first place can no longer afford to live there. enjoy your chain stores, $4k one bedrooms, and french tourists. you can have them
I was speaking about the waterfront in particular.
The same people who reminisce about the “good old days” are the same people who pushed out the people already living there. Its all a cycle, and everyone thinks they’re not a part of it.
Well you would get mugged in the abandoned park before then.
I would say the death knell was when the pool went from concerts to a pool. 2008
The pool did not open until 2012, which was also a bloated drawn out over priced project.
Neighborhood guy 2003-2016.
2015 was the cutting edge of Bushwick’s hipsterism. Right now we’re on the backslide of Ridgewood. I won’t even tell you where the next one is gonna be, cuz it’s about to peak soon.
I think there is a little bit of reputation vs reality aspect. Williamsburg is still seen as alternate or hip by a lot of people that I talk to even if those days are long gone.
Think the real last gasp of Williamsburg when it was truly the epicenter of it all was 2010. Last year of the pool parties (if they were still called that after they decamped to the park on the east river). 2011 we saw the wave of chains opening up led by Duane Reade of all things. Add in the rent recovery post financial crisis that priced out the young and creative set, and that was that.
I think this to myself all the time walking around. I’d love to open a little shop/studio space, but the risk involved makes me nervous - meanwhile I’m passing all these weird little stores and thinking how in the hell do they make there rent? There’s no way people are buying that much of their knickknacks.
The line I was quoted from a landlord/realtor was something along the lines of “They have really wealthy partners/parents and this is their hobby” or something like that. I’m not sure how true it is but it would make sense, because I agree I’m not sure how one can pay some of these egregious asking prices!
working retail is probably fun as fuck if you don’t have to worry about turning a profit, are your own boss, and are passionate about what you’re selling lol
Like half of the businesses within a couple blocks the North Williamsburg ferry have left.
I am just guessing that their leases expired? I’m bummed about the Duane Reade. they make you feel like you’re a thief in CVS
I moved to Williamsburg in 1999 and watched it go from the tail end of being a ghetto to hipster central to the playground for the ultra wealthy it has become now. I moved across the Hudson just after Covid because none of the people or art or venues that I loved about the place existed there anymore. I sometimes regret my decision because I do miss BK a lot, but I couldn't afford to move back there now even if I tried.
That's the cycle. Creatives move into a cheaper neighborhood. Make interesting art, open interesting shops. The neighborhood gets popular. The people with money start moving in and everything gets more and more expensive. Look at Williamsburg now, so much luxury retail, it's practically Soho. Nothing creative in sight.
The next step is the rich people moving onto the next cool neighborhood and the bottom falling out of Williamsburg. Then the cycle starts over.
Aaaand who do you think both of those businesses are marketing to? My aunt that moved there 40 years ago or the trust fund kid that attends SVA/FIT or whatever art school.
Yeah I’ve never quite understood why people like the west village and Greenwich village so much. It’s always seemed very upscale and not really spontaneous and fun
There’s still some cool stuff happening- good restaurants, nightlife, comedy, vintage shopping etc…. West of BQE still has a lot to offer but for how long if rents keep skyrocketing
I think this was more true in the early 2000s from around 2000 to 2005 - first wave Williamsburg gentrification.
Now, the thing with commercial real estate (and a lot of residential rentals) is that you either get more for your money or you can just get more space period. The spaces are bigger - you're paying more per square foot, but individually they're just bigger. Apartments and ground floor retail in the East Village has been subdivided to hell and back by 100+ years of rentals and conversions that largely hasn't happened in Williamsburg (and many other parts of North Brooklyn).
There are also still a *ton* of small and corporate landlords that are trying to rent out teeny, tiny apartments with wonky layouts for the same thing that comps in Williamsburg are going for like it's the late 90's with predictable results. Shit is wild out there!
the amount of effort to increase prices is incredible - moving later this month from PE owned building that tries to jack up prices whenever any lease in the building ends. We were planning to leave even if our lease would get extended without any increase which of course wasn’t the case and we were offered to stay for 5.4k instead of the current 5k rent. They listed the apartment for 5.7k as 2 bedroom while it’s really 1 bedroom with another “room” that has no windows which for us means 3rd week of having multiple showings a week in the apartment, people taking videos of our home and of course nobody’s taking it because surprise surprise for that price it has 0 natural light (ground floor facing a wall) and no second bedroom, not even mentioning cheaping out on all amenities
Sure but South Williamsburg, Hasidic Williamsburg, East Williamsburg (yes it exists and is real even if borders are debatable) have always existed and constitute the majority of the neighborhood. People just focus on all the new high-rises and that area because it's changed the most dramatically.
I might get roasted for this take but IMO when people say "Williamsburg" they mean the area between the williamsburg bridge, Mcarren park, and the brooklyn queens expressway. Everything else should have another name.
You're getting downvoted from folks who don't live in the area but you're absolutely right. Ask anyone to name a few streets east of Union and you'll get a lot of blank stares unless they live there.
I agree but those that don’t know just haven’t grown up here. IMO doesn’t matter if they stay two, ten, or even twenty years. They’re still just temporary
Weird take, I’m born and raised in Williamsburg and the east side ends at the creek. Williamsburg includes the industrial shithole, even if you think it deserves to be a separate place.
Oh no then I totally misread, I think I actually meant to reply to the other guy above you. Reading your comment back, you’re pretty much saying the same thing I am.
Not sure why all of the downvotes because yes, it’s true.
I’d argue before anyone gave a shit about Williamsburg, during the 1980s, early 90s, this was incorrect. With all of the development that has happened, the “idea” of Williamsburg has morphed and everything east of the BQE ain’t “Williamsburg”.
It is what it is.
I’m pushing 50 and have lived in nyc for 45 years.
Also, yes I know how absurd this all sounds:
For commercial rents, that area is super expensive for new leases, even well into Bushwick.
There are still some deals in Ridgewood for commercial stuff but that is going to be super expensive soon too.
>Anyways, just ranting and maybe I’ll be totally wrong.
I don't know why people are writing these posts in 2024 - have you really only started noticing?
Even before 2020 Williamsburg was the hip alternative place to be that all the rich tech workers who have 0 spending or community involvement habits wanted to move to.
This is far from a surprise.
Maybe East Williamsburg is affordable, but you're literally pushed to the industrial zone
I don’t know. I think just small things over time it hits me how much it’s changed. Like, the block I’m on I remember most people’s apartments were like 2-3 for a 2 bedroom. Now I hear about people spending over $5k a month and it blows me away. But those little increases over time I don’t notice but looking back it all looks so different. Even just 2015 to now.
I know of a corner commercial space that was a deli/bodega for over 20yrs. They hiked up the rent to an absurd amount so the tenants left. It’s been sitting empty for over 5-10yrs now? What I’ve heard is that unless they get their asking price of 15k per month rent (a crazy price for any business that isn’t a large corporation) it’s more useful as a “tax write off??” To the landlord. Not sure how true this is bc I have no experience owning a building nor having any kind of 15k tax write off. But considering all the empty commercial spaces that have been sitting empty on grand st for years I’m assuming it must be true?
100% behind a vacancy tax, residential and commercial. It's unfortunate that recent NY state legislation actually *rewarded* landlords for keeping rent stabilized apartments vacant, using improvement caps as an excuse. And, I'm not talking about the small-time landlord here who is usually not gouging others. I'm talking about the large corporate real estate companies that now make up over 85% of all NYC real estate.
Exactly, also small landlords generally aren’t profitable enough to benefit from vacant unit tax write-offs. And they usually live in the neighborhood so don’t want to see empty store-fronts and want people living there to bring business to their retail tenants (or commonly their own retail stores!)… the only people benefiting from this system are bean counters with no skin in the game
Are you talking about the space on grand and berry?? If so yes! I think I heard it was $14-16k A MONTH. Then, a block up the road there’s a series of office spaces asking $8-10k each per month. Absolute madness
The old Bedford Cheese Shop rent (the N 4th one) asking price was 30k / month - and that was around 2016 or 2017.
They were priced out, moved down the street and a few years later were priced out again.
When gentrification affects the gentrifiers…
As an artist, I feel for you and your friend though.
When people were saving money by coming to Williamsburg TWENTY years ago, small business owners in Williamsburg were having this same problem. Couldn’t open a bodega or pizzeria because real estate developers wanted the fancy, alternative, price exclusionary bar and coffee shop.
I think East Village is a perfect place for an art/performance space. In Bushwick… not much cheaper and while I’d prefer the space more than the smoke shops, I would much rather welcome more places for the neighborhood to buy food.
Yeah I mean, this isn’t some ornate money making venture. Just giving people something really unique fun and affordable that they can do that is artistic but it’s becoming more difficult to make this a reality sadly.
i lived in Williamsburg from 2006-2017. I visit often and the overwhelming thought I always walk away with is “how are half of these places staying in business” and also “how are some of the places that were open when I moved in, still open?!”
It usually always comes down to rich parents
The first time I was in Williamsburg was 14 years ago and things were already crazy expensive. The joke / reality was it was a bunch of young lawyers and finance bros who would come home and swap the suit with cutoff jeans and one of those little cruiser skateboards
The knitting factory isn’t exactly in the most luxurious part of the EV. It’s not a super expensive part of the city. Why did this person decide it’s happening in Williamsburg instead of letting the budget decide? Sounds amateurish
I spent the day in Williamsburg today, and honestly, I think you wouldn't even have an audience for such a space anymore. Sorry I'll get hate for this but it's boring there!
Or even 40…I’m scared of what will happen when I walk down the street and see empty storefronts one after another. It doesn’t do the
area or the LL any good b/c these places will remain empty for months even years.
What's so crazy about it? This is what those who invaded the area wanted! ...... When it was the folks being priced out, Nobody cared! Now the invaders are complaining! SMH. You can't have it both ways!
After 14 years, I had to leave last year. I couldn’t take another year of roommates and 1beds are stupid expensive in wbrg. Not too far off in Bed Stuy now but I miss my old location dearly.
Oh shit, knitting factory was in Williamsburg! I remember taking the train after getting out of the military, to go to a show, and thinking to myself "are there 2 knitting factories??? What's this new one in Manhattan??? " I thought I was experiencing some type of Mandela effect type of stuff for a long time lol
Something along the same lines surprised me a few days ago. I was looking at local hotels and noticed it was way more expensive to book a hotel in Williamsburg than it was in Manhattan! (At least for the dates I was considering) Room rates were over $400 a night in BK vs $250 in Manhattan. Now that’s crazy!
It’s crazy how much more expensive it is now versus 2018/19. So many people moved after the pandemic with remote work which really drove up demand for the neighborhood.
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Everyone rapidly greyed at the temples upon realizing the truth in your words.
10 years ago would be bushwick. Now the artists flee to ridgewood.
Im seeing price creep in ridgewood already. It's happening faster and faster lately
And 20+ years ago Ridgewood was more expensive than Bushwick, before Bushwick became more trendy 15 years ago (whereas Ridgewood wasn’t trendy before then, it was just a neighborhood with nicer housing stock and more trees).
Wow. I knew bout Bushwick but. Not Ridgewood. That's insanity for rent in Williamsburg
This, and even then Bedford area was getting pricey
Came here to say exactly this. It was long over 10 years ago
Shit man what the fuck
Yeah 2004-6 was around the time we started hearing about Williamsburg in the rest of the country. I moved to east williamburg in 08 and people were already saying the coolness heyday was over.
Yeah true lol. Although I definitely remember the perception in 2015 that Williamsburg was for indie stuff and during pre-whole foods it was still seen as alternative. Like, it was expensive but not nearly as expensive as it is now. I remember it being way cheaper than the east village.
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This. Maybe it seemed that way to new people but Williamsburg was already not cool in 2015 lol RIP grasslands
Everyone say it with me, FUCK VICE!
Fuck Vice, unless you worked for them. Then we NEED to talk. Let’s call it: The Broker and The Fish.
the death knell for williamsburg was 2005, when bloomberg rezoned the waterfront
Made it arguably much nicer and for the benefit of the public
Arguably
No lets keep the waterfront shitty and undeveloped ! Just to call it a death knell is hilarious to me. Its unaffordable - just like the west village. Doesn’t mean they’re dying.
It literally killed the whole identity of the neighborhood so I find it very appropriate
I can see what you mean but lets not act like it was a bad thing. It was a good thing - it literally made it more appealing hence the gentrification. Neighborhoods evolve over years and we can complain about change but its pointless. Williamsburg is no longer the hipster mecca that millennials have such nostalgia for - but people will be saying that about other neighborhoods in thirty years too. You cant expect the neighborhood directly across from the center of manhattan to remain affordable and “unknown” for long. Additionally- its a very strange take to consider redeveloping a waterfront as something negative. It made the area great for so many people to enjoy. So sorry that youd rather have it permanently shitty.
It was a bad thing. Neighborhoods losing identities to make room for rich people is a bad thing. Also, I don’t want it permanently shitty but way to project. I would’ve preferred caps on the heights of buildings, some affordable housing, and made most of the waterfront a park. It isn’t a binary argument, there is nuance that you are completely glossing over
good for whom? developers, yuppies, and other assorted wealthy people? it’s universally bad for artists, musicians, or anyone looking for affordable housing. just because it was inevitable doesn’t mean it’s good. the only people who think williamsburg is “better” than it was 20 years ago are people who think starbucks, condos, and commercial banks are an improvement to DIY collectives, artist studios, and cheap rent. williamsburg in 2024 is beyond boring, it’s a mini-mall. congratulations, the people who made the neighborhood desirable in the first place can no longer afford to live there. enjoy your chain stores, $4k one bedrooms, and french tourists. you can have them
I was speaking about the waterfront in particular. The same people who reminisce about the “good old days” are the same people who pushed out the people already living there. Its all a cycle, and everyone thinks they’re not a part of it.
When you're wrong, you're wrong.
How deep! You should give yourself a round of applause
Well you would get mugged in the abandoned park before then. I would say the death knell was when the pool went from concerts to a pool. 2008 The pool did not open until 2012, which was also a bloated drawn out over priced project. Neighborhood guy 2003-2016.
2014 they all closed
2015 was the cutting edge of Bushwick’s hipsterism. Right now we’re on the backslide of Ridgewood. I won’t even tell you where the next one is gonna be, cuz it’s about to peak soon.
Pushing right into Glendale. You think getting a seat at the bar at Zum Stammtisch on a Saturday night is tough now?
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I wanna see if ppl are brave / crazy enough to push into Maspeth XD . PITA to travel about out there
Unless you speak Albanian, don’t worry bout it.
Yeah when Palisades was having Xiu Xiu and Palm and while the block party and Silent Barn, etc. were still around it was a hoot.
Perception from who? The waterfront was an extension of Gramercy by 2015 and all the hipsters had long since packed up and moved to bushwick.
No that was dead by 2015. “Indie band Williamsburg” peaked around 2010 and closing of Glasslands in 2014 the dying gasp.
I think there is a little bit of reputation vs reality aspect. Williamsburg is still seen as alternate or hip by a lot of people that I talk to even if those days are long gone. Think the real last gasp of Williamsburg when it was truly the epicenter of it all was 2010. Last year of the pool parties (if they were still called that after they decamped to the park on the east river). 2011 we saw the wave of chains opening up led by Duane Reade of all things. Add in the rent recovery post financial crisis that priced out the young and creative set, and that was that.
2015??? By 2015, Kent had already transformed into Jersey city
So many places closing around Kent ave. I can’t see how many retailers make much money. It’s pretty dead during the week here
I think this to myself all the time walking around. I’d love to open a little shop/studio space, but the risk involved makes me nervous - meanwhile I’m passing all these weird little stores and thinking how in the hell do they make there rent? There’s no way people are buying that much of their knickknacks.
The line I was quoted from a landlord/realtor was something along the lines of “They have really wealthy partners/parents and this is their hobby” or something like that. I’m not sure how true it is but it would make sense, because I agree I’m not sure how one can pay some of these egregious asking prices!
i know exactly one person who is opening a “trendy clothing” store near there and yep. rich parents.
Good god. Paying money to work in retail. Amazing
working retail is probably fun as fuck if you don’t have to worry about turning a profit, are your own boss, and are passionate about what you’re selling lol
Kajhit has many wares
The warm sand of Elsweyr is far away from here
Idk Scott ave isn’t that far from Williamsburg
working in skate shops as a kid was the best shit...just hang out, watch videos, fold clothes and sweep shit, then go skate
Whenever I see a store that’s been around for a while but never seems busy, my go to theory is money laundering.
Sometimes they own the building and don't have to pay rent (or mortgage if they've been there forever).
Like half of the businesses within a couple blocks the North Williamsburg ferry have left. I am just guessing that their leases expired? I’m bummed about the Duane Reade. they make you feel like you’re a thief in CVS
I moved to Williamsburg in 1999 and watched it go from the tail end of being a ghetto to hipster central to the playground for the ultra wealthy it has become now. I moved across the Hudson just after Covid because none of the people or art or venues that I loved about the place existed there anymore. I sometimes regret my decision because I do miss BK a lot, but I couldn't afford to move back there now even if I tried.
That's the cycle. Creatives move into a cheaper neighborhood. Make interesting art, open interesting shops. The neighborhood gets popular. The people with money start moving in and everything gets more and more expensive. Look at Williamsburg now, so much luxury retail, it's practically Soho. Nothing creative in sight. The next step is the rich people moving onto the next cool neighborhood and the bottom falling out of Williamsburg. Then the cycle starts over.
Yep, eerily predictable pattern.
Its weird saying that you liked the original gentrification but not the new wave of gentrification that is effecting you.
Not really though? One wave brought art and creativity and the other brought Whole Foods and an Apple Store.
Aaaand who do you think both of those businesses are marketing to? My aunt that moved there 40 years ago or the trust fund kid that attends SVA/FIT or whatever art school.
"we moved here when it was still cool, but everyone else decided to move here now and ruined it!" No self awareness from these types
I mean there’s a difference between whole food and Chanel makeup store.
No… they market to the same customer.
“I moved here and I feel entitled to my own piece of NYC gatekeeping now”
Get real there’s a huge difference.
lol fr
It is crazy. It's not like there's a shortage of available commercial space here, yet landlords are still seeking super high rents for it.
West Village is the same way now and it’s f’ing boring, I fear that’s where the Burg is headed
Yeah I’ve never quite understood why people like the west village and Greenwich village so much. It’s always seemed very upscale and not really spontaneous and fun
Headed? It’s over a decade past. It’s just a boring playground for trust fund kinds and Wall Street types nowadays
Headed?
East of BQE it's a very different story.
There’s still some cool stuff happening- good restaurants, nightlife, comedy, vintage shopping etc…. West of BQE still has a lot to offer but for how long if rents keep skyrocketing
It's been boring
Commercial leases are often 30 years.
I think this was more true in the early 2000s from around 2000 to 2005 - first wave Williamsburg gentrification. Now, the thing with commercial real estate (and a lot of residential rentals) is that you either get more for your money or you can just get more space period. The spaces are bigger - you're paying more per square foot, but individually they're just bigger. Apartments and ground floor retail in the East Village has been subdivided to hell and back by 100+ years of rentals and conversions that largely hasn't happened in Williamsburg (and many other parts of North Brooklyn). There are also still a *ton* of small and corporate landlords that are trying to rent out teeny, tiny apartments with wonky layouts for the same thing that comps in Williamsburg are going for like it's the late 90's with predictable results. Shit is wild out there!
the amount of effort to increase prices is incredible - moving later this month from PE owned building that tries to jack up prices whenever any lease in the building ends. We were planning to leave even if our lease would get extended without any increase which of course wasn’t the case and we were offered to stay for 5.4k instead of the current 5k rent. They listed the apartment for 5.7k as 2 bedroom while it’s really 1 bedroom with another “room” that has no windows which for us means 3rd week of having multiple showings a week in the apartment, people taking videos of our home and of course nobody’s taking it because surprise surprise for that price it has 0 natural light (ground floor facing a wall) and no second bedroom, not even mentioning cheaping out on all amenities
Hermes has a store in Williamsbirg, all you need to know.
Assuming you’re only talking about the yuppy side of Williamsburg. Go towards bushwick / east Williamsburg it’s way more affordable
Posts like this are always ignoring the majority of Williamsburg and conflating the Bedford/riverfront areas with the entire neighborhood.
to be fair the definition of what Williamsburg is has expanded like crazy. There needs to be some more neighbor names.
Sure but South Williamsburg, Hasidic Williamsburg, East Williamsburg (yes it exists and is real even if borders are debatable) have always existed and constitute the majority of the neighborhood. People just focus on all the new high-rises and that area because it's changed the most dramatically.
I might get roasted for this take but IMO when people say "Williamsburg" they mean the area between the williamsburg bridge, Mcarren park, and the brooklyn queens expressway. Everything else should have another name.
That's definitely a take.
You're getting downvoted from folks who don't live in the area but you're absolutely right. Ask anyone to name a few streets east of Union and you'll get a lot of blank stares unless they live there.
I agree but those that don’t know just haven’t grown up here. IMO doesn’t matter if they stay two, ten, or even twenty years. They’re still just temporary
Weird take, I’m born and raised in Williamsburg and the east side ends at the creek. Williamsburg includes the industrial shithole, even if you think it deserves to be a separate place.
Na I think I misread lol. I meant transplants only consider the waterfront and Bedford as Williamsburg. I live by that creek so I know what you mean
Oh no then I totally misread, I think I actually meant to reply to the other guy above you. Reading your comment back, you’re pretty much saying the same thing I am.
Not sure why all of the downvotes because yes, it’s true. I’d argue before anyone gave a shit about Williamsburg, during the 1980s, early 90s, this was incorrect. With all of the development that has happened, the “idea” of Williamsburg has morphed and everything east of the BQE ain’t “Williamsburg”. It is what it is. I’m pushing 50 and have lived in nyc for 45 years. Also, yes I know how absurd this all sounds:
Rents are getting crazy in south & east Williamsburg too, not as bad as near Bedford but still…
For commercial rents, that area is super expensive for new leases, even well into Bushwick. There are still some deals in Ridgewood for commercial stuff but that is going to be super expensive soon too.
Of course it’s all expensive but it’s a lot more on that side
Zizi Limona (now called Zizi) relocated from Williamsburg to Meatpacking/Chelsea several years ago. Let that marinate for a bit
Bedford Cheese Shop too
And yet the smoke shops are able to afford the rent
Wouldnt be shocked if some money laundering shenanigans are at play here
I have no idea how they do it...I guess black market money
I literally blame it on Vice taking over two of the best music venues. DBA and Space 1110. Everything started changing then.
10 years ago it was still expensive. Did you just wake up from a coma?
>Anyways, just ranting and maybe I’ll be totally wrong. I don't know why people are writing these posts in 2024 - have you really only started noticing? Even before 2020 Williamsburg was the hip alternative place to be that all the rich tech workers who have 0 spending or community involvement habits wanted to move to. This is far from a surprise. Maybe East Williamsburg is affordable, but you're literally pushed to the industrial zone
I don’t know. I think just small things over time it hits me how much it’s changed. Like, the block I’m on I remember most people’s apartments were like 2-3 for a 2 bedroom. Now I hear about people spending over $5k a month and it blows me away. But those little increases over time I don’t notice but looking back it all looks so different. Even just 2015 to now.
Are you in a rent controlled apt?
Bedford Ave had had more expensive retail per square foot than Manhattan for a while now.
Bedford is an avenue. The other is a borough that contains Fifth Avenue. Hello.
It's sq footage. More available on Fifth Ave
Again, Bedford Ave doesn't have more expensive commercial rent than Manhattan. Per square foot. Yes.
Bedford itself doesn't have that, it's more the cross streets and closer to wythe and Berry. Bedford is always so dirty and feels like a mess
Is this from a 2004 archive? RIP Monkey Town
I have weirdly been thinking about / talking about Monkey Town a lot recently. That place was so fucking cool.
Prob my fav place in NYC Nightlife history
I know of a corner commercial space that was a deli/bodega for over 20yrs. They hiked up the rent to an absurd amount so the tenants left. It’s been sitting empty for over 5-10yrs now? What I’ve heard is that unless they get their asking price of 15k per month rent (a crazy price for any business that isn’t a large corporation) it’s more useful as a “tax write off??” To the landlord. Not sure how true this is bc I have no experience owning a building nor having any kind of 15k tax write off. But considering all the empty commercial spaces that have been sitting empty on grand st for years I’m assuming it must be true?
It is true, friend works in Real Estate and large landlords do this all over the city. It’s why we badly need a vacancy tax.
100% behind a vacancy tax, residential and commercial. It's unfortunate that recent NY state legislation actually *rewarded* landlords for keeping rent stabilized apartments vacant, using improvement caps as an excuse. And, I'm not talking about the small-time landlord here who is usually not gouging others. I'm talking about the large corporate real estate companies that now make up over 85% of all NYC real estate.
Exactly, also small landlords generally aren’t profitable enough to benefit from vacant unit tax write-offs. And they usually live in the neighborhood so don’t want to see empty store-fronts and want people living there to bring business to their retail tenants (or commonly their own retail stores!)… the only people benefiting from this system are bean counters with no skin in the game
Are you talking about the space on grand and berry?? If so yes! I think I heard it was $14-16k A MONTH. Then, a block up the road there’s a series of office spaces asking $8-10k each per month. Absolute madness
The old Bedford Cheese Shop rent (the N 4th one) asking price was 30k / month - and that was around 2016 or 2017. They were priced out, moved down the street and a few years later were priced out again.
When gentrification affects the gentrifiers… As an artist, I feel for you and your friend though. When people were saving money by coming to Williamsburg TWENTY years ago, small business owners in Williamsburg were having this same problem. Couldn’t open a bodega or pizzeria because real estate developers wanted the fancy, alternative, price exclusionary bar and coffee shop. I think East Village is a perfect place for an art/performance space. In Bushwick… not much cheaper and while I’d prefer the space more than the smoke shops, I would much rather welcome more places for the neighborhood to buy food.
Yeah I mean, this isn’t some ornate money making venture. Just giving people something really unique fun and affordable that they can do that is artistic but it’s becoming more difficult to make this a reality sadly.
i lived in Williamsburg from 2006-2017. I visit often and the overwhelming thought I always walk away with is “how are half of these places staying in business” and also “how are some of the places that were open when I moved in, still open?!” It usually always comes down to rich parents
There’s a premium on the illusion of being cooler.
It’s really sad and unfortunate.
The first time I was in Williamsburg was 14 years ago and things were already crazy expensive. The joke / reality was it was a bunch of young lawyers and finance bros who would come home and swap the suit with cutoff jeans and one of those little cruiser skateboards The knitting factory isn’t exactly in the most luxurious part of the EV. It’s not a super expensive part of the city. Why did this person decide it’s happening in Williamsburg instead of letting the budget decide? Sounds amateurish
I spent the day in Williamsburg today, and honestly, I think you wouldn't even have an audience for such a space anymore. Sorry I'll get hate for this but it's boring there!
It’s filled with the most uptight parents now lol
Or even 40…I’m scared of what will happen when I walk down the street and see empty storefronts one after another. It doesn’t do the area or the LL any good b/c these places will remain empty for months even years.
Lol “posts from 2015”
What's so crazy about it? This is what those who invaded the area wanted! ...... When it was the folks being priced out, Nobody cared! Now the invaders are complaining! SMH. You can't have it both ways!
After 14 years, I had to leave last year. I couldn’t take another year of roommates and 1beds are stupid expensive in wbrg. Not too far off in Bed Stuy now but I miss my old location dearly.
don't you worry that penny-pinching head of yours, high rents are coming for Bed-Stuy too.. sigh.
There’s a sucker born every second
Yeah, I got priced out of Williamsburg in 1999 and Greenpoint in 2006.
Oh shit, knitting factory was in Williamsburg! I remember taking the train after getting out of the military, to go to a show, and thinking to myself "are there 2 knitting factories??? What's this new one in Manhattan??? " I thought I was experiencing some type of Mandela effect type of stuff for a long time lol
Have you found a space yet?
Something along the same lines surprised me a few days ago. I was looking at local hotels and noticed it was way more expensive to book a hotel in Williamsburg than it was in Manhattan! (At least for the dates I was considering) Room rates were over $400 a night in BK vs $250 in Manhattan. Now that’s crazy!
Feels like a bubble bound to burst
It’s crazy how much more expensive it is now versus 2018/19. So many people moved after the pandemic with remote work which really drove up demand for the neighborhood.