Month: January 2014

To Argue

I was called a ‘Yuppie’ for the first time when I was 17 years old. It was the first time I had ever heard the term outside of a John Hughes movie, and I literally had no idea of the connotation behind it. Was I being insulted? Or just routinely labeled? At the time I let it go, the social situation was a new one to me and I wasn’t about to bring more attention to the fact that I didn’t fit in. I was surrounded by people who came from a place I hadn’t experienced before and used terminology, such as ‘flatlanders’, that I had never heard before.  I came to realize they were not particularly fond of my ‘flatlander’ background or so-called ‘yuppie’ culture. For those of you who missed the 80s, with the knowledge from only watching movies, I figured out it means “Young Urban Professional” or something similar to that. It’s applicable to those who survived their hippie, conservative, veteran or other Baby Boomer stereotypical parents to then move to the “Big City” and garner fast paced monetary focused jobs – generally (or so I thought) in the 1980s. I learned then that this is a term still alive and well.

I have no opinion on yuppies, nor will I disclose if I may or may not actually be one. Perception is everything.

Where am I going with this? Gentrification*. The 1980s meant a lot of things for New York City. After the cusp, with some social issues still thriving, of the race riots, civil rights protests, porn in Times Square (can I, a millennial imagine such a thing?!) and the AIDS epidemic, the Mayors of New York City made some drastic changes. These changes led Manhattan to becoming a tourist destination and a family friendly city again. Neighborhoods which once would have been dangerous to walk through now had attractive apartments, food and culture looking to serve a new generation who hadn’t fully experienced the 1970s in NYC.

Now that speaks for Manhattan. Which is only partially the subject of this post, and maybe occasionally in this blog, but it gives a very general introduction as to why New York City and its boroughs began to change. Brooklyn is experiencing a similar revamp, although slightly later and varied heavily by neighborhood. Queens is experiencing some remodeling as well, and to be honest the Bronx is so far north I forget about it sometimes – so I focus on Brooklyn. Brooklyn is what I know right now.

I’m here to talk about how the face of Brooklyn is changing. Maybe occasionally talk about why some neighborhoods get focused on more than others, and maybe why some neighborhoods lose their identity while others keep it completely in tact.

I have some fun ideas about food – both new diverse infused dishes and ones that have been native to their neighborhoods since their inhabitants stepped off the boat at Ellis Island (Yum!), how the a burgeoning art scene can bring in socioeconomic ranges of all sorts of people and in general how architecture and construction in a few years can change the economics of a neighborhood.

So its food, art and cool buildings (and realistically copious amounts of photos) – occasionally some fiscal nonsense but hey, it can only be expected.

There is also me – the so-called Yuppie. Those of us who have flooded various neighborhoods since the first round of gentrification in the late 80s/early 90s (I’m a baby Yuppie in this case; maybe second gen. Yupster – so much more fun than Hipster! Which probably makes me sound worse. And oh shoot, I admitted it!).

I’m here and talking about it, and I’ve got my eyes on a couple of different neighborhoods. Because in Brooklyn you walk a couple blocks in a certain direction and might as well driven 30 miles to a new state.

*Definition of GENTRIFICATION
:  the process of renewal and rebuilding accompanying the influx of middle-class or affluent people into deteriorating areas that often displaces poorer residents 

A fun photo article to get started

-bklyntenant

Auto-Bio

It’s odd to write an autobiography that is somewhat anonymous. This might be a check off on the bucket list for me.  So my sample piece was a little heavy, sorry about that, but the rest of these posts will be far from that.

I work in the marketing/public relations department in a relatively large company in an industry fairly new to social media. I went to college in the North East and graduated a couple years ago and have been with this company since then. I’ve learned a lot about communications, public relations, advertising and marketing functioning as a needed component within a larger company that has many departments. At times, my department almost serves as an internal agency for the larger whole of the company. It keeps my life interesting, and I have (and am) learned (ing) a lot.

I graduated from college in the height of the recession and like many of my peers wasn’t quite sure what to do, but I was happy to land my job and work for a bit and then make the decision to go back to school. I’m happy to be here, happy to know that I’m confident in this choice.

I’m a New Yorker, not a native city dweller, and possibly just a brief inhabitant of the Kings County borough (Brooklyn, NY & specifically the neighborhoods of Red Hook, Carroll Gardens, Boerum Hill, Cobble Hill [Cobbled], Fort Greene, and The Heights) for now. Enjoying it a lot more than I thought I would. I always pictured myself on a different coast; but am embracing the new findings in Brooklyn. You may have picked up on that by now, or I might be too vague for my own good.

My writing can be confusing, so my number one goal, well maybe top five goal, for the semester is to clarify more, if I am being honest. Constructive criticism is super welcome. (Did you hate that I used the word ‘super’? Let me know! And why!)

Happy to get to know you, no really I am.

This was a letter/ Sample writing post

I know we are not suppose to keep this as a diary but this seemed like my most relevant/recent writing sample:

This was an anniversary letter: 

So I was clearly terrified. But this is something that you were well aware of. After a couple years together it was mildly terrifying – because at some point you sink or swim in any relationship regardless. This just might have been the first most tangible time.

A new neighborhood. What does this mean for us? Ticking time bomb, shocking revelations or something even worse – just not clicking?

Patience. All I asked for and so much more than I got.

I knew you were going to experience a number of new things – experiences I was worried you were going to leave me trailing behind in the dust hoping to keep up. Experiences, even worse, that I might have already experienced and had no interest in “holding your hand” through or growing with you through. Experiences, I might not be interesting enough to run with you in.

Food. So much new food, and so much walking (and not driving) to said new food. So much new discovery, in all senses of the word. I wouldn’t call it a quick fix, but more of an easy transition of the direction of the relationship. The easy reliability of two people who lead half separate lives but really enjoy when the two journeys combine. Two people whom the combination is so important to. And the two people who have grown up, somewhat, together.

And all I could think was “let’s do this.” I love you.

Blah this was the end of the letter

 

Short note I left behind at the apartment as I left for work:

I realized at a certain point (pretty sure you realized a long time ago) I had to stop focusing on things that keep us apart but find all the different things that we could experience together.  Food, theatres or weird things neither of us had experiences with (glass as art and bacon duel art/food fest) to keep our lives fairly intertwined.

So lets get weird, embrace what happens and just do us.

 

Transitions take some time but a lot of new experiences are a great result of them.