Victoria Perez-Zarzecka

English 110

Cover Letter:

For my research essay, I want to inspire and inform my audience to further spread the issue of gentrification and its effects. Many of us may know what the term gentrification means but not what its implications can mean for businesses and rentors. Personally, I wasn’t always aware of the significance that gentrifiers had on my community but over time I knew I had to further investigate the issue. I noticed gradual changes in my surroundings and when I reflect on the past, I barely recognize my neighborhood from 8 years ago. Many of my family and friends have also noticed the changes in the different neighborhoods of Brooklyn. I want my essay to lend readers a helping hand in navigating the alterations made by gentrification. 

I believe my essay will best serve an audience of fellow New Yorkers, especially ones who come from low to medium-income homes and communities. Although my topic of research is based in Brooklyn, the facts that will transpire are applicable to neighborhoods throughout NYC. My audience may be those who have never heard of the term gentrification or those who are currently living through it, either way I wish for my research and personal experiences to connect with the reader on some level. 

Gentrification In Brooklyn

Have you been noticing a rise of joggers in your neighborhood, or a number of upscale restaurants that seem out of touch with the typical businesses on your block? These small observations are usually noticeable as they are clear intruders of the neighborhood’s environment. However, what may not be apparent is the large-scale effects these changes may promote. New York City has always been the epicenter of wealth and status however the same does not apply to surrounding boroughs such as Brooklyn. If you’re a New Yorker the term “gentrification” may be something you’re aware of as its presence has especially become apparent and Brooklyn is at the focal point of it all. Gentrification is the change of a community, particularly through racial and economic factors. These changes typically occur at the cost of displacing native residents. Gentrification can affect a community’s demography, businesses, infrastructure, culture, and socio-economic wealth. This issue is especially important because of the people it affects. Black and brown New Yorkers, typically low to medium-income, are the largest population that is affected by gentrification. With many having to leave their residencies, businesses, and communities behind.

Gentrification may change a lot for small and local businesses. In aspects of rent prices and customer turnout, gentrification can modify a business’s typical demography and for small business owners, it can cost them their whole occupation. Brooklyn is the most populous borough of NYC and within are many neighborhoods of different cultures, communities, and dynamics. In neighborhoods of lower and middle class, we notice a pattern of common businesses that are central to the respective communities. Bodega’s, laundromats, 99-cent stores, and supermarket chains all appear in these communities and are fundamental for the residents within. An upscale restaurant or high-end clothing stores wouldn’t get much business from a community of working-class people; however, if the demographics started to shift that could mean another thing. 

New businesses that are on the rise in low-income neighborhoods tend to target a changing demographic. These businesses make themselves available for middle to higher-income residents and are trying to appeal to an affluent taste and lifestyle. Restaurants and cafes seem to be the first indicators of a changing neighborhood. “ ‘Restaurants don’t cause gentrification themselves, but when you live in a neighborhood that’s on the cusp of it, every new coffee shop feels like a jump forward on the doomsday clock of your eventual displacement.” Restaurants and cafes have become a powerful symbol of much broader, systemic forces (Lonescu, 2022).” This may cause you to wonder why food is interconnected with the process of gentrification. Do upscale restaurants sell a certain lifestyle that can attract high-income renters? A research article titled “Food, Gentrification and Located Life Plans” explains the reasoning of why restaurants have a push on gentrification “These located food experiences are one kind of experiences that render life plans located. Because these food experiences are tied to a particular place, the life plans that they are part of are tied to a particular place.” Although some may argue that new restaurants don’t have a direct effect on gentrification it certainly is part of the discussion and can lead to infiltrating an established community with a new demographic.

Closing Businesses + Factors

Unfortunately small businesses in low-income neighborhoods take the biggest hit in a gentrifying area. Typically these businesses are owned by POC who reach and serve the local community. With gentrification changing the demographic of a community, these small businesses miss out on the typical business they’re used to seeing. “Gentrification caused many small business owners in the community to close or relocate their business because of displacement and rises in rent prices. Unsustainable increases in rent prices led to change in the landscape of the small business community through closures and relocations of small business (William, Needham, 2016).” Local small businesses contribute to a community’s needs, cultural identity, and shared space. Some of these businesses serve as a hotspot for native residents but a gentrifying neighborhood can begin to change these dynamics. A Bloomberg article captures some of the surrounding factors for why small businesses suffer from the progression of infrastructure. “As established businesses struggle to appeal to new residents’ tastes and preferences, they face fierce competition from new commercial chains, often courted by municipal economic development policies. Many small businesses simply cannot compete. Redevelopment also brings new construction. Closed streets, cranes and limited parking disrupt the flow of customers for established businesses to make room for new competitors (Lung-Amam, 2021).” Changes that a neighborhood faces are both demographical as well as infrastructural. 

Rent Changes

Rent prices can be an indicator of a community’s socioeconomic status. Low-income neighborhoods in Brooklyn have typically been made up of Black and Latino communities. 1-bedroom apartment buildings have seen an approximately 30% rent increase since 2018. Data from M.N.S Real Estate reveals the average price going from $2,100 to $2,900 in just 5 years. Rent increases affect residents and business owners alike, further pushing out the low-income population. It seems that the wealthy renters are leaving Manhattan and opting for residencies within Brooklyn. New research has shown that high-income renters have risen by 86% in Brooklyn alone, especially boroughs in the more urban parts of Brooklyn. “And when DNAInfo looked at the specific neighborhoods bearing the brunt of the influx, they found, well, exactly what you would expect: Bed-Stuy and Crown Heights have seen huge increases (Sugar, 2017).” I myself reside in Bedstuy, close to the borders of Clinton Hill, and I’ve seen an unrecognizable change in the neighborhood. Blocks that once used to be made up of beauty supply stores, delis, and grills have been replaced with juice shops and upscale restaurants. Many of these changes have been instituted within the past 8 years. Pratt campus, which used to be open to the public has made itself exclusive to its students. This green space which used to be a destination to sit down on grass and get some fresh air has been restricted from the public ever since the pandemic and has been closed off since. Farmers and street markets are typically seen as beneficial for a community, bringing people together in the prospect of sharing healthy and ethical goods. However, for many urban spaces in Brooklyn, they can also be threatening to the native residents. These changes, for neighborhoods such as Fort Greene, have caused more harm than good. Fort Greene Park, once used to be a lowkey space that mostly served its local residents, is now overcrowded with gentrifiers looking to take advantage of the parkland and is on the rise of becoming an attraction site.

Where Gentrification Effects

Neighborhoods like Crown Heights, Bed-Stuy, and Bushwick have undergone noticeable shifts in terms of rent prices and businesses. They have been the talk of gentrification as the stark contrast between low-income and high-income cultures clash. “Bushwick” and “Crown Heights” don’t hold the meaning they once used to. A walk through these neighborhoods might have meant seeing some take-out restaurants or block parties but now have opened up wineries and yoga studios. This is not to say that low-income residents wouldn’t join or use these spaces but it’s about businesses trying to appeal to a higher-class demographic and disaffiliating themselves from the established community. Especially if this means making their prices inaccessible to the native residents. One of my coworkers and longest friends from middle school, has resided in Crown Heights for the past 7 years and she has noticed the demographical shift in her apartment complex. She tells me some older residents who have lived in the apartment for decades have stabilized rent and pay around $700, however, they also miss out on the renovations that are being implemented on other apartments that are now $2,000-$3,000. These higher-priced apartments, with renovated floors and modern appliances, are attracting affluent renters from out of state. The majority of our shared coworkers are non-native New Yorkers. Coming from states such as Colorado, California, and Alabama, have found a job in Brooklyn and are now finding refuge in Crown Heights and Bedstuy. 

Displacing Natives

The most tragic effect of gentrification is the displacement of native residents. Many low-income families aren’t even given the option of staying in their community as the rent increase has exceeded what they can afford to pay. Many families have been forced out as a result of gentrifying neighborhoods. I hold first-hand experience of these effects as my family was pushed out of our apartment since the neighorhood, Clinton Hill, has become a sought-after place for affluent renters. Without rent stabilization the apartment went up hundreds of dollars in the period of a few years. Although we were lucky enough to find a new home not far from our original one, it forced us to move further away from work, schools, and our established community. That being said, there are many people who aren’t lucky enough to find a suitable rent in a nearby neighborhood and are forced to relocate and transport their whole lives somewhere new. 

Gentrification has lasting effects on a neighborhood’s culture, demographics, and community. It can mean erasing the past and covering it with trendy cafes and restaurants. It’s in the best interest of low-income New Yorkers to be aware of the changes and signs. Through this essay, my hope is that the voice of POC communities in Brooklyn that face struggles through gentrification is heard. There is much work to be done in terms of connecting new businesses with the established locals. Instead of gentrifiers disaffiliating themselves they should find ways to work with the community, whether it means giving discounted prices or hearing out the community’s needs. It is questioned if gentrification can ever be seen as fully positive for native residents. However, similarly to the approach for every other change happening in the world right now, we can find proactive ways to empower the unrepresented. 

Works Cited:

Bonotti, M., Barnhill, A. Food, Gentrification and Located Life Plans. Food ethics 7, 8 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41055-022-00101-7

Sugar, Rachel. “Wealthy Renters Move beyond Manhattan, Infiltrate Brooklyn and Queens.” Curbed NY, Curbed NY, 5 Jan. 2017, ny.curbed.com/2017/1/5/14176986/new-york-city-gentrification-high-rental-prices. 

“Small Businesses Are Victims of Gentrification, Too.” Bloomberg.Com, Bloomberg, 19 May 2021, www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-19/small-businesses-are-victims-of-gentrification-too. 

Williams, T. L., & Needham, C. R. (2016). Transformation of a City: Gentrification’s Influence on the Small Business Owners of Harlem, New York. SAGE Open, 6(4). https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244016673631

“What Is Displacement?: Planopedia.” Planetizen, www.planetizen.com/definition/displacement. Accessed 18 Nov. 2023.