I just bought my first New York Times….

…in Bushwick, Brooklyn.
Economic development. Urban Renewal. Gentrification. All progressive or terrifying words, depending on your perspective. For now, I won’t share my opinions on that. What I would like to point out is how media can be a major indicator of the changing face of a New York neighborhood.
Quick history lesson…Bushwick in the ‘70s almost burned to the ground in the blackout, and was unofficially known as the most dangerous neighborhood in town…a neighborhood that even the cops didn’t frequent (interestingly, the Times helped solved that problem too…by exposing the NYPD’s negligence of the neighborhood in the early ‘80s). However, given the cultural boom that has taken place in nearby Williamsburg, Brooklyn over the past 10 years, Bushwick is changing. Rapidly.
When my wife and I moved to the neighborhood a year ago, I was starting to think it was just our minds playing tricks on us. The overcrowded coffee shop (we only have one), new wine shops sans the bullet proof glass (not joking), the two hour wait at our one “hipster” restaurant…all pointed to change (and for those of you who actually know the neighborhood, I don’t count Roberta’s as a Bushwick restaurant…to me that’s East Williamsburg).
It wasn’t until the new bodega opened up around the corner that I saw the proof staring me in the face – The New York Times. A big stack is dropped off first thing every morning, but when I stop in at around 8 a.m. there are usually only three copies left. And I must say, reading it has never been so enjoyable.
A neighborhood that less than a year ago offered just one English language paper, The Daily News, and some seven Spanish language papers, is evolving. For better or worse…that’s up to you. But one thing I’ve learned is, while the silly saying goes ‘You are what you eat,’ I think for emerging urban neighborhoods, one could say, ‘You are what you read.’
I’ll update this post in five years when I pick up my first New Yorker.
For more on Bushwick, check out this blog.

Michael Egbert