local

Gentrification: the process of replacing the poor population of a neighborhood with the affluent and reorienting the district along upscale lines.

When most of us think of gentrification, we not only mean that wealthier people are moving and displacing lower income people in specific neighborhoods, but we are often indirectly saying “white people are coming to replace a black neighborhood”. People joke that you know when a neighborhood is gentrifying when the first cupcake place opens, or when there are competing coffee shops serving pour overs. One friend marks it with the introduction of a Thai restaurant. Regardless, the businesses that arrive and thrive can signify a lot about your neighborhood.

Artwork by Daniel McCann

Before I start, I want to communicate two disclaimers:

1. As someone who moved to Brooklyn from Manhattan only a few years ago with my husband, both of us having full time jobs and holding graduate degrees, I identify as one of the gentrifiers.

2. A full comprehensive look at evolving businesses in Brooklyn would take several hundred pages. My handpicked few are merely a reflection of my personal taste.

Realizing the repercussions of our choices, specifically where we spend our money, many of us have strong opinions and loyalty about where we eat and drink. But it’s not so simple to make decisions along race, class, or even “how long have you been here” lines, as many new businesses are black-owned and historic shops not always are. And where does supporting female or small businesses play into the equation?

One place this intersectionality has shown its complex face is Prospect Lefferts Garden.

Take for example, Blessings Herbs & Coffee on Flatbush. The owner Lilian Bonafina, an Italian woman, opened the establishment two years ago after living in the neighborhood for x years. All the employees, including the co-owner, live in the neighborhood as well, and while other businesses have shut down and had to move out of the area, they have recently renovated and expanded to include a backyard space and will soon be open for dinner. The reason, in my opinion, is obvious: They know you there, and the customer loyalty has paid off. Lily knows everyone and on any afternoon is handling plates, talking to my son marking how much he’s grown, and quickly bagging up food when it rains.

Other places, like Delroy’s Café and Wine Bar and 65 Fen, a wine store and restaurant on Fenmore, also benefit from this street cred. Michel Campbell opened the wine shop seven years ago, and with its success followed with a wine bar two years later. He’s lived in the city 34 years, but doesn’t see the neighborhood as a gentrification project. When I asked him if he was feeling threatened by the new businesses he responded “You never feel secure, but I’m not threatened. I have knowledge as I’m entrenched in the neighborhood and have rent lower than most.” He talks specifically about the rise of stores and restaurants selling alcohol on Flatbush, but connects it to the state liquor authority needing more funds, not gentrification. Michael knows what wines I like and how to make my family feel at home.

But not all new businesses have found it so easy to build customer loyalty. Andy Charles, the owner of Greenhouse Café was forced to move his family out of the neighborhood from the economic pressures from his business. While Andy is Dominican and fits right into the predominantly Caribbean neighborhood, he’s only moved in about three years ago from East New York. “I would hang out in this neighborhood and that was the inspiration (to opening the business). I should have moved in earlier.”

There’s an important distinction between community driven growth versus corporate driven growth. Beforeitsgone.co is a great new social media site dedicated to fighting gentrification in Brooklyn, and explains many of the nuances in detail. When the community asks for establishments to stay open longer or to offer more diverse food options, residents respond very different than if a corporate chain tries to take roots in the area. This can explain the success of Parkside, a new brick side pizza oven restaurant, which attracts families, couples, and regulars. It filled a sore need for an upscale, but laid back cocktail place and has lived up to its expectations.

So where does that leave us: those who identify as political, and recognize that being new to a neighborhood means an opportunity for us to make choices that could be a drop in the bucket of the future of our borough? I’ve noticed most long term residents in Prospect Lefferts Garden will ask questions about the owners, supporting small business entrepreneurs from within the community.  We also frequent spots that hire local residents, and that don’t play dirty with other businesses.

For me, it means touching base with the locals who have history there to hear the spots they want to support, and to keep asking the hard questions. And to hold off on my cravings for a cupcake or Thai food until I’m in the city next time.