Old Hipsters vs. New Hipsters in Bushwick: Who Will Win? (We All Lose)
What is there left to say about hipster-fueled gentrification in Brooklyn that hasn’t already been said? We all know this story, right? Long-entrenched residents push back against the new generation, leading to a social cold war that only ends when the original residents get priced-out of their apartments or, well, die. And then the cycle starts all over again. But what if the older residents haven’t been around for a really long time? What if the older residents are actually hipsters themselves? Just, you know, first-wave hipsters. What happens then? Don’t worry, guys. The New York Post is ON IT.
In a situation the Post dubs the Battle of Bushwick, “hipsters who settled the Brooklyn neighborhood 10 years ago have declared war on rich kids flocking to new luxury digs on their parents’ dime.” The “luxury digs” in question are located in the new CastleBraid development on Troutman Street, where apartments run for up to $3,400/month and where residents have access to “a recording studio, a wood shop, a screening room, a gym, a game room and even a digital-media lab.” The Post (never a publication to shy away from fomenting class any kind of warfare) reports that longtime four-year residents of Bushwick, like yoga teacher Angelina Dreem*, hate CastleBraid and its residents. Dreem tells the Post that the building is “an adult children playground” and further scoffs, “it’s like Neverland over there.” Oh, shit! Dreem just threw it down. But how will younger hipsters respond to the accusations that they don’t want to grow up? Well, get ready for this! The Post spoke with CastleBraid resident Gregory Tyler Hill, who says, ““The resentment is just haters. Hate what you don’t know, hate what you don’t see.” Haters! Nice. Sick burn.
And then what happens? How does the battle escalate??? Well, it doesn’t. The Post has nothing more to report on here (other than a couple of quotes from true, longtime Bushwick resident, Carlos Juarez, who clearly doesn’t care about any of this), leaving bloggers like me despondent that there isn’t a real hipster war brewing. Not that we want war, exactly. Just maybe something in the style of a hipster-Hunger Games? I mean, the name of the building is CastleBraid! Sure, it’s named after the trimmings factory that once occupied the site, but it sounds like a setting in a fantasy novel, doesn’t it? It does! Unfortunately, it looks like there won’t be any Game of Thrones-level power plays happening here, and that the Battle of Bushwick will turn out to be the same old battle of gentrification that has been fought all over the city. Oh, well.
* Dreem is not, as it turns out, a yoga teacher, despite the Post describing her that way.
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