Dalia from Newswalk: “We’re Betting on Gehry to Keep Things Civilised”
Newswalk resident Dalia Fahmy wrote Saturday in the Financial Times:
“… Since buying an apartment with my husband in Prospect Heights a few months ago, my only regret is that we didn’t move here sooner … Across the street from our building, architect Frank Gehry is designing a stadium…”
“…recently, gentrification has reached frightening heights, pushing property values up almost 50% in the past three years … Entire communities of lower-income minorities have been displaced, and long-time residents are increasingly resentful … Many sport trendy 1970s-style T-shirts that read ‘Develop, Don’t Destroy Brooklyn.’”
“… I can’t help but enjoy the gentrification. My husband and I briefly considered Dumbo before settling into the more accessible Prospect Heights, in a converted condo loft in [Newswalk]. Our new neighbourhood was (and still is) more affordable than others in Brooklyn because some buyers are scared off by the pending [Atlantic Yards project]. Residents of the one-family brownstones nearby worry about the congestion and sports bars the development will bring, and African-American homeowners on my street have draped posters in their windows in protest.”
“But my husband and I are betting on Gehry to keep things civilised. We still have access to coffee shops with internet access and customised lattes … a bigger and better choice of restaurants than [in the] Upper West Side, and buying gifts for friends is easy in one of Prospect Heights’ many artsy boutiques.”
LINK:
Brooklyn bridges the property gap [Financial Times]
PHOTO: [Greg Mango for The Brooklyn Papers]
