White Tenant’s Message To Black And Hispanic Residents In Brooklyn Neighborhood


THE DEADWILEY TRUTH

OP-ED COLUMN

THE PEN IS A POWERFUL INSTRUMENT. WHEN USED EFFECTIVELY, YOU CAN CHANGE THE WORLD

 

By Eric M. Deadwiley

January 30, 2017

 

 


 

   BON VOYAGE!

White Tenant’s Message To Black And Hispanic Residents In Brooklyn Neighborhood

 

A White tenant living in Bedford-Stuyvesant Brooklyn hung a Tee-Shirt in his 1st Floor Apartment window with a message to the native residents of the Bed-Stuy community. His message represents the sentiment of some of the new (more well-to-do ) residents who are occupying the new Luxury Apartments that are being built all over the Bed-Stuy community. Since the year 2000, the Luxury Apartment boom has “exploded” in Brooklyn. This explosion slowly worked its way up from the Clinton Hills area all the way up through Bed-Stuy to Bushwick. There are very few ( if any ) Apartments being built that are being reserved for “low income” applicants.

 

Tenants are being approached by Landlords all across Brooklyn with “buy-out” offers. Long time rent stabilized and rent controlled Tenants are being harassed every day by Landlords all across Brooklyn. Buy-out offers range from $5,000.00 to $100,000.00 depending on the neighborhood and the average market value of the surrounding Properties. The next phase of the expansion is the East New York area of Brooklyn. The Downtown area, once occupied by Albee Square Mall in North Brooklyn has been totally redeveloped with almost a total saturation of Luxury High Risers spanning from Court Street, straight through the Fort Green area. Even the Mitchell-Lama Housing Program Tenants are being approached with 5 to 6 figure buy-out offers. In the late 90’s, those double decker Bus Tours ( normally operating in and around Manhattan ) began to come through the Bed-Stuy community in the “hundreds” per day. Many people knew then that the fix was in and our community was being “targeted” for mass gentrification.

 

I have lived in the Bed-Stuy community for most of my life. I now own a home in the very community in which I was born almost 50 years ago. New York City is experiencing a “mass exodus” of its Black and Hispanic Citizenry because of the rising cost of housing. Many of my family members have had to leave New York State altogether because of the massive rise in the cost of living over the past 2 decades. New York City is quickly becoming a city where the residents living in rentals will have to spend over 60% of their monthly salaries for rent alone. I watched the young White male Tenant go into the Apartment while I was taking the picture of his infamous Tee-Shirt. He rushed in his Building as if he left a Pot of food cooking on the Stove. I wondered why he would feel emboldened to make a statement as such, to neighbors he didn’t even know. I pondered over the thought that many of my “new” White neighbors may feel the same way. I “hoped” that it was just a funny coincidence; this otherwise harmless Tee-Shirt with the statement which denotes the departure of someone, just happened to be hanging in a 1st floor window on Marcus Garvey Boulevard, in a major sidewalk passing of residents who live in a large Housing Development, who happen to be mostly Black and Hispanic. Maybe this was all simply a misunderstanding. Nah! In this Trump era, with a White Nationalist like Steve Bannon at his side. Racism and indifference has finally gone mainstream.    

 

Eric M. Deadwiley is a Freelance Op-Ed Columnist, Investigative Reporter and Author

 

Contact:         Eric M. Deadwiley

Email               edeadwiley27@yahoo.com

Blog:               http://thedeadwileytruth27.blogspot.com/

©                     ALL RIGHTS RESERVED UNLESS PERMISSION IS GRANTED

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

THE MLK DAY EMBARRASSEMENT

BLACK MEN ARE ASKING: WHY SHOULD WE CONTINUE TO MARCH?

CONTACT TRACER RECRUITMENT DISCRIMINATION