The Changeling in Bed-Stuy challenges my characterization of Bushwick proper as the Bodega Belt, and that her hood might have more bodegas per capita. Mm-mm, girl, you need to take a walk up in here one day — you cannot stand on a Bushwick corner and not see a bodega — some corners have two and even three!
And of course then we have more demographic and definitional concerns to take into consideration — is any minimart in New York City a bodega? I think you have to have at least heard one or two Santería stories about a nearby market to even begin claiming you’re tops in bodegas. And if you go inside a random shop, it better have a big table on which the Caribbean answer to vegetables is offered for sale: yuca, yautía, boniato, onions, platanos, garlic, avocadoes. Goya products better be present on the “high class” aisle — if you keepin it real, you get Diana or Kirby, or whatever local brand is even cheaper than those. Pasteles in the fridge made by the lady down the block? We cool. Otherwise, you frun-in’.
Jimmy Legs May 31st, 2007 at 8:19 am
wasn’t there just that study that said the highest concentration of bodegas is in Harlem? we may have some big shoes to fill.
The Changeling May 31st, 2007 at 11:15 am
I know you ain’t tryin-a say ya’ll is tops!
LOL!!! Goya in the “high class” section! Santeria stories?!? HILARIOUS! I spit out my morning tea because I was laughing so hard. I don’t even know what yautios and boniatos are!
Ok, you’re right, my bodega definition may have been off. Now that you’ve operationalized the definition of bodega, maybe some of the places I considered bodegas really weren’t. I’ve been calling any store that doesn’t have a corporate headquarters outside of Bed-Stuy a bodega. You’re saying that it really comes down to inventory. I’ll do another informal census to tighten up my numbers, and you guys will be having the Bushwick Open Studios this weekend, right? That might give me a chance to get up there and make a comparison. :D And forget about my bodegas per capita stat, because having lots of high-density housing (aka the projects) will mess up my numbers and that stat will not really be reflective of the “bodega-ness” of my hood. I’ll start paying attention to number of bodegas per block.
Jimmy Legs, I’m surprised that with the gentrification of Harlem that many of those bodegas didn’t close down!
Jeremy May 31st, 2007 at 11:31 am
Even in Miami we didn’t call every little market a bodega — they had to have certain products and be set up a certain way (a foggy method of definition, yes). If you could get shampoo there, it’s not a bodega. Stuff like that you get at “hualgrin” or “equer.” :-D
The Changeling May 31st, 2007 at 12:14 pm
Whhooaaa, there partner! Corner stores have subcategories? I’m just getting my mind around the fact that many of the places I’ve been calling bodegas aren’t. This is getting complicated.
Jeremy May 31st, 2007 at 12:16 pm
Haha, no, read those last two out loud. If you’re still stuck I’ll tell you what they are.
z. May 31st, 2007 at 1:00 pm
Heh. Hualgrin. :)
The Changeling May 31st, 2007 at 3:36 pm
HHHHHAAA!!!! Got it! The first one is the pharmacy with the red and beige color scheme and the second one tends to be blue and white. I think they’re the two most common pharmacies in my area of NC as well. I said it a couple of times and finally got it! FUNNY!
Jeremy May 31st, 2007 at 5:04 pm
Now you’ll know what they’re saying if you’re ever in Miami and someone’s telling you where to get condoms.
BushwickBK.com » Blog Archive » If Miami’s Third World, So Is Bushwick August 21st, 2007 at 12:43 pm
[...] Fine. But I know what a rooster sounds like, and I have heard them all over Bushwick. Add in the bodegas and the occasional person dressed completely in white, and subtract the snow — have I come [...]