Comments on: Feds Financed the Destruction of Bushwick http://bushwickbk.com/2007/06/15/feds-financed-the-destruction-of-bushwick/ News and views from Bushwick, Brooklyn Wed, 16 Nov 2011 12:21:44 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 By: valley guy http://bushwickbk.com/2007/06/15/feds-financed-the-destruction-of-bushwick/comment-page-1/#comment-1151 valley guy Sat, 14 Jul 2007 22:41:22 +0000 http://bushwickbk.com/archives/72#comment-1151 A little Brooklyn history. I left Gates Avenue at Irving in '65 but everyone else left in the '50's for Levittown and this may sound odd but once the Dodgers and Giants left, the communal concept of Brooklyn also disintegrated. When soldiers came back from WWII and were lured to the idea of the suburbs, they took a large chunk out of the economic base of the borough and left a lot of low-cost housing. Check the demographics but folks from Harlem moved into Brooklyn about that time. That’s where the diversity that we treasure came from. Before that time, the neighborhoods were relatively pure population pockets that were controlled by essentially people with similar backgrounds. Germans rented to (exploited) newly arrived Germans, Italians to Italians (see Bensonhurst), etc. The real change in the borough was that before that time, there was no real reason to leave the neighborhood. As a matter of fact, hard as this may be to believe, many of the older people who lived in the neighborhood in the ‘50’s had never been to Manhattan. It was considered another city. There was no real curiosity. They knew it existed but were content with a much simpler life. They had theatres on Myrtle Avenue to see movies occasionally and most people couldn’t afford to eat in restaurants so they ate at home. They bought from neighborhood stores and watched TV. That’s it. As far as white flight. It’s true. Folks left but please keep in mind that heroin was sold out of the neighborhood pizza parlors in the ‘60’s thanks to Little Nicky Scarfo et al, and that the factories to process it were in Bushwick/Bed-Stuy. Not wanting that kind of temptation presented to their children might have had something to do with families taking flight. Just a thought. A little Brooklyn history. I left Gates Avenue at Irving in ’65 but everyone else left in the ’50′s for Levittown and this may sound odd but once the Dodgers and Giants left, the communal concept of Brooklyn also disintegrated. When soldiers came back from WWII and were lured to the idea of the suburbs, they took a large chunk out of the economic base of the borough and left a lot of low-cost housing. Check the demographics but folks from Harlem moved into Brooklyn about that time. That’s where the diversity that we treasure came from. Before that time, the neighborhoods were relatively pure population pockets that were controlled by essentially people with similar backgrounds. Germans rented to (exploited) newly arrived Germans, Italians to Italians (see Bensonhurst), etc.
The real change in the borough was that before that time, there was no real reason to leave the neighborhood. As a matter of fact, hard as this may be to believe, many of the older people who lived in the neighborhood in the ‘50’s had never been to Manhattan. It was considered another city. There was no real curiosity. They knew it existed but were content with a much simpler life. They had theatres on Myrtle Avenue to see movies occasionally and most people couldn’t afford to eat in restaurants so they ate at home. They bought from neighborhood stores and watched TV. That’s it.
As far as white flight. It’s true. Folks left but please keep in mind that heroin was sold out of the neighborhood pizza parlors in the ‘60’s thanks to Little Nicky Scarfo et al, and that the factories to process it were in Bushwick/Bed-Stuy. Not wanting that kind of temptation presented to their children might have had something to do with families taking flight. Just a thought.

]]> By: bushwicknative http://bushwickbk.com/2007/06/15/feds-financed-the-destruction-of-bushwick/comment-page-1/#comment-617 bushwicknative Thu, 21 Jun 2007 13:14:04 +0000 http://bushwickbk.com/archives/72#comment-617 KB no I am not in the neighborhood having left in 1973 but have been back a few time since including early June. It really is changing again. I live in NJ now so am close enough to visit. and I do remember Gottliebs (gone) and the Chinese place across the street. Corrados pizza still is there on Woodbine. Neidersteins (middle village) also closed. I do not think we Brigids folks were more affluent either . There were just more of us. In those years we had 6 classes of 35-40 kids each in a grade. We were probably the largest school in the diocese. KB no I am not in the neighborhood having left in 1973 but have been back a few time since including early June. It really is changing again. I live in NJ now so am close enough to visit.

and I do remember Gottliebs (gone) and the Chinese place across the street. Corrados pizza still is there on Woodbine. Neidersteins (middle village) also closed.

I do not think we Brigids folks were more affluent either . There were just more of us. In those years we had 6 classes of 35-40 kids each in a grade. We were probably the largest school in the diocese.

]]> By: Kevin Backmann http://bushwickbk.com/2007/06/15/feds-financed-the-destruction-of-bushwick/comment-page-1/#comment-601 Kevin Backmann Wed, 20 Jun 2007 21:40:07 +0000 http://bushwickbk.com/archives/72#comment-601 Yo, Bushwicknative: I was always jealous of those St. Brigid's kids for some reason. They appeared to be more affluent or something, of course that was mere illusion as we were all in the same boat more or less. In the 60's I hung out under the El at Wychoff & Myrtle. We would cluster around an abandoned shoe shine stand, across the street from Gottlieb's restaurant. Growing up there was a profoundly positive experience, once I got over the idea that I had been deprived somehow. Are you still in the neighborhood? I'm in Dallas, TX, a circle of hell Dante never told anyone about. Yo, Bushwicknative:

I was always jealous of those St. Brigid’s kids for some reason. They appeared to be more affluent or something, of course that was mere illusion as we were all in the same boat more or less.

In the 60′s I hung out under the El at Wychoff & Myrtle. We would cluster around an abandoned shoe shine stand, across the street from Gottlieb’s restaurant.

Growing up there was a profoundly positive experience, once I got over the idea that I had been deprived somehow.

Are you still in the neighborhood? I’m in Dallas, TX, a circle of hell Dante never told anyone about.

]]> By: bushwicknative http://bushwickbk.com/2007/06/15/feds-financed-the-destruction-of-bushwick/comment-page-1/#comment-587 bushwicknative Wed, 20 Jun 2007 12:57:58 +0000 http://bushwickbk.com/archives/72#comment-587 to number 25 the map on the web shows a large swath of brooklyn so you can see the streets laid out but not a lot of detail re the houses etc If you go to the BHS they have very detailed maps from different years showing buildings etc. KB seeing your other blogs as well as this we are from the same era although I went to St. Brigid I remember as a 5 or 6 year old going to St. Barbaras with my grandmother for Bingo games to number 25 the map on the web shows a large swath of brooklyn so you can see the streets laid out but not a lot of detail re the houses etc

If you go to the BHS they have very detailed maps from different years showing buildings etc.

KB seeing your other blogs as well as this we are from the same era although I went to St. Brigid
I remember as a 5 or 6 year old going to St. Barbaras with my grandmother for Bingo games

]]> By: Kevin Backmann http://bushwickbk.com/2007/06/15/feds-financed-the-destruction-of-bushwick/comment-page-1/#comment-583 Kevin Backmann Wed, 20 Jun 2007 03:42:37 +0000 http://bushwickbk.com/archives/72#comment-583 I was there when the blockbusting began, and the spiral downward happened so fast the breath of life was sucked out of the neighborhood in its wake. I believed then, as I believe now, that the spirit of the neighborhood was its diversity, and it’s sad to know that the true spirit of the neighborhood, as embodied by all its residents, was the very weapon that was used to induce white flight out of the neighborhood. My parents were some of those who made the made dash for anywhere but Bushwick, and I wound up living with a family that stayed in Bushwick, at 296 Central Avenue. In 1969 a young Puerto Rican activist was fatally shot during a demonstration at the corner of Central Avenue and Harmon Street by the owner of a building on that corner. The owner of that building was Italian, and it spurred another flight of home owners out of the neighborhood. I believe the activist was named Sonny, but that I could very well be wrong. We knew each other in passing from hanging out in the neighborhood, but I did not know him as a friend. Whatever promise the 60’s supposedly held at the beginning of the decade had long since dissipated following the deaths of Martin Luther King, Malcom X, Bobby Kennedy, and in a neighborhood called Bushwick the death of that young activist. The arson and looting of 70’s only served as the final paragraph of a 15 year monologue of greed and fear. I’ve not read all of the feedback, but I get a sense that the spirit of the neighborhood survived after all, lurking in darkened vestibules and in damp, dank cellars in the interim until it was safe to come out and play again. Kevin Backmann I was there when the blockbusting began, and the spiral downward happened so fast the breath of life was sucked out of the neighborhood in its wake. I believed then, as I believe now, that the spirit of the neighborhood was its diversity, and it’s sad to know that the true spirit of the neighborhood, as embodied by all its residents, was the very weapon that was used to induce white flight out of the neighborhood.

My parents were some of those who made the made dash for anywhere but Bushwick, and I wound up living with a family that stayed in Bushwick, at 296 Central Avenue. In 1969 a young Puerto Rican activist was fatally shot during a demonstration at the corner of Central Avenue and Harmon Street by the owner of a building on that corner. The owner of that building was Italian, and it spurred another flight of home owners out of the neighborhood. I believe the activist was named Sonny, but that I could very well be wrong. We knew each other in passing from hanging out in the neighborhood, but I did not know him as a friend.

Whatever promise the 60’s supposedly held at the beginning of the decade had long since dissipated following the deaths of Martin Luther King, Malcom X, Bobby Kennedy, and in a neighborhood called Bushwick the death of that young activist. The arson and looting of 70’s only served as the final paragraph of a 15 year monologue of greed and fear.

I’ve not read all of the feedback, but I get a sense that the spirit of the neighborhood survived after all, lurking in darkened vestibules and in damp, dank cellars in the interim until it was safe to come out and play again.

Kevin Backmann

]]> By: anonymous http://bushwickbk.com/2007/06/15/feds-financed-the-destruction-of-bushwick/comment-page-1/#comment-580 anonymous Tue, 19 Jun 2007 23:20:09 +0000 http://bushwickbk.com/archives/72#comment-580 wow, does the map show anything interesting about the homes between evergreen and broadway, is that just plain bushwick, no other fancy word to give the area some status! wow, does the map show anything interesting about the homes between evergreen and broadway, is that just plain bushwick, no other fancy word to give the area some status!

]]> By: bushwicknative http://bushwickbk.com/2007/06/15/feds-financed-the-destruction-of-bushwick/comment-page-1/#comment-571 bushwicknative Tue, 19 Jun 2007 18:59:56 +0000 http://bushwickbk.com/archives/72#comment-571 further to the question of when did "east williamsburgh" first appear check out this website http://www.bklyn-genealogy-info.com/Map/Newtown.html which is an 1873 map of the area ... note the streets of bushwick into queens are all laid out in the grid system but I seriously doubt there were houses there yet... also note the "East Williamsburgh" tag was applied all the way into queens and Ridgewood is out where the resevoir is. further to the question of when did “east williamsburgh” first appear check out this website

http://www.bklyn-genealogy-info.com/Map/Newtown.html

which is an 1873 map of the area …

note the streets of bushwick into queens are all laid out in the grid system but I seriously doubt there were houses there yet… also note the “East Williamsburgh” tag was applied all the way into queens and Ridgewood is out where the resevoir is.

]]> By: bushwicknative http://bushwickbk.com/2007/06/15/feds-financed-the-destruction-of-bushwick/comment-page-1/#comment-524 bushwicknative Sun, 17 Jun 2007 20:04:04 +0000 http://bushwickbk.com/archives/72#comment-524 in response to number 7 I have looked at maps from 1855 of the area ( no I am not that old LOL but was born in early 50s ( 1950s that is)).. in 1855 the area now called North Bushwick was actually tagged East Williamsburg and Ridgewood was tagged out by the Highland Park resevoir. Ridgewood always had the Queens connotation and Bushwick the Brooklyn. As we all know neighborhood boundaries move over time (look at Little Italy in Manhattan where it is now hard to find a lot of Italians residing) but in the early 1950s people sort of thought of Ridgewood being north of the Myrtle Avenue el and Bushwick south of it.. I know this does not follow the Bklyn Queens border but it did seem to be the line of demarcation as Broadway divided Bushwick and Bed-Stuy East Williamsburg always referred to that industrial area bordering on Flushing Avenue and "Morgantown'( another new moniker) today but it did not really matter because no one really lived there .. As an aside East Williamsburg ( Johnson Ave, Ingraham, Morgan and the like ) was a great place to learn how to drive on a Sunday morning as there was absolutely no one there as all the industries were closed. and the 11237 zip in bushwick is properly known as Wyckoff Heights... There was at one time a 11227 zip code used by the post office out on cypress avenue past myrtle but that was changed a while back to a more Queensy sounding zip code in response to number 7 I have looked at maps from 1855 of the area ( no I am not that old LOL but was born in early 50s ( 1950s that is)).. in 1855 the area now called North Bushwick was actually tagged East Williamsburg and Ridgewood was tagged out by the Highland Park resevoir.

Ridgewood always had the Queens connotation and Bushwick the Brooklyn. As we all know neighborhood boundaries move over time (look at Little Italy in Manhattan where it is now hard to find a lot of Italians residing) but in the early 1950s people sort of thought of Ridgewood being north of the Myrtle Avenue el and Bushwick south of it.. I know this does not follow the Bklyn Queens border but it did seem to be the line of demarcation as Broadway divided Bushwick and Bed-Stuy

East Williamsburg always referred to that industrial area bordering on Flushing Avenue and “Morgantown’( another new moniker) today but it did not really matter because no one really lived there ..

As an aside East Williamsburg ( Johnson Ave, Ingraham, Morgan and the like ) was a great place to learn how to drive on a Sunday morning as there was absolutely no one there as all the industries were closed.

and the 11237 zip in bushwick is properly known as Wyckoff Heights… There was at one time a 11227 zip code used by the post office out on cypress avenue past myrtle but that was changed a while back to a more Queensy sounding zip code

]]> By: Sam Cono-Yapp http://bushwickbk.com/2007/06/15/feds-financed-the-destruction-of-bushwick/comment-page-1/#comment-520 Sam Cono-Yapp Sun, 17 Jun 2007 16:46:36 +0000 http://bushwickbk.com/archives/72#comment-520 "East Williamsburg" was common slang to refer to... the EAST part of Williamsburg, i.e. the largely Italian sector that's east of say Leonnard. the area between say Bushwick Avenue & Knickerbocker was either Bushwick or NO MAN'S LAND. The ersatz-hipster asswipes & the real artists who scurry around the Morgan stop on the L... are welcome to Bushwick, i suppose, but it's laughable to think that's the heart or even the liver of Bushwick as a whole, which is really Knickerbocker, Myrtle & Wilson. Also, while Bushwick absolutely suffered, it's remarkable also how much ** survived ** & there were even-- yes-- white people who stayed (mostly Italian). I don't have to time to educate the kids here about 1960s & 1970s New York but, uh... READ SOME BOOKS & don't rely on the motherfucking Times, even when they're not horrible. Filipino Bushwick, arise! “East Williamsburg” was common slang to refer to… the EAST part of Williamsburg, i.e. the largely Italian sector that’s east of say Leonnard. the area between say Bushwick Avenue & Knickerbocker was either Bushwick or NO MAN’S LAND.

The ersatz-hipster asswipes & the real artists who scurry around the Morgan stop on the L… are welcome to Bushwick, i suppose, but it’s laughable to think that’s the heart or even the liver of Bushwick as a whole, which is really Knickerbocker, Myrtle & Wilson.

Also, while Bushwick absolutely suffered, it’s remarkable also how much ** survived ** & there were even– yes– white people who stayed (mostly Italian).

I don’t have to time to educate the kids here about 1960s & 1970s New York but, uh… READ SOME BOOKS & don’t rely on the motherfucking Times, even when they’re not horrible.

Filipino Bushwick, arise!

]]> By: Gus http://bushwickbk.com/2007/06/15/feds-financed-the-destruction-of-bushwick/comment-page-1/#comment-519 Gus Sun, 17 Jun 2007 15:40:47 +0000 http://bushwickbk.com/archives/72#comment-519 The rise of Bushwick will inevitably change the 'hood from all that it has represented in the last 30+ years. Having grown up in Williamsburg during the seventies and eighties, I am a witness to the worse times that these parts have gone through. But, I now live on Bushwick and feel the great energy of resurrection that is on its way. It's still only the beginning, but the changes are coming. Good neighbors make good neighborhoods! The rise of Bushwick will inevitably change the ‘hood from all that it has represented in the last 30+ years. Having grown up in Williamsburg during the seventies and eighties, I am a witness to the worse times that these parts have gone through. But, I now live on Bushwick and feel the great energy of resurrection that is on its way. It’s still only the beginning, but the changes are coming. Good neighbors make good neighborhoods!

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