Not exactly sure if Bushwick is tourist-ready at the moment, but its international image has been soaring since the British Airways’ in-flight magazine, High Life, published an article on how “1980s Manhattan” the neighborhood has become.
The piece uses adjectives like “underground”, “edgy”, “adventurous” and “quirky” to describe the Bushwick scene and promotes local favorites like the Wyckoff-Starr, Goodbye Blue Monday, Northeast Kingdom and a few art galleries. Best of all, the last sentence says, “Bushwick is just nine stops on the L train from Union Square, but it’s a 20-minute time warp to a golden age of New York cool.”
Just imagine a typical tourist’s photo album after a vacation in Bushwick: self-portraits in front of the Boar’s Head Rock Street distribution plant, rainbow-colored puddles, skinny people on double-decker bicycles and maybe a shot of that creepy Santa statue on Bogart Street – each picture holding precious memories of rotting garbage fumes and lost time in a vast industrial wasteland … hope no one leaves disappointed.
Lis June 25th, 2009 at 4:23 am
Ugh. Are we gonna be another Williamsburg? I’ve lived here all my life and really appreciate how off-the-map Bushwick feels… oh well. Bring on the gentrification.
Jimmy Legs June 25th, 2009 at 4:03 pm
have you guys seen those photos of the lower east side in the early 80s? bushwick looks pretty good by comparison, and look what happened there!
mopar June 25th, 2009 at 5:12 pm
The hype about Bushwick is insane. And annoying.
cb June 26th, 2009 at 8:35 am
Mopar, this is how I felt living in W-burg in the mid-to-late 90s.
(still there, btw).
Andrew June 26th, 2009 at 8:44 am
I heard a Paul Smith store is opening on Flushing? Anyone know any more about this?
Ryan June 29th, 2009 at 8:07 pm
Isn’t Bushwick NYC’s version of Compton?
Professional Alternative June 29th, 2009 at 9:10 pm
You wouldn’t be able to live in Compton, so, emphatically, no. Bushwick is NYC’s version of Echo Park.
Erin June 30th, 2009 at 1:35 am
Andrew are you joking?
T. AKA Ricky Raw June 30th, 2009 at 9:49 am
How many years now has Bushwick been the “next big thing?” Meanwhile Bed-Stuy near the Clinton Hill border has quietly come from behind and passed it.
I’m guessing we’re about due for the 5th annual New York Times Style section piece about how Bushwick is the next big thing. Of course next year it will still be the next big thing, by which time Astoria will have fully passed it by as well.