Note: At 3:10, I state that signs are written in Hebrew, but they are actually written in Yiddish, a language that uses the Hebrew script. An earlier version of this video referred to the low-income units included in new private developments as “public housing”. The correct term for these units is "affordable housing", "public housing" refers to units owned by the government. I edited out the use of the word “public” in that section so the audio may be a little choppy.
My family is from Williamsburg. I appreciate this content but I feel it fails to mention how divided Williamsburg was. The polish and Italians of the north side would often get into street fights with the Puerto Ricans in the south side and the major influx of Dominicans in the 80’s. Puerto Ricans created gangs to protect themselves from racism.
@@gregartnyc1160 whats funny about that? It makes total sense that Latinos in the 70's and 80's would create their own gangs to defend against the already established Jewish/Italian/Irish gangs in the area
@@gregartnyc1160 There's some truth to this since the Italian mafia had a bigger stake north of Grand St at that time and were more prone to throwing their weight around. A few old-timer Italian guys I've met in WB have mentioned this divide to me as well. The police also weren't responding to calls as often, given the state of the city budget in the 80s.
@@Mew2Win I can bet money that it will only get more and more gentrified every year. I don’t mind gentrification as it makes the place nicer cleaner and safer with better stores and options. But the housing costs are the only thing I am against. But that’s capitalism for you.
What's funny is that to us native Brooklynites, Williamsburg is the antithesis of what Brooklyn is. I was born and raised in Brighton Beach/Coney Island but now I live in Williamsburg, and all my friends make fun of me for living here! That's how much Williamsburg is despised by native New Yorkers. But after living here for three years, I love this neighborhood. It's in my top three, with Brooklyn Heights and Park Slope being my first and second favorites.
Haha I grew up on ocean pkwy, when I was in college moved to park slope and secured a rent stabilized unit (cash bribe to super ). I hang out in Williamsburg and the city nearly every day and I think willi is way better than p slope aside from raising a family potentially.
I am also obsessed with history. The full history. I know that it's a brief video but certain facts absolutely can not be glossed over. So, I am pleased that Harrison at least acknowledged the Lenapehoking. What he didn't mention were the Africans enslaved in and who built what would become Williamsburgh. There was a large community of free Black people which is why the historic African Free School/Colored School #3 was located there. Many of the African Free School alumni became leaders in their community and were instrumental in the abolition movement, Underground Railroad and woman's suffrage movements. My ancestors were among the Lenape, the free Africans and the enslaved Africans.
Also, if you don’t know him already, you might really like Tom Delgado’s NYC history vids. You almost give a similar energy, but more zoomer. In a good way, ofc.
Thank you for the in-depth and interesting video about such a culturally significant and historic neighborhood!! A small note, but the Hasidic Jewish areas of NYC that you refer to actually have signs in Yiddish, not Hebrew. The language traditionally uses the same alphabet as Hebrew, but is actually closer to a dialect of German with some Hebrew elements incorporated in it. Sadly, many Yiddish speakers died during the Holocaust and the language is now quite rare, but Hasidic communities are still working to keep it alive!
Thank you for your comment! I have added a note to the video description marking the error on the language of the signage. And yes, the history of Yiddish is very sad, but thankfully people work hard to keep it in use!
Thoughtful video- well done. I'm an artist who lived in Williamsburg 1992-2000. On the one hand, I was paying $450 per month for a loft share. On the other, there was gunfire on the streets every night. Still. I feel bad for young artists who'll never know the opportunities that cheap rent in NYC gave my generation. And I really respect young artists who are willing to come to New York and try anyway.
I agree with this statement, but $450 in 1996 is about $900 today. I know many artists (mainly musicians) who pay around this much to live in a shared 2-3 bedroom apartment in Bushwick, Ridgewood or BedStuy in 2024.
Also Domino Sugar has a dark history of slavery back in Puerto Rico. The man that created Domino Sugar was also a US Army general appointed governor by the US when Puerto Ricans couldn’t vote for their own politicians, who also own sugar plantations throughout the island. Conflict of interest much?
The domino sugar factory is being turned into a condominium…. The domino sugar company hasn’t been there since the 1990…. My tenant , is plumber that has been working on it . And after it is done . You will not be able to afford it .
I am born and raised in Brooklyn and I just wanted to let you know you did a great job on this video! I enjoyed watching it! Looking forward to seeing more of your content!
Those signs are most likely in Yiddish which usually uses the Hebrew alphabet but is actually a Germanic language with influences from Slavic languages as well as others. The Hasidim are mostly from Eastern Europe.
I know that it's a brief video but certain facts absolutely can not be glossed over. So, I am pleased that Harrison at least acknowledged the Lenapehoking. What he didn't mention were the Africans enslaved in and who built Williamsburgh. The historic African Free School/Colored School #3 was located there because of the large community. The building is still there. Many of the African Free School alumni became leaders in the African American community. They were instrumental in the abolition movement and the Underground Railroad. My ancestors were among the Lenape, the free Africans and the enslaved Africans who once called Williamsburgh home. Displacement of communities is something that can't be prevented but erasing them from history can.
Wonderful video! I have always wanted to know more about NYC neighborhoods and I didn’t know that it is actually a home of many artists. I love your style of editing too!
Awesome video man, I’m a Brooklyn native. I live by prospect park and since I was in college I saw Williamsburg transforming rapidly and loved its transformation and vibe. I thought with my future job, that I have now as a doctor, that I’d move to Williamsburg or west village. The crazy part is, is that it became so expensive that I can’t even afford a 1bd or studio there on a doctor’s salary. And what’s even more ridiculous is that the lottery for the affordable ones are ridiculous and caps you at around 60k earners which is unrealistic for the expensive lifestyle there. That means the only ones really affording Williamsburg are people make over 250k or rich kids (trust funds) and the ones getting the housing lottery, like some people I know, get it through scamming the system by lying about their actual worth and salary. Nonetheless it’s a nice place.
@@niabolling3991 yea it’s total bs, there are also some that work for the city or the NY Democrat party that essentially award it to friends and family. A few actually got caught, it was on the news if you search but most don’t get caught, so it’s mostly a big scam.
I was born in Greenpoint in 85, and moved to Philly in 92. Grandmom is still there(rent lock) and we regularly went up there growing up in the 90s. I've grown up watching the process of gentrification happen in real time and it seems like the real estate market has utilized Williamsburg as a model for modern urban revitalization(gentrification) in other major cities in the U.S.. Displacement has been and always will be a part of urban revitalization. Philadelphia is now being heavily gentrified and redeveloped, rapidly, without all the cool ish NYC has available. It's not playing out the same way (not many jobs here, dining is concentrated in certain neighborhoods, clubs, and bars close relatively early, too many buy and hold real estate investors, crime is high and happens in gentrified areas commonly, open-air drug market due to the opioid epidemic, smaller streets, less parking, not enough police, not a strong transit system(not to mention how unsafe it is), etc...in short, we are not NYC). Good video. Earned the sub, like, and a few shares.
I loved to Brooklyn in 2008 and got the tail end of what was a pretty cool neighborhood. There were plenty of rich kids around but also plenty like me just scrapping by and paying $800 per month for a room somewhere with roommates. I loved it and had a blast going out in that neighborhood and Bushwick which was starting to come up at the time. Or course I was years too late for the really good Williamsburg days and have some friends who did live there then and the stories are pretty great. Today it is all very different..not just Williamsburg but all over NYC. Gentrification of major cities across the world has made all of these neighborhoods more luxury than cool. It doesn’t mean they are not still fun and for some people then are even better than what was there before. But if you spent any time there before all the luxury condos and Whole Foods turned up you know that it was far more unique a place than it is today. Nothing lasts forever. Great video.
Loved this video! I just want to push back and say subsidized low-income units in private developments are not the same as public housing. Not to mention that what is classified as low-income is bade on median area income which means that developers are incentivized to increase rents for market-rate apartments so that the median income rent for the area goes up and now the "affordable" units that are reserved for 80-130% of the AMI price out most low-income residents in the first place. A good example is a building in my neighborhood which was recently built in central Brooklyn. A market-rate studio goes for $3,098/month and an affordable apartment goes for $3,025/month. Subsidized affordable housing in market developments is no substitute for actual purpose-built low income public housing. We need to stop relying on the private market to fix housing and encourage our government to start building it themselves again.
Thank you for watching and thank you for your comment! Yes, you are right, I was using incorrect terminology here. I have modified the video to remove the word "public" ; now instead I just say "low-income housing". I didn't dive too deeply into how these units are priced and how landlords circumvent rules and policies. It's certainly a topic for a future video. And I totally agree that there needs to be more government-owned housing units, especially with how bad the housing crisis is. However, I do think that privately owned buildings that contain large percentages (ex. 35-50%+) of truly affordable units for low-income tenants can definitely help. Cheers
Super glad I found this vid!! I lived in The Bronx for most of my life and I first started hanging out in Williamsburg in highschool because I was on a quest to do photography in all of the five boroughs. That was only 10 years ago and the change that I’ve seen has been staggering. For me, it’s always been a hipster semi rich neighborhood but now it is completely turned into the next upper east side. I would love a longer video speaking more about how this gentrification really affects Spanish Williamsburg and the Jewish community ! Best believe I’m subscribed and excited to see more😁
Hey Harrison, really well done video. I've lived in eastern Williamsburg for a third of my life (I'm in my early/mid-30s now), and I'm really into the area's history -- especially the industry history and old industrial infrastructure, which is something that is quickly being wiped away. I spent most of my time in this area as a low-income service worker and musician, which was a common demographic back when I moved here. I was fortunate to find a rent-stabilized apartment back in 2013, so I've managed to keep my roots here. The quote at 10:50 made me laugh as I feel like my neighbors are either people like this or long-time residents. It's becoming a bit too common to feel like I look "less cool" in a room full of pseudo-creative corporate 9-5ers/tech bros when, in fact, I'm often the only working artist in the room. There are still massive musician studios in this part of the neighborhood off the Montrose stop and many spots where local degenerates like myself still go (not listing them here) and where a long-time friend of mine who now works for Google once said, "These people are the reason I moved to New York." Both a sad and funny statement because it makes it seem like we are an endangered species (also not true if we go into Bushwick and Ridgewood). Also, thank you for mentioning the Meeker Avenue plume. It is something of vital importance that people need to take seriously. Long-term exposure to it will likely have serious health consequences, and people are buying/building multi-million dollar homes and raising their kids right on top of it. My prediction is Broadway Junction and East New York will be the next major point of "hipster" development by 2030, and it's already begun slowly. It's right off the L, J, Z, A, C, and LIRR trains and plenty of large industrial buildings are sitting vacant.
I live in S Williamsburg and moved here last year as an aspiring (and poor) painter. It is not affordable for artists / working class. I work fulltime and can't afford health insurance and other basic necessities. Time will tell if it's worth it.
You gotta just find your groove, which is going to include finding a good mix of an affordable apartment and studio space (or one that has both if you're lucky). It'll take time, but you'll find it if you keep looking. I'd recommend moving out of south Williamsburg and into Ridgewood, BedSuy, or even East New York. I'm a musician who's lived in eastern Williamsburg for 10+ years. I've never made more than $60k a year, but I've managed to make it work while living a solid low-class to middle-class life. There were definitely some dark periods when I was incredibly poor, but for those, you keep at it and keep honing your craft. You can always relocate and there's no shame in that.
@@dtegg91 at this point I’m way too used to my comfortable and occasional luxury living. I worked my butt off to get where I’m at. To pay off my loans etc.. I fly on business class when I can, I stay at 4 star plus hotels only etc.. and find it reasonably priced. But when I look at NYC rent and sale prices I’m just pissed because it’s unjustifiably high. I have friends that do live in these apartments, some with pools and basketball/tennis courts even but the only way they afford it is because they are from very wealthy families. That’s why I’m always shocked at how many people actually live in these places, can’t be so many rich families in this country and all in one city.
You are correct, I have modified the video to remove the word "public" ; now instead it just states "low-income housing". Thanks for watching and thanks for your comment!
This was a great video. I liked how you incorporated yourself while telling the current (gentrification) state of Williamsburg. More could have been told about the back history of Williamsburg as far as the residents and resources that were once there. I am a Born and Bred Resident of Williamsburg and seeing so many neighborhood landmarks being torn down for condos and luxury apartment buildings makes me sad😢. FYI all the supposedly low income apartments are not affordable for the average low income person just look at the salary requirements and rent prices NYC needs to do better
One important thing missing is discussion of the signifiant German immigrant population in the 1880s. The area was known of as Germantown. The Brooklyn Eagle is a good resource for information.
Wonderfully edited video. Having lived in Ridgewood now for two years - I still the gentrification continuing each day. East Williamsburg (the Bushwick de-Militarized zone as my friend calls it) still has a touch of that grittiness but hardly much at all. Coffee shops inside industrial buildings. Wild times. A video on Ridgewood has to be in the pipeline.
Watching this from Williamsburg. It's a fantastic neighborhood - great food, great parks, great transit (when L is working). When you get tired of the young rich (and you will get tired) walk a few blocks past the BQE.
Those new luxury units after the rezoning were not so much for "low income" tenants, but more "affordable" for those earning moderate incomes. Especially building receiving financing from the state produced the worst outcomes due to little oversight
My family lived on Fillmore Place for 30 years. My parents met at a garment factory on north 8th and Driggs in the 80s (where Buffalo Exchange is/was)It was really dope growing up in Los Sures. Taking summer classes at El Puente (shoutouts to the Young Lords) and skating/graffiti on Kent when it was guerilla skate parks and burnt out cars. There's so much PR/Dominican/Mexican diaspora history. 2 things to explore is the waste site Radiac by Domino Park and PS 84. The second one is the indigenous community from Xoyatla Puebla that lived in the buildings above BagelSmith on Bedford, they got displaced by the greedy landlords and even CUT THE APARTMENTS IN HALF to move in hipsters in the early 2000's.
If it was a video focusing on that part of the history, he would have haha. This was a general overview of all the history over 15minutes. There’s a lot to cover.
from one white guy in brooklyn to another, banger vid, well done! excellent storytelling my only piece of constructive criticism would be try to tweak the voice audio so it's a little less muddy (if that makes sense?). did you use adobe's voice enhancer or something similar? i think it was just noticeable on the indoor shots. the audio on the outside shots was fantastic.
@@hashbrown.512 weirdly i've found that uploading the file to the adobe sound enhancer site is better than doing it natively in premiere. the workflow is ass though. I would recommend EQing in audition or something similar. a parametric equalizer and compressor will get you most of the way there. what hardware did you use to record outdoor audio? i couldn't spot a mic anywhere
I'm pretty sure Brooklyn had hipsters in Park Slope and Cobble Hill pre-1900 as I've some ancestors buried in Green-Wood Cemetery that worked as Gilders with cool hipster names like Cornelius.
Yes, there has always been displacement of communities. I know that it's a brief video but certain facts absolutely can not be glossed over. So, I am pleased that Harrison at least acknowledged the Lenapehoking. What he didn't mention were the Africans enslaved in and who built what would become Williamsburgh. There was a large community of free Black people which is why the historic African Free School/Colored School #3 (1787/1841) was located there. Many of the African Free School alumni became leaders in their community and were instrumental in the abolition movement, Underground Railroad and woman's suffrage movements. My ancestors were among the Lenape, the free Africans and the enslaved Africans. When the European immigrants came to the neighborhood, much of the established Black community moved further into Brooklyn and into Midtown Manhattan. Harlem wasn't developed at that point.
@@Bklyn112 Thanks for the interesting info. I just wanted to acknowledge there were artists living in Brooklyn in the 1800s before it became more working class at the turn of the century.
I lived in williamsburg and it is called soho east at this point. The westside of BQE specifically, but again if you walk twenty minutes east of BQE then it is totally different. It is sad that gentrification is driving out native resident, but that is an issue with every city. Now i live in london, but i still miss williamsburg dearly even though it is quite expensive. For example my 7 bucks cold brew, 15 oatmeal with fruit and 20 bucks sandwich lol
Hey Harrison, I am making a documentary film about Crest Hardware, which is closing after 62 years of service in Williamsburg. I cam across this video while doing research. If you have time or interest I would like to connect with you somehow.
It’s an interesting history, but it would be better without all the virtue signaling. Why does everything in America have to come with this faux-egalitarianism? There is more honesty anywhere outside the west.
I don’t think across America many people could identify Williamsburg as apart of Brooklyn. Most people might answer it’s in Virginia or something. Brooklyn doesn’t have parts in the national consciousness the way it does in NY.
I worked in two of the domino buildings as they were going up. I was a assistant project manager. Those buildings are fucking expensive and expensive to live in.
I am also a self-aware tech bro, but I moved to Clinton Hill in January and work remotely and I have no friends, despite being pretty cool. You wanna hang out?
I remember Williamsburg as a shithole occupied by Puerto Ricans in the 70-80’s. My mom worked in a sewing factory and my aunt made dolls. How we ended up here is un-fucking-believeable
Note: At 3:10, I state that signs are written in Hebrew, but they are actually written in Yiddish, a language that uses the Hebrew script. An earlier version of this video referred to the low-income units included in new private developments as “public housing”. The correct term for these units is "affordable housing", "public housing" refers to units owned by the government. I edited out the use of the word “public” in that section so the audio may be a little choppy.
My family is from Williamsburg. I appreciate this content but I feel it fails to mention how divided Williamsburg was. The polish and Italians of the north side would often get into street fights with the Puerto Ricans in the south side and the major influx of Dominicans in the 80’s. Puerto Ricans created gangs to protect themselves from racism.
created gangs to protect themselves - lmao
even 2005-2012 was pretty bloody in Los Sures and Williamsburg PJS. RIP TWITCH!
@@gregartnyc1160 whats funny about that? It makes total sense that Latinos in the 70's and 80's would create their own gangs to defend against the already established Jewish/Italian/Irish gangs in the area
@@gregartnyc1160 There's some truth to this since the Italian mafia had a bigger stake north of Grand St at that time and were more prone to throwing their weight around. A few old-timer Italian guys I've met in WB have mentioned this divide to me as well. The police also weren't responding to calls as often, given the state of the city budget in the 80s.
As a native Brooklyn resident this entire commentary is spot on. However I digress please do not send corporate hipster bros to Flatbush lmfao.
You know damn weII they’re not coming over there💀. They’re probably going to wytte Bushwick at most.
@@Mew2Win aye once upon a time we were saying the same thing about bushwick and Williamsburg lol
@@Mew2Winthey already are here. Plenty of new apartments and even ones with housing lottery.
@@nylens471 that’s every neighborhood. Crypto bros & fashion chasing iconistas aren’t flocking there tho
@@Mew2Win I can bet money that it will only get more and more gentrified every year. I don’t mind gentrification as it makes the place nicer cleaner and safer with better stores and options. But the housing costs are the only thing I am against. But that’s capitalism for you.
What's funny is that to us native Brooklynites, Williamsburg is the antithesis of what Brooklyn is. I was born and raised in Brighton Beach/Coney Island but now I live in Williamsburg, and all my friends make fun of me for living here! That's how much Williamsburg is despised by native New Yorkers. But after living here for three years, I love this neighborhood. It's in my top three, with Brooklyn Heights and Park Slope being my first and second favorites.
Haha I grew up on ocean pkwy, when I was in college moved to park slope and secured a rent stabilized unit (cash bribe to super ). I hang out in Williamsburg and the city nearly every day and I think willi is way better than p slope aside from raising a family potentially.
Okay 3 things i am obsessed with:
1) nyc history
2) the editing
3) everything about this
I am also obsessed with history. The full history. I know that it's a brief video but certain facts absolutely can not be glossed over. So, I am pleased that Harrison at least acknowledged the Lenapehoking. What he didn't mention were the Africans enslaved in and who built what would become Williamsburgh. There was a large community of free Black people which is why the historic African Free School/Colored School #3 was located there. Many of the African Free School alumni became leaders in their community and were instrumental in the abolition movement, Underground Railroad and woman's suffrage movements. My ancestors were among the Lenape, the free Africans and the enslaved Africans.
@@Bklyn112I am obsessed with history.
Dude, I loved this whole video. Can’t wait to see what you become on this channel!
Also, if you don’t know him already, you might really like Tom Delgado’s NYC history vids. You almost give a similar energy, but more zoomer. In a good way, ofc.
Thank you! And yes I've seen Tom Delgado's videos, he's great. I appreciate the comparison haha
no way ur here
Thank you for the in-depth and interesting video about such a culturally significant and historic neighborhood!! A small note, but the Hasidic Jewish areas of NYC that you refer to actually have signs in Yiddish, not Hebrew. The language traditionally uses the same alphabet as Hebrew, but is actually closer to a dialect of German with some Hebrew elements incorporated in it. Sadly, many Yiddish speakers died during the Holocaust and the language is now quite rare, but Hasidic communities are still working to keep it alive!
Thank you for your comment! I have added a note to the video description marking the error on the language of the signage. And yes, the history of Yiddish is very sad, but thankfully people work hard to keep it in use!
Very interesting and fascinating video. I'm happy I found this channel so early. Looking forward to seeing more content from you.
Thoughtful video- well done. I'm an artist who lived in Williamsburg 1992-2000. On the one hand, I was paying $450 per month for a loft share. On the other, there was gunfire on the streets every night. Still. I feel bad for young artists who'll never know the opportunities that cheap rent in NYC gave my generation. And I really respect young artists who are willing to come to New York and try anyway.
I agree with this statement, but $450 in 1996 is about $900 today. I know many artists (mainly musicians) who pay around this much to live in a shared 2-3 bedroom apartment in Bushwick, Ridgewood or BedStuy in 2024.
Also Domino Sugar has a dark history of slavery back in Puerto Rico. The man that created Domino Sugar was also a US Army general appointed governor by the US when Puerto Ricans couldn’t vote for their own politicians, who also own sugar plantations throughout the island. Conflict of interest much?
The domino sugar factory is being turned into a condominium…. The domino sugar company hasn’t been there since the 1990…. My tenant , is plumber that has been working on it . And after it is done . You will not be able to afford it .
Fiddacts. Let them know.
@@JoeyJoe-f5o They changed the plans and the building will be offices ("They Refinery at Domino"). But yes, still unaffordable.
Super high quality video! Would love to see you dig into history in Queens and neighborhoods like Jackson Heights
thanks! more videos about other neighborhoods in NYC coming soon. want to make some about Queens for sure
As a Native NYer, I don't even consider Williamsburg Brooklyn anymore. It's mini-Manhattan. Once I saw a Chanel store there, I knew it was clipped.
As an immigrant who moved to south Brooklyn at 6 years old, ive watched this neighborhood and others like it in Brooklyn transform. Great video!
hope ur channel picks up, keep working hard and create great content like this!
Thank you! More content coming soon
I am born and raised in Brooklyn and I just wanted to let you know you did a great job on this video! I enjoyed watching it! Looking forward to seeing more of your content!
really nailed the johnny harris vibe. Stoked to see your evolution!
Thank you! Johnny Harris is certainly an inspiration
Those signs are most likely in Yiddish which usually uses the Hebrew alphabet but is actually a Germanic language with influences from Slavic languages as well as others. The Hasidim are mostly from Eastern Europe.
Hola!!!
Yiddish is a mix of Hebrew and other languages so it doesn't really matter where they are from. All Jews are from Judea
So they're eastern Europeans then. Judaism isnt a race
All jews are not from judea, what a stupid thing to say
@@taqiyyaconcarne6908 Judaism is an ethnoreligon
My friend recommended this video after we were talking about gentrification in Jersey City, NJ. Excellent video. Subscribed!
thank you! I hope to make videos about urban development in New Jersey in the future
This is great! Thank you for sharing
Thank you for watching! More videos coming soon
Every video keeps getting better! love this
Thanks Omid!
Love this video! Great work. I'm excited to see more of your work!
I know that it's a brief video but certain facts absolutely can not be glossed over. So, I am pleased that Harrison at least acknowledged the Lenapehoking. What he didn't mention were the Africans enslaved in and who built Williamsburgh. The historic African Free School/Colored School #3 was located there because of the large community. The building is still there. Many of the African Free School alumni became leaders in the African American community. They were instrumental in the abolition movement and the Underground Railroad. My ancestors were among the Lenape, the free Africans and the enslaved Africans who once called Williamsburgh home. Displacement of communities is something that can't be prevented but erasing them from history can.
Still there on Union Avenue. Very cool old building with a history most people don't know. Thankfully it was landmarked!
Very insightful and informative video 👌 I love how self aware you are on your limits on the issue while also laying down the facts.
What a cool video! Glad I found this channel early. Keep it up!
Wonderful video! I have always wanted to know more about NYC neighborhoods and I didn’t know that it is actually a home of many artists. I love your style of editing too!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Youre a sad person.
Amazing work. As a Willamsburger, this was super interesting. Would love more videos on Williamsburg.
Awesome video man, I’m a Brooklyn native. I live by prospect park and since I was in college I saw Williamsburg transforming rapidly and loved its transformation and vibe. I thought with my future job, that I have now as a doctor, that I’d move to Williamsburg or west village. The crazy part is, is that it became so expensive that I can’t even afford a 1bd or studio there on a doctor’s salary. And what’s even more ridiculous is that the lottery for the affordable ones are ridiculous and caps you at around 60k earners which is unrealistic for the expensive lifestyle there. That means the only ones really affording Williamsburg are people make over 250k or rich kids (trust funds) and the ones getting the housing lottery, like some people I know, get it through scamming the system by lying about their actual worth and salary. Nonetheless it’s a nice place.
I'm so glad you broke this down. The affordable housing is nowhere near affordable.
@@niabolling3991 yea it’s total bs, there are also some that work for the city or the NY Democrat party that essentially award it to friends and family. A few actually got caught, it was on the news if you search but most don’t get caught, so it’s mostly a big scam.
Thanks for the explainer.
I was born in Greenpoint in 85, and moved to Philly in 92. Grandmom is still there(rent lock) and we regularly went up there growing up in the 90s. I've grown up watching the process of gentrification happen in real time and it seems like the real estate market has utilized Williamsburg as a model for modern urban revitalization(gentrification) in other major cities in the U.S.. Displacement has been and always will be a part of urban revitalization. Philadelphia is now being heavily gentrified and redeveloped, rapidly, without all the cool ish NYC has available. It's not playing out the same way (not many jobs here, dining is concentrated in certain neighborhoods, clubs, and bars close relatively early, too many buy and hold real estate investors, crime is high and happens in gentrified areas commonly, open-air drug market due to the opioid epidemic, smaller streets, less parking, not enough police, not a strong transit system(not to mention how unsafe it is), etc...in short, we are not NYC).
Good video. Earned the sub, like, and a few shares.
I loved to Brooklyn in 2008 and got the tail end of what was a pretty cool neighborhood. There were plenty of rich kids around but also plenty like me just scrapping by and paying $800 per month for a room somewhere with roommates. I loved it and had a blast going out in that neighborhood and Bushwick which was starting to come up at the time. Or course I was years too late for the really good Williamsburg days and have some friends who did live there then and the stories are pretty great. Today it is all very different..not just Williamsburg but all over NYC. Gentrification of major cities across the world has made all of these neighborhoods more luxury than cool. It doesn’t mean they are not still fun and for some people then are even better than what was there before. But if you spent any time there before all the luxury condos and Whole Foods turned up you know that it was far more unique a place than it is today. Nothing lasts forever. Great video.
Loved this video!
I just want to push back and say subsidized low-income units in private developments are not the same as public housing. Not to mention that what is classified as low-income is bade on median area income which means that developers are incentivized to increase rents for market-rate apartments so that the median income rent for the area goes up and now the "affordable" units that are reserved for 80-130% of the AMI price out most low-income residents in the first place.
A good example is a building in my neighborhood which was recently built in central Brooklyn. A market-rate studio goes for $3,098/month and an affordable apartment goes for $3,025/month. Subsidized affordable housing in market developments is no substitute for actual purpose-built low income public housing. We need to stop relying on the private market to fix housing and encourage our government to start building it themselves again.
Thank you for watching and thank you for your comment! Yes, you are right, I was using incorrect terminology here. I have modified the video to remove the word "public" ; now instead I just say "low-income housing". I didn't dive too deeply into how these units are priced and how landlords circumvent rules and policies. It's certainly a topic for a future video. And I totally agree that there needs to be more government-owned housing units, especially with how bad the housing crisis is. However, I do think that privately owned buildings that contain large percentages (ex. 35-50%+) of truly affordable units for low-income tenants can definitely help. Cheers
Cool to see a video essay that’s better as a video and not a tweet.
this is so great and informative! Would love to see you cover other nyc neighborhoods :)
That was really good - gotta sub 👍🏾
thank you!
Always so great to be reminded that Williamsburg existed before my ambiguous patchwork tattoos did. Loved this-really well done
lol thank you!
Youre gross.
Super glad I found this vid!! I lived in The Bronx for most of my life and I first started hanging out in Williamsburg in highschool because I was on a quest to do photography in all of the five boroughs. That was only 10 years ago and the change that I’ve seen has been staggering. For me, it’s always been a hipster semi rich neighborhood but now it is completely turned into the next upper east side. I would love a longer video speaking more about how this gentrification really affects Spanish Williamsburg and the Jewish community ! Best believe I’m subscribed and excited to see more😁
Hey Harrison, really well done video.
I've lived in eastern Williamsburg for a third of my life (I'm in my early/mid-30s now), and I'm really into the area's history -- especially the industry history and old industrial infrastructure, which is something that is quickly being wiped away. I spent most of my time in this area as a low-income service worker and musician, which was a common demographic back when I moved here. I was fortunate to find a rent-stabilized apartment back in 2013, so I've managed to keep my roots here.
The quote at 10:50 made me laugh as I feel like my neighbors are either people like this or long-time residents. It's becoming a bit too common to feel like I look "less cool" in a room full of pseudo-creative corporate 9-5ers/tech bros when, in fact, I'm often the only working artist in the room.
There are still massive musician studios in this part of the neighborhood off the Montrose stop and many spots where local degenerates like myself still go (not listing them here) and where a long-time friend of mine who now works for Google once said, "These people are the reason I moved to New York." Both a sad and funny statement because it makes it seem like we are an endangered species (also not true if we go into Bushwick and Ridgewood).
Also, thank you for mentioning the Meeker Avenue plume. It is something of vital importance that people need to take seriously. Long-term exposure to it will likely have serious health consequences, and people are buying/building multi-million dollar homes and raising their kids right on top of it.
My prediction is Broadway Junction and East New York will be the next major point of "hipster" development by 2030, and it's already begun slowly. It's right off the L, J, Z, A, C, and LIRR trains and plenty of large industrial buildings are sitting vacant.
Great job, man!
Great video as as a Williamsburg resident always great to see the history
I live in S Williamsburg and moved here last year as an aspiring (and poor) painter. It is not affordable for artists / working class. I work fulltime and can't afford health insurance and other basic necessities. Time will tell if it's worth it.
Get a second job then. Quit bitching about a problem you could easily fix.
unfortunately ..Crown Heights has a taste of "gentrification" the last 10 years
I can’t understand why or how u do it. I mentioned my situation above. And as a doctor I can’t comfortably afford Williamsburg.
You gotta just find your groove, which is going to include finding a good mix of an affordable apartment and studio space (or one that has both if you're lucky). It'll take time, but you'll find it if you keep looking.
I'd recommend moving out of south Williamsburg and into Ridgewood, BedSuy, or even East New York. I'm a musician who's lived in eastern Williamsburg for 10+ years. I've never made more than $60k a year, but I've managed to make it work while living a solid low-class to middle-class life. There were definitely some dark periods when I was incredibly poor, but for those, you keep at it and keep honing your craft. You can always relocate and there's no shame in that.
@@dtegg91 at this point I’m way too used to my comfortable and occasional luxury living. I worked my butt off to get where I’m at. To pay off my loans etc.. I fly on business class when I can, I stay at 4 star plus hotels only etc.. and find it reasonably priced. But when I look at NYC rent and sale prices I’m just pissed because it’s unjustifiably high. I have friends that do live in these apartments, some with pools and basketball/tennis courts even but the only way they afford it is because they are from very wealthy families. That’s why I’m always shocked at how many people actually live in these places, can’t be so many rich families in this country and all in one city.
This is very cool video, keep it up! I hope you make more nyc content.
edit: I pray these people never come to flatbush. I'll go homless.
Can you do Greenpoint next? This was so interesting!
When you say 'public housing' I think you mean 'affordable housing', definitely an interesting thread to pull. Great video!
You are correct, I have modified the video to remove the word "public" ; now instead it just states "low-income housing". Thanks for watching and thanks for your comment!
bro definitely lives in Bushwick
lol I live in Clinton Hill
He writing about himself😂
Love this -Another Brooklyn Resident
Terrific video. Thank you!
I miss Output. Almost every day it was opened. Some of the staff moved to the Basement
ha only 166 followers?!? really nice video. looks good. i like it. interesting
This was a great video. I liked how you incorporated yourself while telling the current (gentrification) state of Williamsburg. More could have been told about the back history of Williamsburg as far as the residents and resources that were once there. I am a Born and Bred Resident of Williamsburg and seeing so many neighborhood landmarks being torn down for condos and luxury apartment buildings makes me sad😢. FYI all the supposedly low income apartments are not affordable for the average low income person just look at the salary requirements and rent prices NYC needs to do better
Ya nailed this
One important thing missing is discussion of the signifiant German immigrant population in the 1880s. The area was known of as Germantown. The Brooklyn Eagle is a good resource for information.
Big fan of this
thanks bro!!
Wonderfully edited video. Having lived in Ridgewood now for two years - I still the gentrification continuing each day. East Williamsburg (the Bushwick de-Militarized zone as my friend calls it) still has a touch of that grittiness but hardly much at all. Coffee shops inside industrial buildings. Wild times. A video on Ridgewood has to be in the pipeline.
lol, hipsters used to be the ones with skinny jeans! Great video!
Ridgewood is the new East Village - the next stop on the L train.
great content
appreciate it!!
@@hashbrown.512J
Watching this from Williamsburg. It's a fantastic neighborhood - great food, great parks, great transit (when L is working). When you get tired of the young rich (and you will get tired) walk a few blocks past the BQE.
Terrific video
Those new luxury units after the rezoning were not so much for "low income" tenants, but more "affordable" for those earning moderate incomes. Especially building receiving financing from the state produced the worst outcomes due to little oversight
My family lived on Fillmore Place for 30 years. My parents met at a garment factory on north 8th and Driggs in the 80s (where Buffalo Exchange is/was)It was really dope growing up in Los Sures. Taking summer classes at El Puente (shoutouts to the Young Lords) and skating/graffiti on Kent when it was guerilla skate parks and burnt out cars. There's so much PR/Dominican/Mexican diaspora history. 2 things to explore is the waste site Radiac by Domino Park and PS 84. The second one is the indigenous community from Xoyatla Puebla that lived in the buildings above BagelSmith on Bedford, they got displaced by the greedy landlords and even CUT THE APARTMENTS IN HALF to move in hipsters in the early 2000's.
🇵🇷 Born and raised in WB. Thanks for the 45 seconds of only focusing on how rough it was instead of our 70+ year rich history in the neighborhood.
If it was a video focusing on that part of the history, he would have haha. This was a general overview of all the history over 15minutes. There’s a lot to cover.
Nice video!
I used to work in Williamsburg at CVS, the people were mostly nice and I loved the area but had to quit thanks to my awful manager
Lol we probably worked at the same cvs then I quit because of an awful manager
from one white guy in brooklyn to another, banger vid, well done! excellent storytelling
my only piece of constructive criticism would be try to tweak the voice audio so it's a little less muddy (if that makes sense?). did you use adobe's voice enhancer or something similar? i think it was just noticeable on the indoor shots. the audio on the outside shots was fantastic.
thank you! yeah audio is still something I'm trying to figure out. I was using Adobe's voice enhancer on both indoor and outdoor audio. any tips?
@@hashbrown.512 weirdly i've found that uploading the file to the adobe sound enhancer site is better than doing it natively in premiere. the workflow is ass though. I would recommend EQing in audition or something similar. a parametric equalizer and compressor will get you most of the way there.
what hardware did you use to record outdoor audio? i couldn't spot a mic anywhere
@@EricHovagim thanks for the advice! outside I used a RODE lavalier mic taped to the inside of my shirt
@@hashbrown.512 it sounds great! consider using that inside too, or a shotgun mic if you have one!
Maybe a fuqing hack like you can move to where all the fuqing hacks move to or come from?
NJ.
native ny’er and I live in williamsburg. this inspired me to go outside today lmao
I'm pretty sure Brooklyn had hipsters in Park Slope and Cobble Hill pre-1900 as I've some ancestors buried in Green-Wood Cemetery that worked as Gilders with cool hipster names like Cornelius.
Yes, there has always been displacement of communities. I know that it's a brief video but certain facts absolutely can not be glossed over. So, I am pleased that Harrison at least acknowledged the Lenapehoking. What he didn't mention were the Africans enslaved in and who built what would become Williamsburgh. There was a large community of free Black people which is why the historic African Free School/Colored School #3 (1787/1841) was located there. Many of the African Free School alumni became leaders in their community and were instrumental in the abolition movement, Underground Railroad and woman's suffrage movements. My ancestors were among the Lenape, the free Africans and the enslaved Africans. When the European immigrants came to the neighborhood, much of the established Black community moved further into Brooklyn and into Midtown Manhattan. Harlem wasn't developed at that point.
@@Bklyn112 Thanks for the interesting info. I just wanted to acknowledge there were artists living in Brooklyn in the 1800s before it became more working class at the turn of the century.
i hope to see more history here
10/10 use of slow pan and zoom for the background ~hipsters~
thank you haha
amazing content ❤
The condos that resulted from rezoning did not displace anyone because that land was industrial before
I lived in williamsburg and it is called soho east at this point. The westside of BQE specifically, but again if you walk twenty minutes east of BQE then it is totally different. It is sad that gentrification is driving out native resident, but that is an issue with every city. Now i live in london, but i still miss williamsburg dearly even though it is quite expensive. For example my 7 bucks cold brew, 15 oatmeal with fruit and 20 bucks sandwich lol
Gavin Mcinnes (Godfather of hipsterdom) "you're welcome..."
You are awesome 💪
Hey Harrison, I am making a documentary film about Crest Hardware, which is closing after 62 years of service in Williamsburg. I cam across this video while doing research. If you have time or interest I would like to connect with you somehow.
The Hebrew letters are actually spoken Yiddish in Williamsburg.
nice. thanks
Williamsburg needs to allow way more buildings above 7 stories. - from a williamsburg resident
you should talk about radiac in williamsburg
Great video
Keep up the videos
It’s an interesting history, but it would be better without all the virtue signaling. Why does everything in America have to come with this faux-egalitarianism? There is more honesty anywhere outside the west.
Los Sures documentary mentioned!!!
Dude i have that same LL Bean chore jacket. In 5:19
it's a great jacket. mine is my grandfather's, all of his clothes are cool now haha
Hella self aware
He's a douche bag who has brought his douch bagginess with him.
He should pack it up and go away.
You should go with him.
You should do the Bronx Next
great vid
I don’t think across America many people could identify Williamsburg as apart of Brooklyn. Most people might answer it’s in Virginia or something. Brooklyn doesn’t have parts in the national consciousness the way it does in NY.
Williamsburg followed the blueprint of SoHo from the 1960's.
11:34 😂😂😂😂
I worked in two of the domino buildings as they were going up. I was a assistant project manager. Those buildings are fucking expensive and expensive to live in.
I am also a self-aware tech bro, but I moved to Clinton Hill in January and work remotely and I have no friends, despite being pretty cool. You wanna hang out?
Holy shit this video is so true
YOU can also See The Statue of Liberty near by.
This guy looks like he’s in a oasis cover band
I remember Williamsburg as a shithole occupied by Puerto Ricans in the 70-80’s. My mom worked in a sewing factory and my aunt made dolls. How we ended up here is un-fucking-believeable
Um , the part about Williamsburg being a former nuclear dumping ground was omitted in this video.
thank you reddit for the term "work island"
Wait this isn’t a Vox video?! It’s always an Ohio shoutout!
My relatives still lives in Brooklyn, only Midwood and nothing else.
12:19 😂😂😂😂