UNIT 1 : CITIES. WRITTEN COMPREHENSION.

Brooklyn’s New Gentrification Frontiers

Dave Sanders for The New York Times. By Michelle Higgins Published: March 8, 2013

The subway commute to Manhattan is longer, and organic markets and stylish boutiques are fewer. But
those are the trade-offs as the search for more affordable real estate in Brooklyn pushes deeper into
neighborhoods that for some New Yorkers still evoke images of burned-out buildings, riots and poverty.
“What many clients have told me is that they like the old Brooklyn vibe of these up-and-coming areas,”
said Kristen Larkin, an agent with TOWN Residential. “They like the sense of community, friendliness of
the neighbors, and the mom-and-pop shops that come along with it.”
Brokers and developers say the cross-Brooklyn migration has picked up in
recent years, as recent college graduates, artists and families, mostly white,
seek new affordable neighborhoods.

Sunset Park
Stretching along New York Harbor between Greenwood Heights to the north
and Bay Ridge to the south, Sunset Park has long been a magnet for working-
class immigrants. Once almost exclusively Scandinavian, the area is now home
to large Chinese and Hispanic communities.
Its lovely hillside park offers striking Manhattan views and has a recreation
complex with a gym and an Olympic-size outdoor pool. The local Chinatown is larger than Manhattan’s.
A new green space, Bush Terminal Piers Park, is scheduled to open this summer offering softball and
soccer fields, tidal ponds, walking paths and a wooded area. Other stretches of the industrial
waterfront are being refashioned to attract artists and artisanal food manufacturers. Last month the
chocolatier Jacques Torres announced that he was opening a factory, designed with tourist viewing in
mind. In 2000, the opening of Jacques Torres Chocolate in Dumbo was among the clearest signals of
the gentrification that was to come.
Erika Storella, a literary agent, and her husband, Daniel Heidkamp, a painter,
were living in Greenpoint when they began hanging out at a friend’s art studio
on the industrial waterfront in Sunset Park a couple of years ago. “We were
drawn in by the sense of fresh creative energy in this neighborhood, as well as
the beautiful park, the city views.
In January of last year, the couple, who now have a 6-month-old son, bought a two-bedroom co-op a half
a block from Sunset Park for less than $300,000. Mr. Heidkamp also moved his painting studio to Sunset
Park from Greenpoint.
Ms. Storella’s commute to Midtown has doubled, to about an hour each way but there are benefits: “We
appreciate the natural beauty of the neighborhood,” she said. “We walk through the park almost every
day with our son. We eat a lot of dumplings and burritos, and there is a new organic/local restaurant.

Ditmas Park/ Kensington

Ditmas Park’s increasing gentrification is helping attract and retain families who might previously have
gone to the suburbs. “There’s more holding them here now,” said Jan Rosenberg, who has lived in the
neighborhood for more than 20 years.
Younger families who bought one- or two-bedrooms and had another child are now selling those
apartments and buying the next step up.

East Williamsburg/Bushwick
When Lucy Lesser, 34, a television producer, moved to Brooklyn in 2001, she lived in a $950-a-month
apartment in what was then called Bushwick but is now often referred to as East Williamsburg. Walking
home from the Montrose subway stop, she often saw large rats scurrying across the sidewalk between
abandoned storefronts. “There was this woman who would frequently not rob me, but try to intimidate
me into giving her money,” she said. Things just got worse from there.
“We heard gunshots a few times,” she said. “I was hit by a car walking home on a first date one night and
ended up in the Woodhull Medical Center.” After eight months of toughing it out, she moved in with a
friend in Williamsburg, swearing never to set foot in the area again.
About a year ago she ate her words, buying a 600-square-foot apartment just four blocks from her old
one. It is on the top floor of a seven-story elevator building and cost $370,000.
“I really couldn’t believe it,” she said. In the past two years, the neighborhood, though still gritty, has
gained amenities like Dun-Well Doughnuts, a vegan doughnut shop just around the corner from her
home. The Wick, a music spot, will open soon. “It’s definitely up-and-coming,” Ms. Lesser said.
COMPREHENSION.

1/ What document is it ? Where does it come from ?

2/ Right or Wrong ? Tick the correct answer.

a. You can go from Manhattan to Brooklyn taking the subway. Ο Right Ο Wrong
b. Sunset Park and Kensington are cities far from Brooklyn. Ο Right Ο Wrong
c. Brooklyn still evokes the perfect place to be for New-Yorkers. Ο Right Ο Wrong
(Justify by a quote).
..............................................................................................................................................................................
d. People who live in Broooklyn can easily have a walk at the park Ο Right Ο Wrong
(Justify by a quote).
..............................................................................................................................................................................
e. In Brooklyn you can't practice sports. (Justify by a quote). Ο Right Ο Wrong
..............................................................................................................................................................................
f. If you want to have a nice view of New-York City you can have it from Brooklyn.
(Justify by a quote). Ο Right Ο Wrong
..............................................................................................................................................................................

4/ Answer the following questions.

a. According to the inhabitants of Brooklyn, what are the benefits of living there ?
(3 answers, give examples by quoting the text).
b. Why was Brooklyn dangerous 10 years ago ? (give 2 examples by quoting the text).
c. Can you define the word « gentrification » by giving examples of what is happening in Brooklyn ? (30
words).