It's still mostly commercial, but the developers are starting to see dollar signs with the hipster overflow. They won't knock those buildings down, though. Too much work, and it's not really necessary anyway. They'll just bribe the real estate lobby to rezone the properties, and they'll convert them into lofts. It's already happening.
I have a friend of mine from college who lives in Harlem and could be considered a hipster.
However, she is also highly involved in local preservation projects and is part of what seems to be a growing clique of young people concerned with preserving historic areas of the city, rather than demolishing them and building something else.
No offense, Snakes. Because you know I think you're a good kid and a very valuable researcher on this board. But that's just the kind of carpetbagger that they REALLY fucking hate in neighborhoods like Harlem.
They come here from wherever (North Carolina in her case?), they overpay for new lofts or condos, and then after the fact they say they're "all about the history." Bullshit.
If you're all about the city, then you should stay in Bumblefuck and not put poor Black families in the street who have lived there for three, sometimes even five generations.
At least tell the truth about it. You're a hipster or a Yuppie or whatever. You want to get out of Bismarck, North Dakota or some similar place. And you don't really care if you displace multi-generational families in Harlem or Williamsburg or the West Village. You got yours, let them get theirs.
But don't tell people who've lived here all their lives that you care about the history or your enamored with the culture. Because that's a crock of shit. You want to be here because it's cool to be here. Don't piss on my leg and tell me it's raining
.
And again, Snakes. You're one of my favorite posters, and the "you" that I'm referring to is a blanket statement. I don't mean you or your friend personally (well, maybe her
).
