Culture and Gentrification

Gentrification is a sensitive issue that brings different impacts to the people in a community. It is also taking over several neighborhoods in Queens and Brooklyn. These neighborhoods have undergone through gentrification for quite a long time to bring new people in. Others think this was good idea for the economic development while the residents feared that this could cause expensive housing, social out- casting, and loss of cultural value. Although change seems to be constant in this orld, but the changes that gentrification is bringing are not the changes that the people are looking forward to see.

One of the negative impacts of gentrification is the expensive housing. "Since 2000, average market rents have doubled in Greenpoint-Williamsburg, and rent stabilized tenants face increasing pressure from landlords looking to flip their apartments to the affluent young people now flooding the neighborhood" (Paul 188). Every neighborhood that is undergoing through gentrification has these landlords who are ffering higher rentals in order to drive out these longtime residents and gain more profit from the developers and new people.

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These residents were left with no choice but to move out. These circumstances made them feel that gentrification is implying that they aren't well of enough for their own neighborhood. When longtime residents are driven out from their apartments they felt the rise of social out-casting. "Since 2000, average rents have doubled in Williamsburg- Greenpoint and almost 40 percent of the Latino population has left the neighborhood ikely because of the housing costs (Paul 194). Due to the expensive rentals the residents were being displaced and some of them don't even know where to go.

Others are becoming homeless while the others are moving to more harmful places. Gentrification is putting a huge gap between low-income residents and the upper class people. As the upper class gets richer and richer, the low-income people stay the same. Gentrification is also making the community loss its cultural value. In Queens, Long Island City is the artistic community.

The landmark, 5 Pointz, was known as a anctuary of graffiti where artists from different parts of the globe were able to freely express themselves at the same time the viewers were able to appreciate them. "The building is expected to be replaced by two residential towers- one 41 stories and the other 47 stories tall (Murray, Owner of 5 Pointz: 'l whitewashed the building to stop the torture)". It was wiped out in order to make room for luxury condos; the people were saddened by the lost of a significant symbol of graffiti.