Gothamist: Conspiracy Theory: MTA Hates Hipsters

Bedbug Hunter

Tue, 01 Feb 2005 09:30:37 -0500

Kudos to the MTA for maintaining the above average crappy service on the L and G lines. It keeps the hordes of hobohemians at bay. They are pariahs!

Stace

Mon, 09 Feb 2004 23:00:45 -0500

I live in Williamsburg, I dig through REAL thrift stores because they're cheap, and happily struggle to pay all of my own bills. I despise Urban Outfitters and never did wear a trucker hat, but I do have a shag haircut and enjoy wearing a nice white belt every so often. And yes, if I caught you wearing a pair of Uggs, I probably made fun of you because they are just "so tired". Am I a hipster? I think that word has become so overused in the past couple of years that it's pretty meaningless these days (or should I say, it's "so tired"). My 2 cents are as such: for some reason, the NY Post neglected to print quotes from people who actually work in NYC on the weekends as opposed to people whining about the lack of gyms (hello McFly, there is Exodus on Metropolitan), banks (Manhattan Ave. has a few of them), or food other than Thai (go to the market and open a cookbook, people!). My job has me working on the weekends (as if the only *real* jobs to you folks are from Mon-Fri, 9-5). It's a royal pain-in-the-ass when they shut down the L but I am lucky enough to live on the Lorimer stop where I can jump on the G (though it takes me three times as long to get there). But people who live only on the L-train have got it pretty bad, and that includes not only young white kids, but also the large Latino and Italian population that is in Williamsburg as well as the people of Bushwick and Ridgewood. Why didn't the Post talk to them? Doesn't make quite as good a story, does it?

Justin

Mon, 09 Feb 2004 15:56:02 -0500

Not for nothing, Williamsburg isn't the only place to find Hipsters. A quick study of the Urban Outfitters website shows that they have stores in 22 states, plus in in the UK (where their ironic working-class beer is served warm) and in Canada (where their ironic working-class beer is stronger).

meg

Mon, 09 Feb 2004 15:41:27 -0500

it seems that the Post article did pretty much what I expected it too - got people railing against spoiled middle-class kids complaining about their access to luxuries while burying the real problem - the MTA and its lack of respect for the millions of New Yorkers using its services. that same article could have been written by interviewing members of the hassidic or hispanic communities (both huge groups in the area)or any of working class men and women who live along the L line (yes Williamsburg, but also Bushwick, Ridgewood, etc.) and are having their lives negatively impacted, not so much by the MTA's service outages, but by the lack of notice, poor planning, and lack of replacement services provided by the MTA. But the article didn't. It set up the usual "hipsters suck. throw rocks at them" angle, thereby directing everyone's attention to either attacking or defending people who want nothing more than to be able to leave their house on a weekend, for work or for fun. Yes, there are other trains to take; yes, they are inconvenient (for me, 20 minutes to get to the M, vs. 7 minutes to get to the L), but they become even more inconvenient when you have no idea that the outages are happening and no bus service is running to replace your line. so you hate hipsters. fine. they can whine about missing out on good shopping and being trapped in their unheated (...the hell?) apartments all they want. but it doesn't mean that the rest of the neighborhood isn't suffering along with them and it doesn't mean that the MTA is handling the situation well.

barry

Sat, 07 Feb 2004 02:32:58 -0500

I haven't seen a single mention of the galleries here. It's a big problem for those of us in Manhattan that want to check out galleries if the L train isn't there on weekends. There are a lot of artists showing in Williamsburg these days worth seeing. The city wouldn't cut off the Village or Soho or Madison Avenue on a weekend.

tien

Wed, 04 Feb 2004 10:21:31 -0500

is it not possible for people to work at all hours of the night? the restaurant industry seems to work pretty late. sure, construction makes life harder for the people in williamsburg, but it might make life even harder for the people that work late nights. but what can you do? this stuff happens all the time in the subway system. just curse the MTA and move on.

payton

Wed, 04 Feb 2004 03:23:29 -0500

Most of the "many people who live in the outer reaches of the borough who actually use the L to commute" aren't using the train at nights or on weekends - which is when this construction is occurring.

Jen

Tue, 03 Feb 2004 21:44:34 -0500

Yes, please stay on topic.

jonah

Tue, 03 Feb 2004 17:13:58 -0500

Please stay on topic. In other words, don't ever criticize Gothamist or we'll delete your post and/or the entire discussion section

Simon

Tue, 03 Feb 2004 16:07:33 -0500

The L train services a much larger area than just Williamsburg, and many more people rely on it than just the kids who need to go vomit in the streets of the east village. This commentary trivializes the plight of the many people who live in the outer reaches of the borough who actually use the L to commute to and from work. Youre all missing the point, but I can see how seductive it is to make fun of hipsters. FUCK HIPSTERS!!!

mike c

Tue, 03 Feb 2004 14:50:43 -0500

Jack hit the nail on the head. I'm born, raised, and still live in WB (though I'm finally moving to Hell's Kitchen this month) and frankly I'm over it all. Williamsburg is basically a commune for all the kids who sat at the unpopular cafeteria table in high school. They are sheep who are now snubbing those who didn't invite them to the cool parties 5 or 10 years ago, and forming their own club complete with uniforms (trucker hats! ironic shirts! uggs! ugh!). But hipster bashing has become too easy... I'll admit the L train is convenient and it sucks when they shut it. The G and J trains are pretty far from most places in Williamsburg (the J is mostly in *Bushwick*, deal with it). But we're blessed with the newest and cleanest subway line, and if they have to make upgrades then that's what they have to do. At least you know your fare increase $$ is going somewhere. For me, I'll deal with it for a few more weeks till I move. I feel like I'm finally leaving school to join the real world!

Jen

Tue, 03 Feb 2004 12:50:33 -0500

People, please stay on topic.

Jack

Tue, 03 Feb 2004 12:40:46 -0500

Jonah, Jake ranted and raved in the comments on the other post about how anyone who posted anonymously in a blog was a coward. Then, Jake showed us who the true coward was by not just locking the comments but deleting them too. Like the L train construction it makes no sense in a way.

jonah

Tue, 03 Feb 2004 09:54:51 -0500

so what happened in the prev post? people criticize jake and they cut off comments - and hide them so people can't read them? hmmm, interesting.

nagin

Mon, 02 Feb 2004 19:36:59 -0500

ohhhhh poor trustafarians. now they'll know what we in LIC have been living with for the past 2 years....

Ron

Mon, 02 Feb 2004 19:27:03 -0500

If you want to see a movie, take the G train, and in 10 minutes you'll be at the BAM theatre in brooklyn. And if you really want to see a blockbuster instead of an art flick, another couple stops will put you two blocks away from the Court Street megaplex.

does it matter?

Mon, 02 Feb 2004 16:31:06 -0500

Mike makes a valid point. The writer of this entry doesn't realize that Williamsburg residents have more options than the L train. For a few dollars, one can ride over the bridge in a warm comfy car. You can walk over it for free. If you want to see a movie, take the G train, and in 10 minutes you'll be at the BAM theatre in brooklyn.

realist

Mon, 02 Feb 2004 16:23:44 -0500

in case you didn't know, hipsters are a world wide phenomenon. You can find hipster wear as far as Sweden & Japan.Williamsburg is home to many different people. For instance, did you know that there is a rather large community of italians living in williamsburg? They came to williamsburg 101 years ago, from Nola, Italy. How come nobody picks on the Lower East Side? i see hipsters & NYU students crawling all over the place there. once upon a time, you hipster bashers would have been afraid to walk by yourselves down there. Hipster bashing has become a hobby for people that secretly want to live in a central area, but can't afford it. So,where do you all live? let me know so that i can point out all of the faults of the "genres" that may flock there.

kiri

Mon, 02 Feb 2004 16:09:19 -0500

I'm surprised some entertaining hipster hasn't come up with a hipster shuttle bus - seems like a gold mine waiting to be found.

Jen W

Mon, 02 Feb 2004 14:55:46 -0500

Hahahahahah! Stay in your "hip," ugly, poor-air-quality, semi-abandoned-sometimes-sketchy, service lacking area. Cause you have to. Thank goodness the "hipsters" are contained and I have an real excuse not to make the schlepp to see some friend-of-a-friend's-little-sister's performance art/rock show. Besides the usual, "Aw I'd go, but I don't want to." excuse.

Mike

Mon, 02 Feb 2004 14:15:07 -0500

I don't understand why they don't just take the J or G trains. Or walk over the bridge.

oliver

Mon, 02 Feb 2004 13:26:32 -0500

Wait, what's the problem with keeping the hipsters contained to Williamsburg?

bruce

Mon, 02 Feb 2004 13:22:06 -0500

blegh.....damn hipster doofuses... :)