May 22, 2008
Big Percentage of Obese New Yorkers in Unlikely 'Hood
Quick, what New York City neighborhood has the greatest percentage of obese residents? Wrong! It’s Williamsburg, which is confusing, because everyone knows the only people who live there are the proverbial skinny hipsters.
But according to a recent study by the Citizens' Committee on Children, there are, apparently, still some non-hipster residents existing in Williamsburg! And they have children, and 30% of those children’s parents are “unhealthily overweight.” Or could there be a growing number of reclusive, heavyset hipster parents who've traded in their skinny jeans for billowing zubaz? If so, we're glad to say we haven't seen them. (Actually, please send pics.)
The same goes for Bushwick; both neighborhoods have some of the highest rates of adult diabetes in the city. And a quarter of the grownups in that area go entire days without eating any fruits or vegetables – but one suspects that number is a lot higher, because so many people who responded to the survey probably think vodka and cranberry counts as a serving of fruit.
Concert goers at McCarren Pool defying the new study, courtesy My Open Bar.
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i hate that douchebag smoking the cigarette in that picture.. i don't know him, but i hate him on principle. what a tool bag. when will this fad end?
jews, blacks and hispanics, finally reaching common ground...
+2 for a Zubaz reference.
hate is a horrible word to describe anything...
i hate this, i hate that! get a new word cunts!
I dunno, Allie...people have been smoking cigarettes for around a century, and the trend hardly seems to be abating.
Or do you mean the sunglasses AND a hat thing? The brim of the hat should block out enough sun so one doesn't need glasses. I guess it's like a belt with suspenders, amirite?
Strange adverbs lately - "guardedly" and "unhealthily" in the past day or so. Can't we just all agree to call them morbidly obese? It just rolls off your tongue, don't you think?
It's completely idiotic to say that only hipsters live in Williamsburg and Bushwick.
This is a pretty irresponsible piece of journalism, and I usually enjoy the writing on Gothamist. As much as we like to think Williamsburg is all hipsters,it statistically isn't, it has the highest birth rate in the nation. For fact checking purposes I read this in an article by Michael Kamber, but it makes sense. There is a huge Satmar Community over by Kent, and that's a large swath of the neighborhood. Many of those people, adults and children, eat what is essentially a 19th Century diet, so by modern standards they are obese. Brooklyn is a complicated place, so if you are going to write about it a stroll down Kent might constitute best practice for a reporter.
Et tu, Emily? Irony, people. OBVIOUSLY Williamsburg and Bushwick have a demographic beyond hipsters - what I wrote parodies the way most people use Williamsburg as shorthand for hipsters. Confession: I live in South Williamsburg and know full well there's plenty of diversity. Okay, not plenty, but some.
I would add that this is a pretty lazy piece of journalism. When ironic humor is used effectively, it is usually revealing in some way. This is not revealing. Try to be a little edgier next time. This just leaves me with the sad feeling that a majority of the readership of this (great) blog has no comprehension of williamsburg's, and new york's, social complexity, and that this article just did nothing to shed light on this ignorance. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
Confession: I live in Williamsburg/Bushwick and do not think I fully understand the social problems that surround me.
the stroller problem in south williamsburg blows park slope outa the water.
Eeww transplants
I think that lot above are afflicted with androgynous obesity, particularly that 80's rentboy with the fag hanging out of his face. I blame the landlords in Billysburg for not screening these dreadful tennants more carefully.
There are lots of skinny fat hipsters in the 'burg. Especially the women whose legs jiggle in their stovepipe jeans. It's the oddest thing. Sort of like seeing cankles on a supermodel.
I can't believe I'm siding with JDS but anyone who can't tell he's being sarcastic here is pretty damn dense.
Word.
Re: no fruits/veggies for days - this clearly suggests the need for more grocery stores. When I lived over there, I had to do my shopping on 14th Street and drag it home on the L.
Happy Friday everyone...
Actually, that dude looks a lot like how my parents' neighbor looked in the 80's. He thought he was hot shit until he got arrested for fencing goods and got his ass thrown into Rikers for a few years.
He was never the same after that... he's the nicest guy, but you can tell he had some shit done to him while he was there.
Why is this a big surprise?
There are not enough standard grocery stores for the population.
If you were to open a few of A&Ps and a kinkos and you got a gold mine
All this real estate but no amenities come on this isn't rocket science its common sense
Unfortunately, the profit margin on regular grocery stores is 1% - 2%, even in larger, well-run, metropolitan grocery stores. This is one of the reasons for the up market march of grocery stores, featuring ready-to-eat meals and other premium goods. Hard to justify the cost of managing/running a store unless you stock premium-priced items, items with long shelf lives, or really cheap stuff that doesn't cost much. Otherwise, you have to go with a very small format + higher prices (i.e., bodega).
For your health!
re hard times; got no problems with cigarettes.. just his outfit, should have been more specific.
hate hate hate.
(oh well, cunts!)
dr. steve brule, what do you have to say about this? for our health?
poor, fat, and stupid is no way to go through life, brooklyn.
Good question Allie and I can answer that for you:
http://www.adultswim.com/video/?episodeID=1a001ab090510d90ae1f2b1f0b365c1f
Well, of course they're going to be obese. it's all the munchies they eat after smoking weed. Also, most of these transplants come from Middle America where there's a high percentage of people. It's only natural that they're going back to their original form.
Thank You!
lol that's even better. the clothes this dude wears on his body - a bigger issue to you than a product that literally kills people.
But I mean, I see your point. A windbreaker and a t-shirt!! Oh, the humanity...
Zubaz rock. cool and comfortable. if you don't understand...don't ask.
^I don't understand and I'm not asking.