White People Are Flocking To Bed-Stuy, Black People Are Leaving
According to the latest census, around 60,000 new Brooklynites moved in between April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2012—and it seems the majority of those were white people. The biggest change in demographics over the last decade in Brooklyn occurred in Bedford-Stuyvesant, where the white population grew six fold and the number of African-Americans dropped by 14.6%.
The Daily News crunched some of the figures to come up with those stats, citing increased prices around Park Slope, Williamsburg, Boerum Hill and Carroll Gardens as one of the reasons people are flocking to Bed-Stuy. “It’s less expensive rent and there is subway access. Yes, the G-train sucks. But it’s getting better,” said David Behin, head of investment sales for MNS real estate. This is all aided by the fact that Manhattan real estate prices are more expensive than ever and Brooklynites are fleeing for the suburbs (or the Poconos). The NY Times gentrification compass has certainly been ringing this bell lately.
The second biggest growth neighborhood in Brooklyn was Williamsburg, which increased in population by 14% in the last decade. What's interesting there though is that many of those new bodies are being recruited internally: more than 57,000 of the new residents are babies, most born to Orthodox Jewish families in Borough Park and South Williamsburg. DUMBO has seen an increase of nearly 12% in that time, Bushwick 11.6%, and East New York just over 10%.
Now, if only there were a way the census could track the migration patterns of purple pants aficionados and futurism consultants, we could really bust this trend wide open.