Yesterday, the Post reports Hasidic Jews in Williamsburg staged a protest about the "yuppies" overdeveloping the neighborhood, with new buildings and expensive rents. Not only are rents selling for around $500-600 (vs. regular price of $200) per square foot, a 21 year-old Hasid Joel Klein says, "[The new residents] will have a very liberal lifestyle, contrasting to ours. We have Jewish housing, synagogues, a Jewish medical center. They want to make bars and swimming pools. We don't like these things." Another protestor called a development at 60 Broadway "an extension of the East Village," confirming what Gothamist and everyone else has known for the past 4–5 years. But the most damning words come from a rabbi, who said "The morality of [yuppies'/hipsters'] living is not acceptable to our people. It's dangerous for our children."
Two books that show the divide between the communities: The Hipster Handbook and Hasidic Williamsburg.
