Today's Local News - Mynty Fresh. Not.

Another reason I love my block in Bed-Stuy. This delapidated house complete with front door falling off its hinges, welfare moms and gun toting ex-military crazies are my neighbours.

Instead of this monstrosity a few blocks West, where thankfully for the Mynt's tenants, a few 'businesses of note' have sprung up. Coincidentally, The Mynt is the only building in our 11206 area code that Fresh Direct delivers to. The Mynt, an entirely evocative name being the Middle English spelling of the current English word

mint

noun

1. 1. a place where money is coined by authority of the government
2. Informal a large amount of money; fortune

Etymology: ME mynt <>mynet, coin, akin to OHG munizza <>munita <>moneta,Moneta, epithet of Juno, in whose temple at Rome money was coined place for coining money <

So, apparently antbed, a stellar resident of yuppie spaceship pictured above, objected to my last post about appreciating Bed-Stuy's bad reputation. In his blog, antbed states:

It’s big, not all bad and not totally unstoppable. I think of it less as a forest fire and more of a purification process (like silver, not ethnic cleansing). Yes, things will get more commercial, but much of the good Bed-Stuy-ness that exists will remain because people are so committed to preserving it. The things people don’t care about as much will be slowly starved and then forced out or eliminated. But some people seem to actually care about the bad parts of Bed-Stuy that most people find unattractive (see 13 on this otherwise rational list), so I have no idea what form progress will take.

Some people use gentrification as an excuse to be racist. It happens, but if you, yes you dear reader, consciously decide not to, then this will happen less. I have made every effort to avoid even an appearance of racism, but if I fail please don’t let me get away with it.

Where people choose to hang out seems to be decided by self segregation as much as anything else. Cafe Naico? Pretty much just us young-uns. The Hasidic Jews have their own school, community buildings, even their own language. It’s human nature, to seek those who look, act, speak and think like you do.

Another part of human nature? It’s really hard to understand other people even when they are speaking the same language.

Wow. Beautifully put. I couldn't have said it better myself. No wonder antbed moved into this glorious building where their ad copy reads:

The MYNT is located in the Clinton Hill/Bedford-Stuyvesant area of Brooklyn. It’s an area that’s diverse and vibrant, architecturally rich and historic, verdant and tree-lined. Inherently lovely, it has been silently undergoing a revitalization for nearly two decades now, and as a result, an influx of artists, musicians and creative-types have migrated from nearby Williamsburg, East Williamsburg, Cobble Hill, Fort Greene, and beyond, adding a fresh layer of uniqueness to the neighborhood.

Yum. Let's reiterate some choice morsels from these two lovely quotes.

Fresh layer of uniqueness. (a white layer? kinda like frosting on the cake huh?)

The things people don’t care about as much will be slowly starved and then forced out or eliminated. (forced out, as in the local residents who can no longer afford the rising rents?)

It’s really hard to understand other people even when they are speaking the same language. (Indeed. This self described 'young un' for instance. Difficult to comprehend the language of the privileged when one isn't.)

Gee, I'm so glad antbed isn't racist. Or that his comments couldn't possibly be misconstrued as such. Fresh Direct isn't racist either. To wrap up, here's a few words about gentrification from FUREE, a Brooklyn-based, multi-racial organization made up of almost exclusively women of color. :

There is ample reason to believe that if these developments are allowed to go forward, the social and economic fabric of the community will be destroyed. Long-time residents will be displaced, economic gaps will widen and social disparity will be greatly accentuated.

Back to less incendiary local news. Double dick flick playing at the 24 laundromat, The Bourne Ultimatum and Live Free or Die Hard.

Man selling one small box of vials of 'bug poison' by subway entrance.

Brooklyn weather: cold and sunny.