St. Peters Evangelical Lutheran Sonntags-SchuleIn the 1860s and 70s an increasing number of wealthy New Yorkers, mainly from Dutch and German descent, established residence in Bedford. The urbanization of the neighborhood followed the street plan ratified in 1839, which extended the grid throughout Brooklyn (11). Bedford was an exclusive and highly demanded suburb. Market pressure led to rapid urbanization of the area: “the suburban district of freestanding frame and brick homes was gradually transformed into a more urban neighborhood of brick and brownstone row houses.” (12) Instrumental in popularizing the neighborhood was the construction of the elevated railway lines giving fast access to Downtown Brooklyn and Manhattan. The housing market boomed from 1880 to 1920 as Neo Greek, Romanesque, and Queen Ann style buildings mushroomed all around Bedford.Funny to think of Bed-Stuy as being an 'exclusive and highly demanded suburb.' Which just proves that the only constant is change. From being a white neighbourhood, to a black one and now the whites are returning in droves, it seems.
The other day Big Joe was walking down our sidewalk and came upon a little black girl with her mom, who was wearing a headscarf knotted Muslim style around her head, walking in the opposite direction. As Big Joe passed them, the girl looked up at him and said, "You are evil." He stopped in his tracks, turned around and gave the mom a questioning look, but she said nothing in affirmation or denial of her daughter's statement. We wondered if this was something the little girl was being taught at home, about evil white people or if it was more along the lines of when a little white boy in a playground said to Big Joe, "You're Voldemort!" and then ran away in terror. For those of you who aren't Harry Potter geeks - Voldemort is the most evil of villians. A child's vivid imagination or a reaction to gentrification, who's to say?
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