T/Here in Williamsburg: A History of Gentrification

T/Here in Williamsburg, by Dennis sinneD, is a 5-part essay that explores the history of gentrification in the Southside of Williamsburg, 1968-1982, through personal and historical narrative.

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Part 1: Block 2399 — The present address is 167-181 Borinquen Place in the 11211, but the city identifies the location on its tax map as Kings County Block 2399.

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Part 2: Dis/Possession — In 1974, like so many neighborhoods in New York City and across the nation, Williamsburg was yearning.

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Part 3: A Spark of Impenetrable Darkness — The list of sweat equity hagglers in the Williamsburg gentrification is long and untold. Tax abatements, low-interest loans and subsidies…

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Part 4: Love and Death — The ‘Williamsburg hipster,’ emerged and developed simultaneous to the personal computer and Internet, to neoliberalism’s rise.

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Part 5: Let Me Die With The Philistines — “Don’t move, ma. No matter what, don’t move.”