Are you ready PLG, Flatbush and Ditmas Park? Here "she" comes

whynot_31

One can see the junction of Empire and Flatbush in the background.
I give this video points for targeting a specific demographic, and assuring them that they will be "happy" and safe in the area... 

Ready?

Here she comes!

This video is from a real estate company (Naked Apartments). [edit - unclear now if this was from Naked Apartments, or probably just used in some way by that organization/website - admin]

laura palmer

Are you sure it's an ad for naked apartments? Seems to be part of a larger "art project:"

http://happyinnyc.tumblr.com/

whynot_31

I was told it is being used as an ad by a real estate firm. 

Note, the firm may not have authorization from the creator(s).   So, although it may not be "from" them....

Brooklynian

Nothing against random street happiness... But she's getting into the personal space of at least 3 people here. None of them seem to be in the mood for public happiness. Public dancers: please respect boundaries!

mugofmead111

I wonder whether those 3 people knew of the filming beforehand...or did they just randomly walk into the camera shot.

P.S. Piggy-backing on @whynot_31's putting this clip into geographical context, the yellow "Planet Fitness" sign is visible on top of the old Bond Bakery building (which now houses Phat Alberts.) It's to the right of the iPhone billboard.

whynot_31

The beauty of using it as an ad is that it appears that these people did not know there would be filming.

This is what effectively sends home the message, "even if you are out of place, you are safe here"

It is advertising genius.

pragmaticguy

It's the middle of the day. Most areas are safe. She's got a lot of energy but I must be missing the point because it doesn't seem to be saying much of anything to me.

whynot_31

With all due respect, you are not the target audience, PG.

pragmaticguy

Maybe so, but hey, I've been working in the Crown Heights area since 1991 and even after I was held up in my office at gunpoint back in 1994 I never really felt that I wasn't safe. So, I guess people need more reassurance than I do.

whynot_31

Sense of safety is based on many complex factors.

pragmaticguy

Thank you Captain Obvious.

whynot_31

I aim to please.

The beauty of using this as an ad is that it speaks to those who are new to the city, or previously only experienced it while using a dorm room as home.

bkchickie

I love this song....

whynot_31

While we never did figure out whether this video was sanctioned by the film makers for use by the realty company, one thing is clear:

---> Not everyone is happy about "her" arrival and the preparations (ie development) being made to accommodate "her".

whynot_31

pragmaticguy

Who were they preaching to here? If it's the newbies in the neighborhood then it's too late. If it's the poorer residents who have been living here the longest then $20 is awfully steep. I wonder which of the two was better represented at the meeting.

whynot_31

I don't know how well attended their meeting was, but I imagine their target audience to be people who are afraid of being priced out of the area and their advocates.

It doesn't amaze me that they don't trust developers; one does not do business based on "trust".

It does amaze me that they seem to think they can trust government, and that zoning is a powerful enough tool to save them from changes in price due to supply and demand.

Esperanza

Wonder who paid the suggested donation? It seems a bit underhanded if the lawyer in question is trying to help.

whynot_31

I doubt anyone made any money at this event.

I post it because I have developed an interest in watching how people in different areas of Brooklyn are adapting/reacting to the threat of being priced out.

My theory is that they try various means and city agencies, then shrink in number.

Then, a small group begins to write something like "Die Yuppie Scum" on new buildings, until they too fade away.

My theory stems from watching the Lower East Side flip in the 90s.

pragmaticguy

I thought all the "yuppies" had died and they were replaced with "hipsters" but maybe the yuppies just got old and they're the ones that don't want the hipsters around now. Karma sucks.

southeast

I thought the yuppies follow the hipsters - Hipsters are the first wave into a less than desirable area, followed by the yuppies who then price the hipsters out.

whynot_31

The terms are confusing, but as I understand the sequential process:

1. Long term, poor residents at first have mixed feelings about new young arrivals: Less crime intersects with higher prices.

2. As time goes on, many of the young arrivals begin to be priced out by older people with wealth. This causes some of the young arrivals to join forces with the long term poor residents, against the older wealthy people.

3. The above technique fails and (out of desperation) a splinter group starts to tag new buildings and restaurants with the equivalent of "Die Yuppie Scum".

4. When 3 fails, the disaffected look for another enemy, often couching their struggle in anarchist terms: "The agents of the state! The pigs who do the work of the capitalists!"

This results in them having rent strikes and bloody battles with the police, while the older and wealthier group dines at the new (slightly vandalized, but easily repaired) restaurants, and while their former allies work double shifts to pay the rent.

Note: The process does not usually get to the last stage. ...but it did in Thompson Sq Park, and was quite a show.

mike dunlap

I love how fewer parking spaces = decreased quality of life.  God, that is pathetic.

xlizellx

http://www.mas.org/urbanplanning/accidental-skyline/

This map shows which areas can become high-rise filled -- PLG is screwed.

whynot_31

In the vernacular of zoning, much of PLG is "under built", meaning that much larger buildings could legally be constructed than presently exist.

Such under built buildings have always traded for more than their present sq footage because of the larger buildings that could replace them.

What is different now is that such existing buildings are no longer being simply bought and sold, they are being torn down and new ones constructed.

This has come as a shock to those unaware that their environment is by no means fixed.

The rights of a property owner are not subject to the preferences of the public; They are subject to established rules and regulations.

pragmaticguy

In NYC unfortunately or not, the property owner has very few rights. That's why they're subject to established rules and regulations. Because when they exercised those rights in the past tenants and others suffered because many property owners didn't give a damn.

whynot_31

The right to build as per the zoning and building codes is quite intact.

...once a landlord opens a building, a whole 'nother set of regulations applies.

pragmaticguy

Either way.....it's usually not good for the owner.

whynot_31

In NYC, the smartest entities may be those that build, and then immediately sell.

As long as they are building "as of right", they only have to deal with the department of buildings ....they can ignore the whining of the "public" and their community boards.

whynot_31

The Q at Parkside just provided a nice summary of the new businesses coming online:

http://theqatparkside.blogspot.com/2014/08/what-difference-four-weeks-make.html

Seems like they are keeping pace with the means and preferences of the new arrivals.

mugofmead111

If that yoga place ever opens, I will drop in.

Being able to walk to yoga? Priceless.  

whynot_31

Of course, some longterm residents benefit as well

I am psyched for Kings Theater.

Davina

Too much annoying happiness going on with that girl in the video.

whynot_31

I agree, but preparations are well underway for her arrival.

Brokelyn wrote about some of the preparations today: http://brokelyn.com/town-investors-buy-rent-stabilized-plg-building-betting-influx-white-collar-tenants/#comments

whynot_31

We no longer have just her singing, we have a chorus:

http://observer.com/2014/11/next-stop-flatbush-as-prime-land-values-double-developers-try-out-new-territories/

whynot_31

http://therealdeal.com/blog/2014/12/17/brooklyn-building-bought-for-10m-sells-for-26m/