In September, 2016, I ventured out to explore Bushwick, Brooklyn’s latest gentrifying neighborhood. What a great place to observe the process, as it is happening.
Fully loaded Mack trucks roar out of concrete plants, past fences covered with street art, compelling the hipsters to hold their lattes on the sidewalk. Beautiful, stylish models from the city and from around the globe come to pose in front of the dramatic, colorful backgrounds. Since 2011, the Bushwick Collective has attracted world-famous street artists to decorate the large blank walls of the gritty industrial area. Now, it’s becoming a tourist attraction.
The hipsters, street art, and new construction are concentrated around the Morgan Avenue and Jefferson Street subway stations, an area now called “Bushwick,” but which straddles Flushing Avenue, traditionally the border between East Williamsburg and Bushwick proper. But times and boundaries change, as I overheard one hipster confidentally state that Bogart Street (near the Morgan Ave stop) is the “main drag of Bushwick.”