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Community Corner

'Degentrifying' Park Slope

Former Sloper Luc Sante Has a New Spin on Gentrification

No question: Park Slope is one of the most magnificent, architecturally and historically rich neighborhoods in the city. 

But whether you blame it on the realtors, the residents who shelled out millions for roomy brownstones and limestones, or simply the natural ebb and flow of city life, our neighborhood has changed dramatically in the past few decades. Some people find the neighborhood's gentrification excessive and stifling; others adore the safety and quiet beauty of tree-lined streets, lush parks and turn-of-the-century houses. 

So is there any hope of turning the clock back a few decades to more fertile days when artists could afford to live and create here? That question was posed to a group of livewire writers at a PEN World Voices Festival last week titled “Degentrify New York and Give Her Back to the World”. 

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Luc Sante, the author of "Low Life," who lived in Park Slope from 1992 to 2000, entertained the crowd with suggestions that ranged from holding 24-hour block parties and making lawyers wear clown suits to banning mirrors and giving bed bugs the vote. 

Even if Sante's ideas of “pedestrians hugging each other when they pass on the street” or "keeping your door open when home" are too much to ask, everyone agreed that getting to know the folks who live around you can change the vibe of places like Park Slope.

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"Talk to your neighbors while sitting on your stoop," said slam poet and professor Tracie Morris. "Hang out in front of your building for one hour a week. If a significant portion of people would do that, the dynamics would change radically."

Among more serious ideas on Sante's list of 50 ways to de-gentrify were rezoning the city so it is more favorable to manufacturing and agriculture, and outlawing plastic bags.

One strong message hard to refute; unplug those gadgets and listen to city sounds and conversation, get out of your comfort zone. Morris, who lives in Carroll Gardens, implored New Yorkers to “stop being so scared of people who look so scary.”

She sees neighborhoods losing their identities as “Park Slope slides into Prospect Heights,” and parents hide behind a shield of trying to “make it safe for our children” instead of making their kids street smart.

When Sante moved to the Slope in the '90s, Fifth Avenue was dramatically different. “It reminded me of Columbus Avenue in the ‘70s,” he said, wistfully, recalling an unpretentious, affordable mix of businesses, from pawnshops to no-frills Chinese eateries.  “Now it’s lined with restaurants I can’t even afford.”

As far as empty storefronts, increasingly more common on Seventh Avenue, the audience wondered whether landlords would perhaps let them be used as performance spaces until they find tenants.

The flip side of that, of course, as Morris explained, is how realtors exploit the presence of artists in a neighborhood as a selling point, luring well-heeled customers to places because they're cool, hip and worth every inflated cent. Another tack to take might be raising the cap on rent-stabilized apartments above $2,000, so financially strapped Slopers aren't so easily replaced by those who can pay market rates.

Sloper Antonio Romani, 63, was among the vocal crowd of bloggers, interpretors and activists attending the panel. Romani, who has lived here with his wife, author Martha Cooley, for three years, revels in the safety of the Slope and has no desire to go back in time.

“They tell me that Park Slope was a mess,” he said. “Now you can walk around every hour of the day.” A former high school teacher and bookseller in Italy, Romani compares New York to Paris and sees the future as promising. Among the Brooklyn gems he enjoys, Prospect Park and Community Bookstore.

But whether or not it is possible for Park Slope to “de-gentrify,” Sante has his doubts.

“The trouble is there are awfully nice houses there," he said. "It’s a tough call.”

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