City Living: Bushwick
Photo credit: Photo by RJ Mickelson | Circo's Pastry Shop on Knickerbocker Ave. in Bushwick, Brooklyn.
Once New York's beer capital -- there were 14 breweries spread across 14 blocks in the late 1800s -- Bushwick was home to wealthy professionals and industrial magnates who lived in the mansions lining Bushwick Avenue.
But Prohibition, the Depression and a series of workers' strikes led to the closure of many breweries, with the last two leaving in the mid-1970s.
The 1977 blackout led to rabid plundering of businesses. "In Bushwick," explains resident Steve Trimboli, looters "tore apart every building, brick by brick."
The area was also subject to endless rounds of arson -- one of which, the "All Hands Fire," drove the economically flailing neighborhood into the ground.
"Many of the structures were made of wood," said Adam Schwartz, a Bushwick historian and curator of a show on the neighborhood's renewal, now at the Brooklyn Historical Society. "It just ate up the neighborhood's core."
When the resulting destruction led to the shuttering of a third of its businesses, Bushwick was left to rot, deteriorating into a feral nest of crime, crack dealing and violence.
"I remember Christmas one year in the early '80s," said Frank Dursi, a lifelong resident. "And someone just broke into our house and stole all my presents. That's when things had gotten really ugly."
In better days, he said, "you could sit out on your lawn chair until 4 a.m. drinking espresso, and no one would bother you."
But during the past 15 years, Bushwick's population -- largely composed of blacks and immigrants from South America, Jamaica, Mexico and Puerto Rico-- has seen its neighborhood undergo dramatic shifts.
New businesses, especially along Broadway, are thriving; empty lots are being cleaned up, houses repainted and apartments renovated.
The area around Maria Hernandez Park, once the city's biggest crack loop, now bustles with children, ice cream trucks and street vendors. According to Schwartz, "you wouldn't have set foot here even five years ago."
Though things are improving, residents agree that Bushwick has a ways to go. Neglected by landlords, apartments with substandard living conditions have led to widespread discontent.
In addition, the sudden proliferation of swanky condos is seen as an early sign of gentrification.
"It could lead to displacement and loss of community identity," said Andrew Friedman of Make the Road by Walking, a community organization based in Bushwick. "Just look at Williamsburg."
Though young professionals have yet to swamp Bushwick, most new residents are young people priced out of the ever-changing boundaries of East Williamsburg.
"It can be scary," said Drew Grant, who moved to southern Bushwick a year ago. "People do get mugged. But moving here was the best decision -- there really is a great community."
Longtime resident Dursi agrees: "Things have improved a lot since my youth."
Find it
Bushwick is defined by Broadway on the west, the Queens County line on the east, Flushing Avenue on the north and Conway Street and the Cemetery of the Evergreens to the south.
TO EAT
Cuchifritos and cheap Chinese dominate Bushwick's culinary scene. In the summer, vendors appear with carts full of mango spears, salted cucumber slices and roasted mayo-slathered corn, covered in cheese and dusted with chili powder. Ice cream trucks have an unusually strong neighborhood presence.
Tacos La Hacienda Housed in a former 1950s diner, Taco La Hacienda serves cheap, delicious Mexican food alongside diner standards like cheeseburgers and omelets. Chase your atoles, goat tacos, salted meat tortas and tongue burritos with a rainbow of Mexican sodas.96 Wyckoff Ave. 718-821-8816
Tony and Orazio Largely regarded as the area's best slice, Tony's is a no-nonsense pizzeria that's been in business for more than 40 years. 336 Knickerbocker Ave. 718-456-7020
Northeast Kingdom With the art crowd rapidly pioneering northern Bushwick, it's no surprise that a place like this cropped up. If you want your gruyere "cave-aged" and your bacon "no-nitrate" while soaking up indie tunes in low-key surroundings, there's no better bet. The seasonal, highly regarded American menu is complemented by a good beer selection. [18 Wyckoff Ave. 718-386-3864
Wyckoff Starr Owned by the same folks as Northeast Kingdom, Wyckoff Starr is the essential neighborhood cafe, supplying the area with inexpensive coffee, pastries and small sandwiches. It's a good place to pick up fliers for Bushwick goings-on. 30 Wyckoff Ave. 718-484-9766
El Notte A coffee joint with great espresso and authentic Italian sandwiches, as well as a hangout for older neighborhood Italians. 280 Knickerbocker Ave. 718-381-0304
Taqueria El Paisa Considered among the finest of Bushwick's abundant hole-in-the-wall taquerias, El Paisa fashions its offerings, including seasonal specials and Mexican-style sandwiches, from imported meats and veggies. In the winter, ravenous swarms cluster around the window and cram themselves into the tiny eating nook.298 Irving Ave. 718-456-2095
Manna's The Harlem-based soul food chain's Bushwick branch offers a heaping, butter-soaked buffet of oxtail, candied yams, jerk chicken, hog chitterling and banana pudding at $4.29 a pound. 829 Broadway 718-218-8575
TO PARTY
A robust, diverse party scene is thriving in Bushwick, with everything from clubs pounding with reggaeton to impromptu rooftop barbecues and basement fêtes. A handful of art and music venues have opened up with others certain to follow.
Black Bean Grill This Haitian-American bar and restaurant uses organic ingredients in its changing menu and hosts live music, spoken word and movie nights with independent and classic films. If you're an artist, tell them; they just might let you show. 921 Broadway 347-413-8068
Goodbye Blue Monday Owner Steve Trimboli originally leased this airy, tin-ceilinged space for storage and watched it evolve into a multipurpose performance venue. Half of the fascinating bric-a-brac covering the walls is what's left over from the stash originally housed here; the rest is the result of years of estate purging. Free entry, a large backyard and WiFi draws in neighborhood artists, while the small stage welcomes musicians of any genre.1087 Broadway 718-453-6343
Wreck Room In the stretch of Flushing Avenue wasteland that's so deserted there are practically tumbleweeds blowing through it, this dive bar with scrap metal all over its walls is an excellent spot to shoot pool with pals or sit in a corner alone nursing a pint.940 Flushing Ave. 718-418-6347
Life Café NINE83 Kathy Kirkpatrick opened the first Life Café in the midst of the East Village's burgeoning rock scene, sowing the seeds for gentrification and providing inspiration for "Rent." Is the same in store for Bushwick? Debate over beer and veganized Mexican food while enjoying the monthly "Salon," where new artists display and sell their work. 983 Flushing Ave. 718-386-1133
TO SHOP As resident Drew Grant suggested, "There could be an exposé focusing only on the discount stores in this area; they're everywhere!" Conway, Fat Albert's, furniture outlets and 99-cent stores are squeezed among the likes of nondiscount emporia like VIM and Jimmy Jazz. Also plentiful: Latin record shops.
Party Fair Occupying a former drug store (there's still a pharmacy in the back), Party Fair sells fog machines, kiddie pools, icing dyes, coconut bras, piñatas and 99-cent wine glasses of all sorts among the usual selection of paper plates and sacks of confetti. They also have an arsenal of children's entertainers at their disposal. 390 Knickerbocker Ave. 718-455-6957
Rincon Musical A branch of New York's largest Latin music and instrument retailer, with discs organized by genre. 398 Knickerbocker Ave. 718-574-0621
La Orquidea Carniceria At once a butcher, restaurant and grocery store, Orquidea sells oxtail, tongue and chicken feet; banana leaf tamales and pork brain quesadillas; and what seems like every variety of dried pepper, ever. Bonus: there's a freezer full of Mexican ice cream bars in flavors like mamey, tamarind and mango-chili. Haul your feast across the street to Maria Hernandez Park.268 Knickerbocker Ave. 718-366-3844
Circo Pastry Shop Open since 1945, this Italian bakery serves gelatin-glazed strawberries perched atop miniature cheesecakes, rum-soaked sponge pastries and fried cinnamon-and-sugar-covered dough. 312 Knickerbocker Ave. 718-381-7199
TO SEE
Before its more difficult years, Bushwick was an enclave made wealthy by its numerous breweries. Explore the faded grandeur of shuttered, dilapidated Victorian houses on Bushwick Avenue, with their mansard roofs, column-flanked entrances and bay windows.
Most Holy Trinity Cemetery Adjacent to Cemetery of the Evergreens is this atmospheric Catholic cemetery, where until recently no stone monuments were permitted. Wooden crosses are eroding, tombstones made of tin have rusted and small statues have sunk into the spongy ground. 675 Central Ave.
St. Barbara Roman Catholic Church One of Bushwick's tallest buildings, St. Barbara's, founded in 1893, is visible from all over the neighborhood and beyond. The interior is a gilded wonder of stained glass and carved stone; the massive pipe organ is also worth a peek.138 Bleecker St.
Frederick A. Cook Mansion When Frederick A. Cook claimed to be the first person to scale Mount McKinley and reach the North Pole, his detractors called him at best "a phony" and at worst "a perverter of American history." Rumor has it he even paid students to write books detailing his apocryphal exploits. Whatever the truth, his grand dwelling, built circa 1885, still charms despite having fallen into disrepair.670 Bushwick Ave.
THE BUZZ
Housing conditions in Bushwick are among the poorest in the city. Lead paint, open sewage in building basements, rat infestation and collapsing ceilings are among the worst problems.
Bushwick organization Make the Road By Walking has fought for tenants' rights and won major policy campaigns -- like one that led to the signing of the Safe Housing Act -- to improve housing code enforcements and crack down on slumlords.
"Residents complain that landlords are raising their rents and pressuring them to move,"explained Friedman, "so that their apartments can be rented to 'students' who will pay more."
Make the Road also speaks out against the construction of flashy new condos, which are believed to harm the community.
"These buildings drive up rent throughout the area," said Friedman. "We should be building affordable housing to help people who live here, not luxury housing that will hurt and displace them."
TO BUY/RENT
With East Williamsburg just across Flushing Avenue and the definition of "Williamsburg" constantly shifting, Bushwick is quickly becoming the apple of the developer's eye.
"This is the destination for original, creative types who can't afford Williamsburg," explained Brad Eaton from Select Real Estate. "We have a lot of first-time buyers or buyers whose parents have helped them out. The neighborhood really is up-and-coming."
To rent: $1,150 per month for a renovated one-bedroom (Troutman Street at Evergreen Avenue)$1,800 per month for a 900-square-foot one-bedroom duplex (Broadway at Myrtle Avenue)$1,250 per month for a 740-square-foot two-bedroom walkup (St. Nicholas Avenue at DeKalb Avenue)$2,100 per month for a 1,100-squarefoot three-bedroom walkup (Myrtle Avenue at Broadway)$2,400 per month for a 1,500-square-foot renovated two-bedroom (Hart Street at Bushwick Avenue)$2,500 per month for a five-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment (Covert Street at Broadway)$4,500 per month for a five-bedroom apartment in a freestanding house with backyard (Hart Street at Bushwick Avenue)
To buy: $$379,000 for a 1,158-square-foot 1.5-bedroom duplex loft (241 Troutman)$479,000 for a two-family, two-bedroom duplex (Hart Street at Central Avenue)$595,000 for a 1,509-square-foot two-bedroom loft (100 Wyckoff)$668,000 for a 1,729-square-foot two-bedroom triplex (979 Willoughby)$769,000 for a three-family brick house (Jefferson at Wilson)
Q&A WITH STEVE TRIMBOLI
Steve Trimboli, who owned the West Village hotspot Scrapbar in the 1980s, opened Goodbye Blue Monday on Broadway a few years ago to cater to the expanding artist population.
Why did you move here? I moved here to store things I acquired while cleaning out an estate. When I started selling them from the storefront, I noticed the neighborhood's population changing, and my business took off from there.
How is the neighborhood different from before? I did a paper route here years ago, and I was always scared I'd get killed -- I'd barely set foot out of the truck before guys would come running at me. Definitely not like that today.
What's so great about the area? When I opened Scrapbar, the mood in the West Village was the same as it is in Bushwick today. It's an evolving landscape that started as nothing, but now feels like the beginning of something. All of downtown NYC was like this in the 1970s-- SoHo and Tribeca looked just as barren as Flushing Avenue does here.
What sort of people frequent your venue? A lot of local students and artists, and I'm starting to see people coming from outside of Bushwick. It used to be hard to get people to come out here; it was "too edgy." Now people say, "let's go slumming let's go out to Bushwick."
What's something a lot of people don't know about the area? A hundred years ago, this was a very wealthy area. There were 34-room mansions on Bushwick Avenue. There still are beautiful old houses but they're covered by cheap vinyl siding -- you don't realize how huge or ornate they are inside.
Do you see any big changes on the horizon for the area? Since it's already a thriving Spanish neighborhood, I anticipate more of a co-existence -- like Washington Heights -- than full-blown gentrification. The area along the L might get hot, but down here by the J there's the El train and no one's building any multi-million-dollar condos around that.
THE BASICS: New York Public Library340 Bushwick Ave. at Siegel St.83rd Precinct stationhouse480 Knickerbocker Ave.
Transportation Subway: J, M to Flushing Avenue; J, M, Z to Myrtle Avenue; J to Kosciuszko Street; J, Z to Gates Avenue; J to Halsey Street; J, Z to Chauncey Street; L to Jefferson Street, DeKalb Avenue, Myrtle Avenue, Halsey Street, Wilson Avenue, Bushwick Avenue-Aberdeen Street. Bus: B47, 60, 38, 15, 52, 57, 13, 46, 20, 54, 7, 26; Q24, 58, 55
Crime Stats The 83rd Precinct, which covers only Bushwick, reported seven murders, 15 rapes, 179 robberies, 197 burglaries and 177 felonious assaults so far this year. At the same time last year, there were two murders, 14 rapes, 245 robberies, 245 burglaries and 177 felonious assaults. .
Schools P.S. 86; P.S. 116; P.S. 123; P.S. 376; All City Leadership Secondary School; JHS 162; JHS 383; Academy of Urban Planning High School; Bushwick High School; New York Harbor School; St. Brigid School.
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