Dear Mr. Nolan,
It never occurred to me, but when it did, I was taken aback. My entire life I've gentrified. Between Utah, Georgia, Florida and Brooklyn, there's nowhere I lived where I haven't contributed to a "upcoming neighborhood."
But, as far as Brooklyn goes, let's talk.
In your post on Monday titled "You Have Nothing Interesting to Say About Brooklyn," you try and quell the ephemeral and overly-written-about hipster demographic. And it was awful, missing an opportunity to begin anew.
It's not just that you don't have anything interesting to say about Brooklyn; we don't have anything interesting to say about Brooklyn. Neither blogs, nor magazines, nor newspapers, nor serious academic thinkers, nor urban planners, nor philosophers, nor international jet-setters, nor fashion mavens, nor foodies, nor social theorists have anything interesting to say about Brooklyn.
Oh, word? Case of the Mondays has someone peering through tunnel vision? It is only Tuesday, but I'll do my best to pick up your slack. Us self-acknowledging gentrifiers don't thank you so much as dismiss you, taking with our leave a breath of fresh air.
There's still a conversation that needs having. One about what to do with the disappearing neighborhoods, the cultures that existed before the hipster onslaught, the buildings and historic monuments that stand tribute to a vital part of New York City's history. We lost the Broken Angel, for Christ's sake. A moment of silence, please!
The post should have been titled "I Have Nothing Left to Contribute About Brooklyn" because as you've written about Brooklyn for years, you miss your one opportunity with the borough that's basking in limelight.
The Times piece seemed blowhardish, sure. But if everyone's done talking about Brooklyn (at least publicly, as far as I'm concerned), and you aren't, start a new bandwagon.
Dude, you live in Brooklyn. You're a gentrifier too. I know your mark as a writer/blogger/whatever-you-think-you-are is to be snarky with full-force confrontation, but why not be the conversation starter? Let's talk about the places and people being utterly disregarded. You have that opportunity.
Maybe in your mind we should just move to Astoria and try again.
Meh, I'll pass.
Regards,
Kenneth Rosen (Not Kenneth H. Rosen, though he's all over Google)