{"id":2690,"date":"2013-03-07T14:01:38","date_gmt":"2013-03-07T19:01:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myparkingsign.com\/blog\/?p=2690"},"modified":"2024-05-24T06:50:31","modified_gmt":"2024-05-24T10:50:31","slug":"gentrification-debate-bike-parking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myparkingsign.com/blog\/gentrification-debate-bike-parking\/","title":{"rendered":"Gentrification debate sparked by bike parking in Brooklyn"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"bike<\/a>

This bike corral on Franklin Avenue in Brooklyn has sparked a heated debate about gentrification (via Brownstoner<\/a>).<\/p><\/div>\n

Bicycle parking \u2014 it’s the\u00a0straw that broke the camel\u2019s back on Franklin Avenue in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. In front of Little Zelda, a coffee shop with a distinctly Parisian feel, is a new bike corral, championed by the proprietor of the shop. It\u2019s comprised of three metal rings spaced along one former parking space. Other proprietors and residents have been clamoring, however, for the corral\u2019s removal<\/a>. It\u2019s not unlike a tiny thing \u2014 say, the chicken being dry or the door left unlocked \u2014 sparking some momentous domestic spat. There\u2019s much more to it than a bike corral. This fight in Crown Heights (which is, in fact, my neighborhood) is over a much larger issue: what does and does not belong…or rather, who.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The bike corral is seen by some residents as a sign of gentrification<\/a>. For Crown Heights, that means that the racial and socioeconomic makeup is changing. This isn\u2019t the first sign of change; before now, there’s been a proliferation of expensive bars, shops, and coffee joints, but something about this bike corral has visibly pitted Crown Height\u2019s different demographics against one another. The bike corral seems to be a win for the newcomers (hipsters, some might say, and their vintage retail overlords), the first of what might be many things that are out of older residents\u2019 hands.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve lived on Franklin Ave. since August. I\u2019m sure you\u2019re already piecing it together based on my bougie prose: I am, in fact, at least an approximation of the quintessentially offending hipster involved in this recent bicycle parking debacle. I\u2019m not even metaphorically involved\u2026I actually signed the petition for TransAlt in front Little Zelda a couple of months ago.<\/p>\n

Like most people signing a petition, I really only had time to make a positive association with TransAlt (like them) and bicycles (great stuff) which led to my rapidly and almost incoherently signing the petition as I breezed down the street. Anyway, more bike parking seems like no-brainer, right? It lessens sidewalk congestion and pollution, and is a safe and convenient spot for cyclists to lock up. Note also that the corral in question takes up only one<\/i> parking spot. There is side-street parking usually available nearby, so to me, one less parking space seemed like a small price to pay for better biking accommodations.<\/p>\n

\"Allocating<\/a>

Allocating bike parking has a host of benefits for an area; it lessens sidewalk congestion, draws in outside revenue, promotes individual health and a cleaner environment (via MyParkingSign.com).<\/p><\/div>\n

But many of my neighbors disagree, on a couple of different levels. For one, there are practical considerations. Lily of Lily and Fig bakery (directly across from the new corral) won\u2019t have as many options for her customers, who need to park their cars closeby to pick up wedding cakes. But what really seems at stake are deeper issues: exclusion, power dynamics, unwanted change. The community board voted to uphold the installation of the bike corral, but even there, members were clearly divided. \u201cThis is bigger than a bike corral,\u201d said<\/a> Diana Foster, a board member opposed to the recent vote to keep the corrals, \u201cWe\u2019re supposed to be a community. The board is supposed to serve the good of the whole community, and not a specific set of people. I\u2019m feeling kind of offended.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gentrification can bring with it all kinds of benefits in an area (the bike corral won out in the board, according to Robert Witherwax, on the \u201cmerits of the idea\u201d) less crime, less pollution, cleaner streets, increased property values, and higher local fiscal revenues. However, the eventuality is often displacement and eviction. That means that if gentrification takes its normal course in Crown Heights, many residents ultimately won\u2019t be around to enjoy those improvements like better quality air and lowered crime rates. It\u2019s a little easier to understand the acrimonious reaction to the bike corral when you consider that potential consequence.<\/p>\n

Still, it\u2019s a force of nature: property values are rising, chic retail shops are poking out like sidewalk flowers, and construction is underway for condos at the end of the street. I think most residents have mixed feelings, though; even as I write this article, I feel like I\u2019m intruding. Should people really get to take over an area because they have more money? Still, who are the long-standing residents to be exclusive, either, especially when change like a bike corral is objectively beneficial?<\/p>\n

\"please<\/a>

Gentrification can tremendously benefit an area, making it cleaner and safer. But that may also mean that the original community is displaced (image via MySecuritySign.com)<\/p><\/div>\n

Walking down Franklin one night, I overheard two people standing under a tall tree, looking up together, and pointing. \u201cThat\u2019s Bag Tree,\u201d one of them said, by way of introduction. I felt suddenly sentimental. You see, I\u2019d been calling it Bag Tree in my head for months. But I suppose it\u2019s no real coincidence. After all, the eponymous greenery is a tall and majestic; it that stands on the side of busy Franklin Ave., and it is covered in bags \u2014 grocery bags, Ziploc bags, candy wrappers, cellophane \u2014 to the point that seems almost like it was decorated for the now-passed holidays. Somehow, it\u2019s both vibrant and dingy.<\/p>\n

Really, this one sight sums up a lot of how I feel about Franklin Ave. And based on what I overheard, I\u2019m not alone. I appreciate what the street is now, its diversity and wabi-sabi allure. The fact is, however, that no matter what we talk about on our streets or on our community board, Bag Tree will go and the bike corral will stay. Franklin will be cleaner, safer, and more efficient as time goes on. This is why the bike corral is causing such a mix of reactions: it\u2019s both an ominous and hopeful symbol. Great things are happening for the neighborhood, but not every resident may be able to stay around and enjoy it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Like this topic? Check out our related products:<\/h3>\n