Between 2010 and 2020, Bed-Stuy lost 22,000 Black residents, and gained 30,000 white ones.
Bed-Stuy, a historically Black and Brown neighborhood that was once not only home to the largest concentration of Black New Yorkers, but also one of the largest Black enclaves in the nation. Bed-Stuy, an area where as early as the 1830s, free Black folk bought land, built homes, and planted gardens. Bed-Stuy, home to the largest collection of intact and largely untouched brownstones.
Willoughby Ave and Hart St between Nostrand and Marcy Aves are the last two blocks in the northwest corner of Bed-Stuy that are still intact brownstones. The Landmarks Preservation Commission, or LPC, has shared many times that these blocks are worthy of designation.
On May 21, the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to add two blocks to the calendar for consideration as a new historic district. This hearing is happening today.
A neighborhood whose residents have been entrenched in an ongoing battle against gentrification, this is becoming increasingly difficult.
This effort, spearheaded by the community through Willoughby Hart and supported by incredible local politicians like Chiosse, is being called Anti-Semitic. In a recent “article” by the NY Post titled “Orthodox Jews in Bed Stuy say anti-Israel lefty pols trying to force them out of neighborhood with landmarking designation,” Adam Leitman Bailey, an attorney representing the Orthodox community, says, “By introducing this and being a leader of this, Chi Osse is committing the worst antisemitic act since Oct. 7.”
We understand that a core tenant of Zionist ideology is the stripping of land rights from pre-existing residents. We understand that these vestiges of colonialism are the predecessors of gentrification. We understand that liberation is rooted in the rights of a people to remain in their homes.
Update: on Tuesday, June 25, 2024, history was made when, in a unanimous vote, NYC Landmarks Commissioners voted to designate Willoughby Hart Historic District today!
Congratulations toWilloughby Hart, and New Yorkers for standing up for our beloved city, and protecting culture.
