By Ayuka Kawakami
August 7, 2022
In the 1960s, with the booming manufacturing job, thousands of Latin Americans moved to Williamsburg, Brooklyn. However, the manufacturing industry started to decline in the 1970s, and by the 1980s, the neighborhood became infamous for crime and illegal drugs. Attracted by cheap rents, many young artists moved to the neighborhood in the 1990s, creating the hipster culture. By 2000, Williamsburg became an epicenter of gentrification as trendy restaurants, and luxury apartments were built, raising the living costs rapidly.
N 13TH ST.
N 13TH ST.
N 13TH ST.
N 12TH ST.
N 12TH ST.
N 12TH ST.
KENT AVENUE
KENT AVENUE
KENT AVENUE
BERRY STREET
BERRY STREET
BERRY STREET
N 7TH ST.
N 7TH ST.
N 7TH ST.
N 9TH ST.
N 9TH ST.
N 9TH ST.
N 12TH ST.
N 12TH ST.
N 12TH ST.
N 8TH ST.
N 8TH ST.
N 8TH ST.
BEDFORD AVENUE
BEDFORD AVENUE
BEDFORD AVENUE
N 7TH ST.
N 7TH ST.
N 7TH ST.
N 6TH ST.
N 6TH ST.
N 6TH ST.
BERRY STREET
BERRY STREET
BERRY STREET
KENT AVENUE
KENT AVENUE
KENT AVENUE
N 5TH ST.
N 5TH ST.
N 5TH ST.
N 8TH ST.
N 8TH ST.
N 8TH ST.
RIVER STREET
RIVER STREET
RIVER STREET
N 4TH ST.
N 4TH ST.
N 4TH ST.
N 7TH ST.
N 7TH ST.
N 7TH ST.
ROEBLING STREET
ROEBLING STREET
ROEBLING STREET
N 3RD ST.
N 3RD ST.
N 3RD ST.
N 6TH ST.
N 6TH ST.
N 6TH ST.
METROPOLITAN AVE.
METROPOLITAN AVE.
METROPOLITAN AVE.
HAVEMEYER ST.
HAVEMEYER ST.
HAVEMEYER ST.
N 1ST ST.
N 1ST ST.
N 1ST ST.
N 4TH ST.
N 4TH ST.
N 4TH ST.
N 5TH ST.
N 5TH ST.
N 5TH ST.
KENT AVENUE
KENT AVENUE
KENT AVENUE
RIVER STREET
RIVER STREET
RIVER STREET
GRAND STREET
GRAND STREET
GRAND STREET
S 1ST ST.
S 1ST ST.
S 1ST ST.
S 2ND ST.
S 2ND ST.
S 2ND ST.
S 1ST ST.
S 1ST ST.
S 1ST ST.
S 2ND ST.
S 2ND ST.
S 2ND ST.
DRIGGS AVENUE
DRIGGS AVENUE
DRIGGS AVENUE
Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Williamsburg Bridge
Williamsburg Bridge
Williamsburg Bridge
S 3RD ST.
S 3RD ST.
S 3RD ST.
S 1ST ST.
S 1ST ST.
S 1ST ST.
Williamsburg Bridge
Williamsburg Bridge
Williamsburg Bridge
S 5TH ST.
S 5TH ST.
S 5TH ST.
HOPE STREET
HOPE STREET
S 4TH ST.
S 4TH ST.
S 4TH ST.
S 2ND ST.
S 2ND ST.
S 2ND ST.
S 6TH ST.
S 5TH ST.
S 6TH ST.
S 6TH ST.
S 5TH ST.
S 5TH ST.
S 3RD ST.
S 3RD ST.
S 3RD ST.
In the waterfront neighborhood of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, the old and new buildings are on the same street, often right next to each other.
On South 1st Street and Berry, an old rent-controlled apartment and a newly built townhouse are across from one another.
On North 9th and Berry, a poorly maintained multi-family home and a newly built luxury rental are across from one another.
On North 5th and Wythe, an abandoned factory and a newly built luxury apartment in a similar brownstone design are across from one another.
On Metropolitan Ave and Wythe, an abandoned factory and a luxury apartment in a similar concrete style are across from one another.
On North 1st and Wythe, an poorly maintained multi-family home and a newly built trendy cafe are across from one another.
On Bedford and Grand, a graffiti-filled old restaurant selling Chinese takeouts and a newly built trendy cafe sit next to each other.
On North 4th and Berry, an poorly maintained multi-family home and a newly built Whole Food, a trendy cafe, and clothing stores share the same street.
Today, the rental prices in the neighborhood are at an all-time high. According to Streeteasy, as of June 2022, the average rent in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, is $4350 a month, while it is $3500 a month in the Upper East Side, Manhattan, the area infamous for high-income residents. Securing enough affordable housing for people who needs them in Williamsburg has become a lot more challenging in the past decade.
In June 2022, the art project by InsideOut created portraits of those residents who came to live in the neighborhood in the golden age of the manufacturing industry.
This poem is the symbol of the rapidly changing neighborhood, and what we could do to support those beautiful residents to remain in the neighborhood they have lived in for a long time.
We are “The Power of Los Sures.”
Our work set the foundations for what this neighborhood is today.
We are immigrants. We were born here.
Our fortitude comes from our ancestors.
We survived rent increases, discrimination, a pandemic.
Long ago, we fought crime and gangs with resilience.
Now, we resist the high cost of living.
We hate envy, hypocrisy, lies and abuse.
We hate gun violence. We are here.
We came from the land of merengue, from the Caribbean coast where the azure blue waters roar loudly, from the mountains of central and southern America.
We stayed for our children, for them to have a better future.
Many of us will die here.
In this neighborhood, we found poems in the flowers, in the books, in the winter snow.
In this neighborhood, we dream of affordable housing for every person in New York, without exception. We also like changes that have arrived.
But, don't eat the whole pie.
Yes, we love fairness.
Let's divide everything equally.
Let's use our talents to beautify.
We have a lot to offer.
We are beautiful, strong and powerful.
We are inspired by music and dance.
We are inspired by our families and the senior community center.
We are inspired by you.
Contributed by elders at Los Sures "David Santiago" Senior Center in Williamsburg, Brooklyn
