[nygirl1]

Now we head south and back into the center of the borough with the neighborhoods of Weeksville and Bed-Stuy


The long time cultural center for Brooklyn’s Black population is the Bedford-Stuyvesant section. This neighborhood is what I would consider the buckle of the Brooklyn Brownstone Belt. The neighborhood attracted the mass migrating southern African Americans seeking new livelihoods and opportunities from industrial New York City. The area was Brooklyn’s answer to Harlem during the Jazz age. The neighborhood degenerated and became a focal point during the 60’s and 70’s when “white-flight” was at it’s highest point, social unrest was reaching boiling points, industry was leaving the city. Riots erupted during the 1977 Black-out further alienating this Brooklyn neighborhood and painting its decades-long dangerous image. Bed-Stuy took pride in its ‘rough image’ and glorified it through its many contributing hip hop artists, most famous—The Notorious B.I.G. The neighborhood had been a favorite of director Spike Lee (Do the right thing, Crooklyn, etc., etc.) for showcasing on the silver screen.

Today it has undergone rampant gentrification. Many residential blocks have seen dramatic restorations and the neighborhood retains its cultural heritage, attracting young entrepreneurial African Americans performing and leading in many of the city’s industries, again, much like Harlem.




















The Weeksville Section- A historic Brooklyn neighborhood in the Bedford-Stuyvesant vicinity was established by freedmen fleeing the slave plantations of the South