Yes, other neighborhoods and boroughs may be the “new black.” But Manhattan is the new Manhattan…and in certain respects, the old Manhattan. Interestingly, my rent is cheaper (and I mean way cheaper) than some “grimier” neighborhoods in Brooklyn, which exemplifies that gentrification is alive and well in places where hipsters are trying to keep the façade of “edginess.” (Bklyn Boihood has a good post on said gentrification.) I relocated to Manhattan in 1999 and I live in a historically wealthy neighborhood just a few short blocks away from Central Park, Madonna, and Anthony Bourdain. But instead, she acknowledged that Manhattan is a borough constantly in flux, always changing while remaining the same in many important ways.
I braced myself for the usual “Manhattan’s queer and art scenes are so over” speech. She reminisced about how the iconic Bowery was once a seedy bohemian area known for being an epicenter of punk music and underground art before gentrification replaced homeless heroin addicts and rat infested lofts with high rise condominiums and trendy cafes.
The 200 Best Lesbian, Bisexual & Queer Movies Of All TimeĪ couple of months ago, I attended an art symposium and one of the speakers, a lesbian writer, was a tried and true Brooklynite who had spent a great deal of time in Manhattan’s Bowery neighborhood during the 1980s.LGBTQ Television Guide: What To Watch Now.
