Quote:
Originally Posted by 3rd&Brown
I have a co-worker that just bought a townhouse in Bay Ridge (say, a year ago). Her and her husband are reformed Jews, politically left...moved from Park Slope. I was surprised when they settled on Bay Ridge but they wanted an entire townhouse and not an apartment and this is their first home....so most of the closer in neighborhoods were out of the question from a price standpoint, even though their HHI is probably north of $500k a year (this is the reality in NYC now).
She talks a lot about how many of her neighbors though are Muslim Arabs. Almost to the point of obsession. She's feeling I think very self conscious about the juxtaposition coming from Park Slope and having her oldest in the local public school. Her daughter has a very Jewish first name and has been the target of some bullying from her classmates.
Anyways...point being, you are correct. Bay Ridge is getting an influx of Brownstoner Brooklyn types but I don't perceive the area as being white per se based on her experiences.
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I mean, the ME population in Bay Ridge would be white, per Census. But yeah, that end of Bay Ridge (north end, bordering Sunset Park) is pretty heavily Muslim Arab, and has undergone gradual ethnic succession. I could see non-secular Jews feeling a bit lonely around there. There are some really nice brownstone blocks in that end, and I suspect the Little Egypt enclave has peaked.
I was speaking more of the mid & southern end of Bay Ridge, which isn't radically different from 40 years ago, just a bit more polished and lightly gentrified. Those blocks still have lots of Irish, Italians and Greeks, even a few Norweigans from way back. They still have a Leif Ericson/Norway Day Parade. Not a ton of Jews, tho.
But it's also true that there are a few blocks on the other end where almost everything is halal and you'll hear the Muslim call to prayer.