Bedford-Stuyvesant tour
Brooklyn's historic African-American center has stunning architecture & great gardens, as well as rough patches. From "Bed-Stuy Do or Die" to "Do or Dive"?
 The Renaissance apartments, Bedford-Stuyvesant
The large neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant (aka Bed-Stuy), displays upper-class 19th-century roots, mid-20th-century African-American history, a rugged recent past, and very recent gentrification that has brought new businesses and has partly reshaped community identity.
It contains several micro-neighborhoods, including historic districts and housing projects, and borders Clinton Hill to the east and Crown Heights to the north. We can devote 2.5 hours to Bed-Stuy and still not see all of this wide-ranging neighborhood, We will see blocks with notable architecture, as well as those that contain other indications of history, such as murals and churches and stores. Bed-Stuy received enormous amounts of attention and concerted efforts at uplift after unrest in the 1960s spotlighted the invidious impact of discrimination. It has been the heart of black Brooklyn's civil rights efforts. It remains troubled in places, even as housing prices skyrocket, as those seeking row houses, classic architecture, and transit accessibility bid up a once-neglected neighborhood, even blocks very near housing projects. It's at the heart of some recent gentrification debates, such as in the series from WNYC/The Nation called "There Goes the Neighborhood." House-proud residents also have helped several Bed-Stuy blocks win honors in the annual Greenest Block in Brooklyn competition. We also look at significant institutions in the neighborhood, such as the Bridge Street AWME Church, the oldest continuing congregation in Brooklyn, dating back to 1766. It's on Stuyvesant Avenue, not Bridge Street, and we'll learn why during the tour. That Stuyvesant Avenue location, by the way, is not all that far from where Spike Lee shot his classic 1989 film, "Do the Right Thing." We'll see several murals that reflect different phases of Bed-Stuy. If it's open, we'll stop into the Brooklyn Public Library's Macon branch, on Lewis Avenue, which has an African-American collection. Perhaps predictably, the new construction in Bed-Stuy has focused on the western end, closest to Clinton Hill. If time, we'll visit Franklin Avenue in western Bedford-Stuyvesant, newly popular for new in-fill luxury developments, and gentrified business establishments, on blocks that either have older apartment buildings or industrial properties. |
Distance from Midtown Manhattan: 30-40 minutes
Basic tour length: 2.5 hours (see fees) Starting place: Typically near A or C train Ending place: Varies, but typically near G train Highlights: History, architecture, African-American culture Option before/after tour: multiple options for snacks/meals Potential tour extensions with me: Williamsburg, Crown Heights, Fort Greene/Clinton Hill |