Trends Summary

Example Overview: TRENDS OF GREENPOINT

Like much of New York City, Greenpoint has been changing a great deal in the past ten years. Prior to the late 1990s, the most prevalent trend in Greenpoint was immigration. Greenpoint was the neighborhood with the highest population of Polish residents in all of New York City, and anyone walking the Greenpoint streets would see Polish bakeries, restaurants, stores and the Polish language on many signs. While there is still a strong Polish presence, the neighborhood’s demographics have recently changed quite a bit. Starting in the late 1980s, young artists and students began to make their way into the largely abandoned and run-down loft spaces alongside the East River and Newtown Creek. This was the first wave of gentrification, and while Greenpoint wasn’t speeding through the process as fast as its neighbor, Williamsburg, the new population was still laying down its roots. McCarren Park, the park that separates Greenpoint from Williamsburg began to be developed with condominiums in the early 2000s, and this change greatly impacted the community. Young people wishing to move to rapidly gentrifying Williamsburg found that Williamsburg was too expensive, and therefore looked to Greenpoint as a more affordable option. Prior to the recession of late 2008, Greenpoint looked as though it would go the way of its next-door neighbor – homes were being renovated, restored and new condominiums were bringing in residents with a higher income. Boutique clothing stores, high-end coffee shops, restaurants and bars, as well as independent bookstores began to sprout in Greenpoint. Though the recession has stopped gentrification’s spread for now, the neighborhood is primed and ready for more newcomers when the economy picks up.


OUTLINE: HOW TO WRITE A TRENDS OVERVIEW

Description of trends you can see while visiting the neighborhood

When these trends began to appear in the area

Any reasons for why these trends are occurring

How the trends are impacting the neighborhood (bringing new people in, or upgrading the neighborhood, or displacing people, or diversifying the neighborhood, etc.)