A Healthy Response to Gentrification

Ensuring that everyone has the ability to participate in the economic growth in their neighborhoods.  

Many lower-income neighborhoods throughout NYC are being transformed as businesses and people with higher incomes are moving in. 

The changing demographics, character, and new investments in Crown Heights, Bed-Stuy, Harlem, China Town and other neighborhoods like them throughout NYC have resulted in higher prices, forcing long-standing business owners and residents to have to relocate or quickly adapt as their neighborhoods change.

We believe that long-standing businesses and residents in gentrifying neighborhoods should be able to take advantage of the economic growth happening in their neighborhoods, but they need to be able to compete and have access to resources to do so.

As we observed the changes happening throughout NYC, we asked ourselves:  

How do we ensure that businesses that have been in these neighborhoods for decades and have given these places character and economic value has what it takes to compete and survive in a changing neighborhood? 

How do we ensure that long-standing residents and marginalized groups have the opportunity and resources to start businesses, invest and partake in the economic growth happening in their neighborhoods? 

How do we ensure that the economic growth happening in neighborhoods throughout NYC is not just for a select few?  

How do we ensure that new businesses and residents that are making lower income neighborhoods their new home, respect and are sensitive to the culture, businesses, and residents that have been there for years?  

There are many solutions to these very important questions and many people and organizations that are already doing something about it.

We created this short documentary, a Healthy Response to Gentrification, to get the perspective of businesses and residents in Crown Heights, Brooklyn on how they are taking advantage of the economic changes happening in their neighborhood and protecting their culture and legacy in process. (This documentary is in loving memory of Fred Powell from Barbab's Flowers)  

What do you think are some healthy and viable solutions to the impact that gentrification is having on long standing businesses and residents in neighborhoods throughout NYC?