Picture this: Brooklyn, New York, future home of the Brooklyn Nets also the only stadium within the NYC metro area. Sean Carter a.k.a Jay-Z has been talking about bringing the New Jersey Nets to Brooklyn ever since his Fade to Black tour and a few years later his dream has become a reality. Not only will this transition take the basketball team out of New Jersey but it also means major revenue for the city of Brooklyn. To many this may look like a huge victory but what does that victory mean to the residents and how will it effect Jay-Z's image?
For the past 10 years the number of condos have doubled in Brooklyn and many residents have been displaced. Some residents were offered money to move but once the state fianlly approved the stadium they stopped handing out money and began pushing people out. This sounds like a form of or flat out gentrification. Most of these people have lived in Brooklyn their entire life and were forced to start over. Is it worth making life long residents seek new housing, or leaving some homeless because they won't be able to afford to live their once the stadium is open?
While scrolling through my twitter feed I noticed one person tweeted "it is a shame what Jay-Z is doing to the city of Brooklyn, pretty soon the people that live there will no longer look like him." What does this really mean? It can be looked at as a positive change which will mean more money for the city, perhaps better jobs and better business. But on the other hand who will be the ones reaping the benefits from this new acquisition. Gentrification is happening all over America specifically in urban areas populated by African Americans. Is it a form of covert racism or is it a sincere act of change...
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