by by Julissa Hernandez
Carlina Molina, 18, and her family loved living above The Farm on Cortelyou. That is, until their monthly rent increased by $1,000. Last year they moved Ocean Parkway. She blames this change on gentrification.
Many long-time residents have seen a change in Ditmas Park over the past few years. Census figures back up this change. In 2015, the neighborhood had fewer African American and Latino residents. The percentage change is wasn’t much 2 to 3 percent. But the big difference came in the income levels of residents. In those 5 years medium income increased 47 percent to $43,399.
Changes were also happening on the retail side of Ditmas. Local shops “closed down and prices rising up,” said resident Julio Hernandez.
“Prices are not the same anymore,” said Hernandez,18, who’s lived in the neighborhood for 17 years. “Key food supermarket has changed the prices of it’s items ever since the Met supermarket was replaced. It was way cheaper.”
This is something that New York State Assemblymember wants to address. As the chair of the housing committee who represents part of Ditmas Park he sees gentrification as a big issue.
“We want people to move here the question is how do we make sure that it’s about folks actually providing and working to build a life in New York?” said Carroll in an interview with the staff of The Ditmas Examiner.
Although not everyone thinks sees the change as negative. “It’s half good and half bad” said resident Valarie Durrant.
Angela Ravina agrees but feels certain people will get the brunt of the bad. “The thing about gentrifying this neighborhood is that many people of the same race/ethnicity will be dispersed or separated,” said Ravina, 14