I grew up in the neighborhood, so its namesake park is immutably etched into my soul as part of the milieu that forged who I am as a human being. I have seen this park in good times and bad. Happily, the times we are seeing right now are among the good times.
I was a child of the late 70s through the 80s. I went to school right across the street at PS 169 and played, swam, jumped and climbed here in my youth. In my earliest memories there were still remnants of the Norwegians -- who built Sunset Park and established St Michael's, whose chapel figures prominently into the spectacular view -- as well as other Scandinavians and Europeans. Homes and gardens were well maintained, businesses were clean and family oriented. Neighbors knew and looked out for one another. There were block parties every summer with live music from local garage bands. It was a heyday as far as I remember, but then again I was young and may be looking back with rose colored glasses.
The 80s brought AIDS, the crack epidemic, gang activity, white flight, and a major surge in crime throughout all of NYC. Sunset Park became far less safe, particularly after dark. I have memories of being shaken down by teens only moderately older than myself in the daylight and one particularly bad memory of a Puerto Rican guy who sicced his vicious dog on me because I was a "white boy," which was an increasingly rare sight at the time. I moved away happily with my parents in my high school years just as we entered the 90s.
When I returned in the early 2000s to live on 8th avenue for the better part of that decade I was elated to see Sunset Park returning to its former glory as a place to gather, socialize, exercise, chat with neighbors, watch the fireworks or just relax and take in the view. Part of the reason for the change was renewed investment in public infrastructure, but I think a greater part of it was the zero tolerance and broken window policies of the Giuliani era. I was raised in the political left wing and I still waffle regarding how I view his tenure as mayor, but you really can't argue with good old empirical real life experience.
A reviewer below stated that Sunset Park is one of NYC's best-kept secrets -- which I can hardly argue with -- but went on to state that one should "hurry before the yuppies gent[rify] it". I'm not critiquing the commenter or her comment, but merely noting what I consider skewed logic I see emanating from the left that I feel needs to be observed more closely.
If it is viewed as racist to suggest that crime grew proportionally with the growth of the Hispanic population (even though that is statistically true) or that Chinese businesses along 8th avenue have produced a level of filth that is retch-inducing on a hot summer day, which was not present when 8th ave was mostly Europeans (even though it is also true) then it has to be equally as racist to suggest that a demographic shift towards more Europeans and Caucasians is somehow a threat that needs to be vehemently denounced.
Because they are viewed as the in-power group, it seems like you can say anything you like about Caucasians or the upwardly mobile and it's considered acceptable even if it has no basis in logic or reality. Meanwhile making comments about non-whites (poor non-whites in particular) is extremely taboo and carries a plethora of potential consequences even if the comment is logical and empirically demonstrable.
For the most part, I genuinely love Sunset Park, and the multicultural nature of this neighborhood -- especially the Latin and Asian flavor -- make it a very special place to reside. But I also know that the more white people a Brooklyn neighborhood has, the more art and culture and safety and public gardens and cleanliness and chic restaurants and investment and volunteering and innumerable other very positive qualities it will have as well. And it's not because the "gentrifiers" have more financial capital. Most of the "new" white people I see in Sunset Park are either eastern Europeans who left their nations of origin to seek a better life, or recent graduates who came here from other parts of the country saddled with tons of debt and seeking a place they can actually afford.
What they *do* have is cultural capital. How that translates into a bad thing is beyond me. If you're born poor, it's clearly not your fault, but if your family has been in the neighborhood for three generations and you're still poor then maybe you need to change your thinking and your approach to life. Blaming mere racism is a facile response and it's getting really tired.
I say bring on the yuppies, keep the European immigrants coming and fuck the haters who only think demographic shift is a bad thing when it's THEIR group being displaced. I, for one, am super glad to see European faces when I walk around Sunset Park because it assures me the area will be cleaner, safer and more livable as a result. End of sermon. read more