It’s New York! If You Can Make It Here… You’re Probably A Gentrifier

On July 11th of 2019, The Real Housewives of New York aired their first of Season 11’s three-part reunion. All of the Andy Cohen-led reunions follow the same premise; the women are introduced, slight shade is thrown followed by conveniently edited glares and giggles, and the reunion begins.

This 11th reunion was like any other. The standout storylines were Bethenny crying over the untimely death of her kinda-not-fiancé-boyfriend, Dennis, and the rest of the women reprimanding the former countess LuAnn for daring to not be perfect and having a drinking problem. Primetime entertainment. And I mean that in all seriousness; I LOVE reality TV. But there was one, quick comment that caught me off-guard in this reunion. And that takes a lot because I’ve seen ALL of them. When discussing LuAnn’s move from the luxurious Hamptons to the more private and less expensive upstate New York area, an area specifically called Kingston, New York, a previous comment Ramona Singer had made during the season came up.

Ramona said that LuAnn’s new area wasn’t a particularly good one, hinting at high crime levels. Niche.com gives the area a C when it comes to safety. These things are subjective. After a staunch defense of her new abode from LuAnn, Ramona attempts to soothe her by saying that her real estate agent friend told her that in 10 years everyone will be moving to Kingston, so she’s just ahead of the curve!

Woah.

Is that what we’re calling gentrification nowadays? “Ahead of the curve”?

This stopped me in my tracks. Are these women really joking about this? Do they not understand the implications of a whole bunch of rich people moving somewhere en masse? But then it hit me; no, they don’t. Gentrification has never impacted them. Well, not negatively at least. They likely don’t know anyone who has been impacted by gentrification. It is probably one of the subjects furthest from all of their minds. And that’s the problem.

The show is called “Real Housewives of NEW YORK”. THE New York City. The largest and most diverse city in the country. Yet the only group represented on the stage of that reunion were rich white women, arguably one of the smallest groups within New York City. Andy Cohen and Bravo couldn’t find one Black, Hispanic, or Asian New York housewife? And I know there’s many of them; even rich ones. While being of color doesn’t automatically stop one from aiding in gentrification, it is more likely a person of color would better understand the implications of it and the harm it has done not just around the country, but especially in New York City.

The cost of living is already high and one of the common complaints coming out of New York (and the rest of the country) is that no one can afford to live here. Well, no one who was originally here. Yet countless transplants using their tech/seed/investing/start-up/parents’ money are constantly moving in to Brooklyn, Harlem, and now even the Bronx. With them is coming nothing but noise complaints and higher rent. While many think the resulting yoga studios and vegan restaurants are beneficial to a community, they fail to realize the difference between community revitalization and gentrification, and it is a simple one. The difference is motive.

When people and a local government notice a problem and want to help fix it, it doesn’t come at a charge. People in rougher areas deserve yoga studios, vegan restaurants, comprehensive rec centers, museums, and safe streets too. Not just the already rich and connected randomly wanting to experience just a bit of culture, but not too much, because you know, it’s too loud. Gentrification is when these new community additions come at the price of the original inhabitants being forcefully pushed out in lieu of those with bigger purses whose motive is nothing more than an adventure or an investment. Oftentimes both. Responsibility for this lies in the laps of the gentrifiers themselves, government officials determined to ignore the plights of their constituents, the poor ones at least, and the landlords are often at fault as well. Even with the few rent regulations our country has, landlords are still able to continuously raise rents, unnecessarily, until current tenants are forced to leave and tenants with more money can move in. It’s a cycle, a wheel, and communities of the middle-class and poor and people of color (mostly black) are constantly being crushed by it.

Neither LuAnn, Ramona, or any of the Real Housewives of New York are personally to blame for gentrification in New York City or anywhere else. But the group of which they are apart is. Their callousness and lack of regard, whether purposeful or not, was jarring and disheartening. Is that all a community is to them? A real estate opportunity? I mean, that’s all an entire country and several groups of people were to them; an opportunity. It’s not far-fetched to think that land and buildings and houses are nothing but opportunities as well It is important to note that gentrification is not an evil monster. It is an act engaged in by people and people can always change. Or be stopped. It will take non-greedy landlords, a listening and empathetic legislature, and citizens willing to fight back to stop gentrification. Everyone deserves safety, luxury, health, and peace for FREE. Including the people of Kingston, New York. Including the people of Brooklyn, Harlem, and the Bronx. Including everyone in our country that finds themselves constantly being pushed and shoved and brought in and kicked out in a never-ending battle of a place to call home.

For these unwarranted opinions and more, subscribe to TV and Socie-TEA and follow me on Twitter @_JESSrelax