Downtown Brooklyn: Then

The Albee Square Mall, now City Point, a mixed-use mega-project, was a well-known historical site for early hip-hop culture. The Fulton Street Mall symbolizes an African American and Caribbean commercial/cultural hub and resonates a with collective memory of these diasporas. However, before its reputation as a Black cultural hub, until the 1950s this area was mostly white and middle-class. It later became a Black community during the urban crisis. In this paper, you will focus on redlining and white flight in order to learn how racist and discriminatory policies have segregated New York City in general, and Downtown Brooklyn in particular.

In this essay, 1) describe what Downtown Brooklyn was like before redlining and “white flight” occurred (e.g., the kinds of stores and shoppers), and 2) explain how it has evolved into a Black shopping district after learning more about redlining and white flight.

1.5-2 pages. 

I suggest reading the following articles in order to learn more about the past landscape of Downtown Brooklyn:

• • • Dean, Allison Lirish. 2007. “Albee Square: When the Mall’s No Longer Home.” Gotham Gazette, July 20, 2007.
    • Newman, Andy. 2007. “Deal Would Triple the Size of the Albee Square Mall in Brooklyn and Add a High-Rise.” The New York Times, Feb 13, 2007
    • Rosenberg, Zoe. 2016. “New York Narratives: A Brooklynite Remembers Fort Greene in the ’90s.” Curbed, March 2, 2016.

I also suggest reading these articles in order to learn more about redlining and white flight. Choose one.

• • • Krysan, Maria. 2002. “Whites who say they’d flee: Who are they, and why would they leave?.” Demography 39(4): 675-696. (Only required to read from 675 to 680)
    • Sutton, Stacey. 2020. “Gentrification and the increasing significance of racial transition in New York City 1970–2010.” Urban Affairs Review 56(1): 65-95.
    • DeSena, Judith, and Jerome Krase. 2015. “Brooklyn revisited: An illustrated view from the street 1970 to the present.” Urbanities—Journal of Urban Ethnography 5(2): 3-19.

Cite at least two articles. 

This assignment is due by 3/24.

How will this assignment be graded? (1.5-2 pages)

• • This essay consists of 8% of your total grade; and will be graded on the following elements. Note: do not forget to properly cite any references.
    • Content: the questions in the prompt are properly addressed – total 70 pts (see below)
      • The description of Downtown Brooklyn before redlining and white flight is provided (35pts).
      • The evolution of Downtown Brooklyn as a black shopping district is explained (35pts).
    • References
      • • If the student read suggested articles and incorporated them into their writing (10pts)
        • If the student properly cited references (5pt)
    • Presentation
      • If 1.5-2 page criteria is adhered (5 pts).
      • If font and spacing are correct (5 pts).
      • Appropriate grammar and punctuation for the project and demonstrate extensive proofreading (5 pts).

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