“My Brooklyn” a film by Kelly Anderson was able to open our eyes to an ongoing issue that currently is hitting Brooklyn. But, sooner or later it will be faced by other boroughs in New York city. The documentary showed us the harsh reality of gentrification affecting the neighborhoods of Brooklyn. New York city especially Brooklyn is known for its culture and diversity, that’s what puts the heart and soul in Brooklyn. One may say that so called changes will bring more revenue in the city and it might good for the city but, we need to understand who is actually profiting out of all this and who end up paying the real cost. By zoning and gentrifying an area forces people with low income or middle class to migrated to other places. This cause that neighborhood to lose its culture and its identity. People who have lived their entire life in these neighborhoods are now being forced to leave the area so that new apartment complexes or big store chain can take its place.

Throughout the film, we learn how these developers are paving the road for the upper class with the state of the art apartment complexes but for the middleclass residents, they get forced out of their own neighborhood without a proper dwelling. What the film taught me that people with power like the councilman, developers, investors or government officials dictates the structure of New York city and others don’t get to have a say in it.

From my personal experience and watching this film made me realize one thing, that everyone or everything has a price. Once, the zoning of the area gets approved either the developer will try to buy you out from your own neighborhood or the landlord will raise the rent so much that it will make it nearly impossible to keep up, hence forces you to migrate. Slowly by slowly all these neighborhoods are being changed and its causing the neighborhood to lose its soul, sense of culture, people they grew up with. All this is happening, just so that richer can get rich.

I was happy to see how few people united to fight these changes or to fight for what seems fair. The group call FUREE was one of many that were shown in the film, who went to these powerful people to get justice and what seem to be fair. I was happy to see the strength that came from these local people who tried their hardest to preserve their history of the neighborhood. It made me hopeful to see the people gave their heart to fight for justice for the middleclass.

I just hope in the end that regular middle class gets fairly treated. In all this run for the money, I hope we don’t end up losing something valuable that we can never get back.