Despite having visited Williamsburg often, I’ve never actually written about it. This past weekend Flatbush Riviera scoped out another neighborhood, the ever press friendly Williamsburg. It seems like every up and coming NYC neighborhood is calling itself the “new” Williamsburg. And who doesn’t love the ugly duckling turned swan fairy tale? When my friends started moving there (circa 1995) it was still considered rough — though even then it was clearly the bourghetto. Since then it has truly carved out its mark on the NYC real estate, and created a neighborhood distinctly it’s own. People subway in by the droves hoping it seems to get a little bit of the cool cache. And I readily admit I’m one of them, I visit at every opportunity because it reminds me of what I thought the East Village was suppose to be like.
So the question remains, would I like to have lived in Williamsburg? Given the amount of time I spend there, and the number of friends I have there, you would think that answer is “yes”. And I did think about it. I’m a total sucker for the mom and pop store — of which there are hundreds alive and thriving in WBurg, I’m even willing to pay a premium for these cool little stores in my neighborhood much to my husband’s chagrin. The school situation I think is a wash, I’m planning on moving by the time time my (not yet born) child is old enough that it matters. Plus, it’s fully residential. It has pharmacies, delis, groceries, cafes, retail stores, bars, lounges everything that every wannabee New Yorker dreams about. It’s perpetually busy and I have yet to find an area visited only by the local police. But we ultimately turned it down.
Admittedly, the prices in Williamsburg are higher enough that they made us think really hard. We also felt like maybe (though with no certainty) Williamsburg’s time had come and at this point prices probably wouldn’t increase dramatically. Looking at the 5 year median sales price on Trulia, it looks like it’s been hovering at about $600k, and 5-8 years is about when we’re planning on moving. Though there’s certainly something to be said about price stability. And then there’s the public transport situation. For the sake of argument I’m only focussing on the specific parts of Williamsburg that are serviced by the L — I realize that this is only a small part of Williamsburg, but it’s the part I would have moved into. Now, I know .. my friends tell me how wonderful the L is, how always-on-time it is, and when we’re all out in Manhattan they often point out that they were able to make our destination faster than I despite their poor selection of subways. All of this may be true. But no matter how awesome the L is, it still is only one train. Which means rush hour is hazardous, and its traffic on weekday evenings still that looks like peak rush hour on any other lines (photos below). But the nail in the coffin was that unless we worked at Union Sq. (which we don’t) everything necessitates a transfer. Yuck.
Finally, speaking with little to no data, it just FEELS like WBurg is waning, and if I move in now, I’m moving in at the start of the down swing. Every time I visit I notice a new condo building, bringing in (possibly) a different breed of folk than the ones that made this place so appealing. Basically people like me. I’m also starting to see more and more chain stores — read Curbed’s coverage on the latest spat. And while condo development and chain store is good for DoBro, it’s NOT good IMHO for WBurg.
Anyone else with any views on the Wburg?
The Queen Bee. She rules over the Flatbush Riviera. All of Downtown Brooklyn and Fort Greene is her domain. 
