The Fort Greene Association and the Historic District Council have proposed to expand the historic district boundaries of Fort Greene, Brooklyn. Some residents see the gentrification of the neighborhood as a financial opportunity, to sell or rent out the properties they bought years ago for enlarged rates.
Some lower class residents who moved to the area for the quick commute to Manhattan and affordable housing years ago, are profiting from the escalating home values in the area. Nationally, properties in historic districts show a steady increase in value according to Jean Carroon, chair of the American Institute of Architects Historic Resources Committee.
Nova Goodin moved to Fort Greene with her father nearly twenty years ago after he purchased a brownstone on Willoughby Avenue. At the time, Goodin explains how the neighborhood was not a neighborhood in transition as it is today, but a struggling neighborhood of immigrants and African Americans.
Her father has since purchased two additional brownstones and has retired to Florida from profits of rental units in his buildings. Gentrification doesn’t negatively impact everyone in a changing neighborhood Goodin said, some people see great opportunities in change.
