Walk up the stairs of the Bedford Avenue exit in the Williamsburg L train station, and you’ll see the words “F*** Gentrification” drawn on the wall — a blunt reminder of how deeply these issues run in this community.
But with this upcoming election season, it’s more than a slogan. As the city heads into the mayoral race, the split experiences are shaping how people vote.
For gentrified areas, concerns are based around affordability and keeping a sense of community. In non-gentrified areas, residents expressed a strict and dismissive attitude towards the issue, a mindset created by the long-standing underinvestment.
Gentrification — the influx of high-income residents into low-income areas — has reshaped Brooklyn for decades, bringing new businesses and safer streets but also higher rents and displacements. Between 1990 and 2020, the total population of Brooklyn increased by 347,788, while the Black population decreased by 38,622, per Krase.
The question for candidates like Eric Adams, Andrew Cuomo, Zohran Mamdani and Curtis Sliwa becomes how to balance both realities in a city where the attitudes are distinctly different.
(Photo by Bella May).
Williamsburg
Williamsburg is often cited as one of New York City’s most prominent gentrified neighborhoods. Walking through the city, you can see coffee shops, boutiques, and luxury high-rises and waterfront condos. The crowds today are mostly white, but remnants of the past remain — street murals, bodegas, and community centers that serve long-time residents.
A large catalyst of the change was the 2005 rezoning of the industrial waterfront. It gave way to parks and high-rise developments, but it also brought rising rents and displacements.
There was a decrease of about 15,000 Latinx residents and an increase of over 20,000 white residents in the area, according to a study by Churches United for Fair Housing.
For business owners, there has been immense pressure.
“I think when it comes to businesses, your kind of on your own,” said pharmacist Halina Jankowski, a 69-year-old who lost her Bedford Avenue lease when rent spiked.
She credits gentrification with lowering crime but says the safety came at a cost.
“Everything is a double-edged sword,” said Halina.
Her concerns mirror this year’s campaign debates.
Adams points to his “City of Yes” rezoning plan as proof he’s tackling affordability, though critics argue it favors developers over residents, according to The Broadsheet. Cuomo promises 500,000 new affordable units, while Mamdani calls for freezing rents altogether. Sliwa wants to repeal the “City of Yes” plan and return land-use control to local communities.
Halina isn’t sure if any of them has the right answer.
“I can’t see politicians protecting small businesses,” she said.
She said she hasn’t made her mind up yet on which candidate to back. She used to go to community meetings, but now she’s old and tired.
Other residents face political apathy.
Poul Rogel, a 44-year-old and native of Sunset Park who moved to Williamsburg in 2002, embraces the area’s cultural changes but admits his rent soared from $500 to $3,200.
“For the people that can’t pay they have to move out and go somewhere else,” said Poul.
Poul doesn’t vote. He said he just “goes with the flow.”
Yet, his mom and stepmom hosts rallies for rent stabilization.
Together, their views reveal a broader split in Williamsburg: some residents remain undecided but still weighing the candidates, while others have checked out completely, leaving the question of whether any mayor can win back their trust.
Bushwick
Meanwhile, a stroll through Bushwick today feels like walking through an art museum. For blocks, vibrant graffiti murals cover walls, blending with bars, cafés, and luxury apartments.
But longtime residents like Nic Caputo, 63, remember how the neighborhood used to be.
He recalls being mugged as a kid, and his brother being mugged coming off the subway. Some days, they weren’t even allowed to go to Maria Hernandez Park because the drugs and gangs made them unsafe.
Bushwick was once defined by its crime, especially after the 1977 blackout, where looting and riots devastated the neighborhood, according to The Neighborhoods.
Now crime has fallen sharply, but the influx of young creative professionals and white affluent residents has driven up rents.
Local businesses have adapted.
At a traditional Mexican bakery, employee Gaby F. said they added chocolate cupcakes and apple turnovers to please their new clientele. She also recalled going to a community meeting a year ago where the board was expressing their dislike of Bushwick’s new nightlife personality.
Mayoral candidates are vying for neighborhoods like this.
Mamdani’s progressive policies — from rent freezes to free childcare and community grocery stores — resonate with residents in low-income and working-class communities. Adams points to rezoning and tenant protections, while Cuomo promises large-scale housing construction.
Sliwa focuses on increased policing and restoring local zoning power.
Nic says he plans to vote but thinks “they’re all pretty bad.”
Gaby also intends to vote but cares more about who AOC is endorsing. The congresswoman just endorsed Zohran Mamdani.
In Bushwick, cultural preservation and affordability matter most — but skepticism toward candidates remains at an all-time high.
Brownsville
Across town in Brownsville, there’s a different feeling.
Unlike Williamsburg and Bushwick, there are fewer coffee shops and boutiques, and more local shops and street vendors. Piles of trash fill the street, and abandoned construction sites are the norm.
Brownsville has the largest concentration of public housing in the nation, according to Brownsville Houses. Its poverty rate is one of the highest, with 32.4% of residents living below the poverty line compared to 18.2% citywide, according to the NYU Furman Center.
Yet, signs of a strong Black and Brown community remain.
For 50-year-old resident Ronald Clark, policing remains a critical issue.
“Police are doing what they want to do. They started the stop and frisk again,” he said.
But for him, the greatest improvement has been the construction of affordable housing across the five boroughs, along with more mental health facilities.
Candidates promise to continue this trend: Cuomo pledges billions in housing repairs, Mamdani proposes treating housing as a critical issue, Sliwa emphasizes more law enforcement and stronger protections for seniors, and Adams highlights New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) preservation.
However, Ronald admitted he’s “not into politics” and usually goes with the flow — a reflection of the mentality here.
East New York
East New York carries a similar feeling to Brownsville, with streets lined with beauty supply stores and neighborhood delis.
However, like Williamsburg, the area did undergo rezoning.
In 2016, parts of East New York, Cypress Hills, and Ocean were rezoned, opening the door for new housing development and public investment in parks, schools, and sidewalks, per City Land.
The effects were mixed.
Nearly 30% of rents remain severely rent burdened, and the poverty rate is above 22%, according to NYU Furman Center.
Residents feel overlooked.
“They care about money,” said 41-year-old Wylik Myrik, a longtime resident.
He said that the city pays for people to live in the projects because it’s “automatic money.”
Wylik, who works for the NYCHA, doubts the campaign promises will touch his daily reality. He is worried about his family and not politics.
Cuomo’s 500,000-unit housing pledge is ambitious, Adams promotes his “City of Yes” as an investment strategy, Mamdani’s affordable proposals appeal to progressives, and Sliwa stresses extra policing and zoning control.
Meanwhile, local groups are doing their part.
The Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation, for example, runs foreclosure prevention programs, a low-income homeownership hotline, and advocacy work aimed at stopping gentrification.
“Mechanisms to support affordable housing are critical for this community,” said division director Lowell Herschberger.
These contrasting experiences in Williamsburg, Bushwick, Brownsville, and East New York show a divided Brooklyn — not just economically, but politically. The voters in gentrified areas are uninformed but plan to vote, while many in non-gentrified areas feel too burdened with personal concerns to pay attention to city politics.
As the campaign intensifies, most candidates agree on central issues like affordability, tenant protections, and use of city assets. But the deeper question is whether any of the candidates can bridge two very different Brooklyns.
Either way, the next mayor will be judged by how they address every side.
