Lawyers To Gentrify Bedford-Stuyvesant

photo from letter sent to residents

It’s 2010 in all of the world except on one street in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. On Tompkins Avenue between Madison Street and Putnam Avenue it’s the 1960′s.

Residences were shocked when they open their mail to receive a very disturbing letter from a group called, Lawyers to Gentrify North Brooklyn. The letter states, “we must gentrify Bedford Stuyvesant to rid from the filth Blacks have contaminated the area since 1955, once called Bedford Corners.”

Several people on the block expressed their sadness and frustration of this incident. “In this day and age you think people would be more civil, but as you can see racism doesn’t end, It just evolves. Like a virus, yeah like a virus.” – one passerbyer said. One neighbor stated that the letter didn’t bother him at all, “you will always have ignorant people, we just have to learn how to deal with them.”

actual letter sent to residents (click to enlarge)

Residents also reported that they were appalled when they contacted the police at the 79th Precinct and got resistance from an officer who didn’t want to file this as a crime. This comes at a time when the 81st Precinct is being probed by NYPD for fudging stats (see Daily News article).

The real question is, what is real intent of this letter? What do you think?