rant · moment 3 of 18
Gentrification, Immigrant Businesses, and the Death of Queens' Character
from Growing Up Gottschee with Dan St. Germain · #122
Audio-only archive episode — no video to seek.
5 minTim laments that Amazon's arrival will accelerate the loss of immigrant-owned mom-and-pop businesses in Queens, comparing it to what happened to Williamsburg and Manhattan, while discussing rising rents, foreign money laundering through real estate, and commercial rent control.
- 8:58Tech workers making $150k a year doing yoga in Williamsburg won't patronize local businesses, which is why Brooklyn has become an Apple store.
- 9:33Newark and Camden were considered as alternatives to Queens for Amazon headquarters, offering massive tax incentives.
- 9:52Long Island City added 16,000-17,000 luxury condo units in the past decade, with another 9,000-11,000 on the way.
- 10:10After Amazon's announcement, StreetEasy saw residential property searches jump over 400% as real estate agents rushed deals.
- 10:31Tim's San Francisco friend explains that Google employees live in shoeboxes and guest rooms for $6,000 a month.
- 11:02Queens landlords are already preparing to raise rents next year in anticipation of the Amazon effect.
- 11:41A capitalist system cannibializes immigrant businesses—the contradiction between capitalism and preserving immigrant communities is baffling.
- 12:25Foreign buyers with blood money launder it through New York real estate, making the market disconnected from who actually lives there.
- 13:21Queens' gentrification is depressing because the city has become a corporate environment for upwardly mobile professionals, destroying artists and immigrant culture.
- 13:35New York City has transformed from a cool, exciting place into a serene, suburban corporate wasteland.
gentrification and displacement in New York Cityreal estate speculationAstoriaManhattanWilliamsburgLong Island CityBrooklynde BlasioQueensFlatbushNewarkGreenpointSan Francisco