August 06, 2008
To those who live in and around North Williamsburg, the rent has gone up – and up and up
and up. Galapagos, which opened in 1995, blazed an artistic trail along a
waterfront teeming with drugs, prostitution and neglect. Galapagos was new,
edgy & daring, flaunting all things experimental. At the time, who would
have thought that Billy Burg would become a destination neighborhood filled not
only with the Hipster locals but also Westchester Glitterettes & Long
Island Sparklers. (All you need to do is
spot the shorts & 4-inch stiletto pumps to know that things have changed.)
Rent has quadrupled since 1995 as
condos spring up like mushrooms all over the neighborhood, encircling McCarren
Park like a mini-Upper West side. And the waterfront – let’s just say that the
war still rages on, its most visible and controversial victim being the
partially destroyed MarineTerminalBuilding
in nearby Geenpoint. Battles lines have been drawn and condo-mania &
big-box branding are winning.
Galapagos, feeling that heat and
more, had to flee rent increases that made it impossible for them to operate in
the manner to which we were all accustomed. Edgy does not translate into high
volume sales. Oh well, I guess there will be another big-box resto-bar hot spot
taking up the old space, and sure to jammed full of trend-o-maticas.
Now, Galapagos has opened its
door in DUMBO (acronym for Down Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass http://www.galapagosartspace.com/galapagosindumbo.html
), a mature art zone with more teeth and a big knot of transportation routes nearby.
And the building is labeled Green.
The Galapagos website points all
of its fingers for the move at the rent situation, but there is more to this
change than that. On WNYC, a Galapagos owner stated in an interview that “you
need a passport” to get to Williamsburg.
A passport?What could he have meant by
that? Have the hipsters set up a border crossing? Is the L Train not enough
train for the size of the crowds flooding the neighborhood? Are big-box
competitors outbidding art houses for coveted space? Or has the entire scene
changed from edgy and innovative to Meatpacking East?
To find out, Adanna will venture
into the wilds of Willy B, looking for signs of the ancient artistic
civilization, and reporting on the new invaders.
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Posted on 8/6/2008
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