New York Magazine pops The Times' bubble about the real demographic reality of Williamsburg. Despite the fact that its most visible residents make easy targets with their skinny jeans and facial hair, Williamsburg is in fact no hotbed of trustfunddom. In fact, Williamsburg's residents are by and large in worse financial shape than most New Yorkers. In 2005, for example, almost half of those living within the bounds of Community Board 1 were getting some kind of social assistance and the area's median income is almost 20 less than the city as a whole; less than 3 percent of households were bringing in over $200,000 a year. Concludes the New York article, "The reality of Williamsburg, beyond the mythical trust-funders, is that it is a community of people mostly struggling to get by, with a few wealthy residents grabbing headlines — the way New York has always been."
Beyond Hipsters: Williamsburg’s Tough Economic Realities [New York]
Parental Lifelines, Frayed to Breaking [NY Times]
Dose of Reality for Trust Fund Kids [Brownstoner]
Photo by Eric Graham
