a curious perspective

Dead Hipsters, Corporate Empires, and Brooklyn’s Future

The Times article about the recently minted Duane Reade shopping center on Bedford Ave has two standout quotes. 

1) A resident named Jonathan Schmidt: “It’s becoming the East Village.”

2) A recent mover to the neighborhood, Shari Lind: “For some reason,” she said of her neighbors, “they don’t want corporate stores. They don’t want convenience.”

This, coupled with the recent New York Magazine article, is proof enough that something in my neighborhood is changing. 

Likened “an extension of a college dormitory,” the first few stops of the L train in Brooklyn have been home to me for a few years now. That likeness is often times correct- you can find bars like Bushwick Country Club and Union Pool, where clubs of twentysomethings cavort and catch-up, sipping three-dollar High Lifes and wearing flannel, rocking beards and denim jackets. 

There is a disconnect, still, that exists between the Times article and the Magazine. 

Times: Duane Reade represents the Man, and the Man is looked down upon by true hipsters. 

Mag: The hipster is dead- and that’s because since 2004, most of the hipsters who didn’t have trust funds felt okay working for the Man. 

So where’s the beef? 

The Duane Reade may represent the pure, unadulterated capitalism we all know and love. Still, its presence on Bedford is troubling for more reasons than just anti-consumer sentiment. 

Duane Reade, the largest chain pharmacy in New York, is a staple to many. It offers solutions to the myriad problems you may have. It is, by and large, ultra-convenient. 

But maybe some people don’t want ultra-convenience. Maybe some people prefer going to different shops to get different things. 

One of the many symptoms of cultural élite is an affinity for all things European. This small desire, to avoid the superstore, is one standout way to have more cultural panache. (This could lead me into a rant about Mario Batali’s Eataly and its smile-to-your-face-rob-you-at-the-door Italian megaworld, but I’ll leave it be.)

Kings Pharmacy, old school in the sense that it’s named for the county that new-Brooklyn residents probably don’t even realize is the true name of the place they live, is the pharmacy on Bedford Ave. It has been for twenty years. In fact, they still play the 80’s jams that were popular when the store opened. What does a DR across the street mean? It means ultra-convenience seekers like above’s Shari Lind have a place in Williamsburg now.

It is not an argument of hip vs. corporate. It is more an argument for: easy vs. unique. 

Some people are totally content to do things easily. Walmart. Case-in-point. 

A poll of New Yorkers will surely have an overall level of distaste for the Bentonville-borne megastore; still, Duane Reade claims its “New York’s Pharmacy,” even after it has been recently purchased by Walgreens, the pharmacy yin to Walmart’s yang. And not to mention: MIDTOWN. 

Though some people live in the black and white, I think the lesson is that Duane Reade is a gray. I cannot be positive that I might not pop in to a DR to get something I need when I’m in a rush. Hey- it’s convenient. And that sense of convenience is what makes these stores worthwhile. 

So, while it may be a tragic shame that King’s loses business, it is also a tragic shame that we don’t live in Milano. But those of us who lament need to face facts and realize that New York is a city built on opportunity. The opportunity to be convenient in a neighborhood that is quickly becoming “convenient” to those who only recently harbored an immense fear of Brooklyn in general makes a lot of sense. So don’t blame Duane Reade. Blame the low crime rate.