School Colors Eps 8: On The Move

Despite New York City’s progressive self-image, our dirty secret is that we have one of the most deeply segregated school systems in the country. But with gentrification forcing the issue, school integration is back on the table for the first time in decades. How do we not totally screw it up? And what does this […]

School Colors Eps 7: New Kids On The Block

Gentrification is reshaping cities all over the country: more affluent people, often but not always white, are moving into historically Black and brown neighborhoods like Bedford-Stuyvesant. But even as the population of Bed-Stuy has been growing in numbers and wealth, the schools of District 16 have been starved for students and resources. That’s because a […]

Third Rail Episode 51: Racing Stripes

As historically “Black” districts in Central Brooklyn evolve, encompass various neighborhoods, and/or gentrify, Black candidates for elected office use tactics, voter targeting and coded messaging to appeal to different sub constituencies that cut across race, class and a variety of identity lines.  This week in Third Rail we examine electoral politics in a gentrifying Central […]

Third Rail Eps 50: What’s The 911?

The shooting of Saheed Vassell by the NYPD on April 4th in Crown Heights re-ignited a chronic community safety debate: What kind of discretion should we use in calling the police when we know that it can result in a death sentence for an unsuspecting Black person?   Today, we investigate what runs through people’s […]

Third Rail Eps 45: Nothin’ But a G Thing

On the eve of the NYC elections, the Brooklyn Deep team examines all the local gentrification drama that helped define the political landscape this summer. Joining us is Michael Higgins Jr., the lead organizer for Families United for Racial and Economic Equality (FUREE). Also, Brooklyn Deep’s engineer and co-producer, TK, hooks on a mic and […]

Third Rail Eps 42: Airbnb in Central Brooklyn: Chaos or Community?

A recent article in Brooklyn Deep ran an exclusive on a study by Inside Airbnb, an Airbnb activist project that has been largely critical of the Airbnb enterprise.  The study concludes that Airbnb acts as a racial gentrification tool in New York City’s predominantly Black neighborhoods. “Across all 72 predominantly Black New York City neighborhoods, Airbnb […]

Airbnb as a Racial Gentrification Tool?

A new study by the Airbnb activist project, Inside Airbnb was released today, and is being made exclusively available, on the Brooklyn Deep web-site. The study claims that it has data which shows that Airbnb acts as a racial gentrification tool in New York City’s predominantly Black neighborhoods. “Across all 72 predominantly Black New York City neighborhoods, Airbnb hosts are […]

Third Rail Eps 39: By Any Means Necessary?

Mark and Veralyn sit down with Alicia Boyd, the fiery founder of Movement to Protect the People, and pose the question: Are there limits to what an activist should be willing to do in the fight for social justice? Also informing the discussion is an interview with Daniel Goldstein, who looks back on his controversial […]

Third Rail Eps 38: Dear White Friend

Through this provocative lens, Mark and Veralyn explore what it looks like to show up for racial justice as a white person, and how Black people should position themselves relative to white folks figuring that out.  This is a candid discussion about action and solidarity around combatting racial violence, privilege and institutionalized oppression.  Segment One: […]

Gentrification + LGBTQ Community in Central Brooklyn

Brooklyn Deep leads a discussion on the impact gentrification is having on one particular demographic in Central Brooklyn: the LGBTQ community of color. As our recently published article puts it, the story of Queer and Trans People of Color (QTPoC) residents, “are rarely anything but a side note in the mainstream [gentrification] conversation.” Guests include: […]