WilliamsburgBrooklyn’s First Major Music Scene

Past Music Neighborhoods

Factors that Give Rise to Music Scenes

Low Rent/Underdeveloped neighborhoods

Easy Transportation/Organic Dense neighborhood

Multicultural/multi-racial environment

Gatekeepers/Tastemakers: Music Institutions/venues/clubs/other social scenes/other artists

Balance of local community and mainstream

The NeighborhoodRent in the 80s and 90s

Converted housing/restoring old buildings

Subway trains: L, J,M,Z,G/ Williamsburg Bridge

Forming artist communities in living and social spaces

Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, African/Caribbean Americans, Italians, Polish, Jews

Gatekeepers/Tastemakers

Gentrification

Mid-90s – Today

City Rezoning- higher stories

Mostly North/West Williamsburg

Middle to upper class residents

Rent prices have skyrocketed

Condos/high-rises/cafes

Diminished ethnic environment

Government/Organizations Policy-making

Department of Cultural Affairs/Brooklyn Arts Council

Music Under New York program

Open Space Alliance’s Waterfront Concerts

Artist-in-residence

Schooling

Public Funding and Tax Incentives

Subsidized recording studios

Creation and zoning for Entertainment areas