In memoriam: Watch this tribute to those we’ve lost in 2016

Even without the whole election thing, 2016 would have been a terrible year in America, what with the picking off of cultural icons like some kind of sick Hunger Games. And notwithstanding the human casualties of the year, there’s yet more eulogizing to be done, so we made this video in tribute. We lost more than 30 venues, bars and beloved businesses in Brooklyn this year— to rent hikes, code violations, scummy landlords or heinous buyouts. Some went with a bang, others with a Facebook post; some simply closed under mysterious circumstances, leaving the rest of us to wonder what went wrong. And a common thread runs through all these venue closures: it was gentrification, probably. The slow creep of affluence, helped along by money-hungry developers and an apathetic contingent of mostly white transplants, continues to make the neighborhood not only less affordable and diverse, but also significantly less weird. ___________ 2016, it’s been real – NOT! via screenshot And while… Read More

In memoriam: Watch this tribute to those we’ve lost in 2016 : Brokelyn