In the Metropolitan section of the July 24, 2011 New York Times, in an article titled “Finding a Place in the Neighborhood”, a new restaurant on Bedford Ave off of Lexington Ave was described as a homey, welcome addition to the neighborhood. The neighborhood itself is twice described as developing. Once by the writer: “In a developing corner of Bedford-Stuyvesant…” and once by one of the interviewed patrons: “It’s great that the neighborhood is developing and the food is quality.” People. Can we please stop saying “developing” if “gentrifying” is what is really meant?

When we conducted our SSO, we found all the streets to be built up (see video of Lexington Ave between Bedford and Franklin here. So it’s not developing. The restaurant’s decor and menu might strike “familiar notes” that cause some to “root for” it; locals may indeed relish the $12 salads and taleggio (I assume that’s a cheese) crostini. But just who those locals are bears interrogating.