Neighborhood rebranding in New York City
Encyclopedia
Neighborhood rebranding in New York City
has been a constant phenomenon for decades as real estate promoters, community groups and residents all sometimes rename communities to increase prestige and distance themselves from an older negative reputation. Five Points, Manhattan
lost its identity for this reason.
Several neighborhood were rebranded after the Civil War
when slightly tawdry neighborhoods like Harsonville, centered on what is now Broadway
about 68th Street, were reclassified as part of suburban Bloomingdale farther up Bloomingdale Road, which itself was rebranded as "The Boulevard". What is now the Upper West Side
was meant to be named the "West End" to lure an Anglophile upper class—that was not so easily taken in, however, and remained on the East Side
.
After World War II, the name of the small and fashionable hill that had been known as Murray Hill
was applied to the perfectly featureless area to its east.
Probably the most successful and influential neighborhood rebranding was of SoHo
, which stands for South of Houston Street, and is deliberately imitative of Soho
in London. TriBeCa
, another rebranding success, applied to the more southerly part of the former Lower West Side, stands for Triangle Below Canal Street
.
The use of acronym and medial capitals
has been influential in adjacent neighborhoods trying to pick up on SoHo's cachet. The most obvious inspiration is NoHo
, located North of Houston Street. More recent examples include NoLIta, North of Little Italy
, and BoHo which is the area surrounding the Bowery
south of Houston Street.
Other attempts met with local resistance, especially in "Clinton", which residents persist in calling "Hell's Kitchen
".
The trend has also spread beyond Manhattan
. The former Pigtown, Brooklyn
became Wingate, Brooklyn
early in the 20th century. At mid-century, the prosperous portions of South Brooklyn
north of Gowanus Expressway and west of Gowanus Canal
successfully dissociated themselves from Red Hook
and became known by several local names. Late in the century the term BoCoCa
was applied with less success by the medial capital method to encompass these neighborhoods of Boerum Hill, Cobble Hill
, and Carroll Gardens
. The more successful Dumbo
, in Downtown Brooklyn
, stands for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge
Overpass.
The Riverdale
section of the Bronx, just North of Manhattan is called NoMa [North of Manhattan). In the Port Morris
section of the South Bronx, many residents call it SoBro (South Bronx
). It was renamed in order to eliminate the negative stereotypes of the South Bronx. However, many older residents continue to call it the South Bronx. Efforts to change to "Downtown
Bronx" have been even less successful.
promised to introduce a bill to require a series of approvals for new neighborhood names — from the community board, the City Council and the mayor. The bill would also punish real estate brokers who promoted property with an unofficial, made-up name. The bill calls for fines and the possible suspension or revocation of brokers’ licenses.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
has been a constant phenomenon for decades as real estate promoters, community groups and residents all sometimes rename communities to increase prestige and distance themselves from an older negative reputation. Five Points, Manhattan
Five Points, Manhattan
Five Points was a neighborhood in central lower Manhattan in New York City. The neighborhood was generally defined as being bound by Centre Street in the west, The Bowery in the east, Canal Street in the north and Park Row in the south...
lost its identity for this reason.
Several neighborhood were rebranded after the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
when slightly tawdry neighborhoods like Harsonville, centered on what is now Broadway
Broadway (New York City)
Broadway is a prominent avenue in New York City, United States, which runs through the full length of the borough of Manhattan and continues northward through the Bronx borough before terminating in Westchester County, New York. It is the oldest north–south main thoroughfare in the city, dating to...
about 68th Street, were reclassified as part of suburban Bloomingdale farther up Bloomingdale Road, which itself was rebranded as "The Boulevard". What is now the Upper West Side
Upper West Side
The Upper West Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan, New York City, that lies between Central Park and the Hudson River and between West 59th Street and West 125th Street...
was meant to be named the "West End" to lure an Anglophile upper class—that was not so easily taken in, however, and remained on the East Side
East Side
-Municipalities:* East Side Township, Mille Lacs County, Minnesota, United States* East Side, Pennsylvania, United States- Canada :* Eastside, Ontario, a neighborhood in Sault Ste...
.
After World War II, the name of the small and fashionable hill that had been known as Murray Hill
Murray Hill, Manhattan
Murray Hill is a Midtown Manhattan neighborhood in New York City, USA. Around 1987 many real estate promoters of the neighborhood and newer residents described the boundaries as within East 34th Street, East 42nd Street, Madison Avenue, and the East River; in 1999, Frank P...
was applied to the perfectly featureless area to its east.
Probably the most successful and influential neighborhood rebranding was of SoHo
SoHo
SoHo is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City, notable for being the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, and also, more recently, for the wide variety of stores and shops ranging from trendy boutiques to outlets of upscale national and international chain stores...
, which stands for South of Houston Street, and is deliberately imitative of Soho
Soho
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster and part of the West End of London. Long established as an entertainment district, for much of the 20th century Soho had a reputation for sex shops as well as night life and film industry. Since the early 1980s, the area has undergone considerable...
in London. TriBeCa
TriBeCa
Tribeca is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York in the United States. Its name is an acronym based on the words "Triangle below Canal Street", and is properly bounded by Canal Street, West Street, Broadway, and Vesey Street...
, another rebranding success, applied to the more southerly part of the former Lower West Side, stands for Triangle Below Canal Street
Canal Street (Manhattan)
Canal Street is a major street in New York City, crossing lower Manhattan to join New Jersey in the west to Brooklyn in the east . It forms the main spine of Chinatown, and separates it from Little Italy...
.
The use of acronym and medial capitals
CamelCase
CamelCase , also known as medial capitals, is the practice of writing compound words or phrases in which the elements are joined without spaces, with each element's initial letter capitalized within the compound and the first letter either upper or lower case—as in "LaBelle", "BackColor",...
has been influential in adjacent neighborhoods trying to pick up on SoHo's cachet. The most obvious inspiration is NoHo
NoHo
NoHo, for North of Houston Street is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, roughly bounded by Houston Street on the south, The Bowery on the east, Astor Place on the north, and Broadway on the west. NoHo is wedged between Greenwich Village, west of Broadway, and the East Village...
, located North of Houston Street. More recent examples include NoLIta, North of Little Italy
Little Italy, Manhattan
Little Italy is a neighborhood in lower Manhattan, New York City, once known for its large population of Italians. Today the neighborhood of Little Italy consists of Italian stores and restaurants.-Historical area:...
, and BoHo which is the area surrounding the Bowery
Bowery, Manhattan
Bowery , commonly called "the Bowery," is a street and a small neighborhood in the southern portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan...
south of Houston Street.
Other attempts met with local resistance, especially in "Clinton", which residents persist in calling "Hell's Kitchen
Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan
Hell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton and Midtown West, is a neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City between 34th Street and 59th Street, from 8th Avenue to the Hudson River....
".
The trend has also spread beyond Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. The former Pigtown, Brooklyn
Pigtown, Brooklyn
Pigtown formerly described a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, existing as such until approximately the end of the 19th century.Pigtown was at the southern periphery of the then City of Brooklyn where it bordered the Town of Flatbush...
became Wingate, Brooklyn
Wingate, Brooklyn
Wingate is a neighborhood in the north central portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The area is east of Prospect-Lefferts Gardens and south of Crown Heights. Wingate is bounded by Empire Boulevard to the north, Troy Avenue to the east, Winthrop Street to the south and Nostrand Avenue...
early in the 20th century. At mid-century, the prosperous portions of South Brooklyn
South Brooklyn
South Brooklyn is a region or composite neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, encompassing areas of Cobble Hill, Red Hook, Gowanus, Park Slope, and Boerum Hill. Thus it is roughly encompassed by Brooklyn Community Board 6, which in turn approximates the southern half of the 18th...
north of Gowanus Expressway and west of Gowanus Canal
Gowanus Canal
The Gowanus Canal, also known as the Gowanus Creek Canal, is a canal in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, geographically on the westernmost portion of Long Island...
successfully dissociated themselves from Red Hook
Red Hook, Brooklyn
Red Hook is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, USA. The neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 6. It is also the location where the transatlantic liner, the , docks in New York City.- History :...
and became known by several local names. Late in the century the term BoCoCa
BoCoCa
BoCoCa is a portmanteau word combining the names of three adjacent neighborhoods in Brooklyn, New York: Boerum Hill, Cobble Hill, and Carroll Gardens. BoCoCa, therefore, is not an actual neighborhood, but an umbrella term for the small region of Brooklyn directly south and southwest of Downtown...
was applied with less success by the medial capital method to encompass these neighborhoods of Boerum Hill, Cobble Hill
Cobble Hill, Brooklyn
Cobble Hill is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, USA. Bordered by Atlantic Avenue on the north, Hicks Street to the west, Smith Street on the east and Degraw Street to the south, Cobble Hill sits adjacent to Boerum Hill and Brooklyn Heights with Carroll Gardens to the south...
, and Carroll Gardens
Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn
Carroll Gardens is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, USA. The area is named for Charles Carroll, a revolutionary war veteran who was also the only Roman Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence...
. The more successful Dumbo
DUMBO, Brooklyn
Dumbo, an acronym for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass, is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It encompasses two sections: one located between the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges, which connect Brooklyn to Manhattan across the East River, and another that continues...
, in Downtown Brooklyn
Downtown Brooklyn
Downtown Brooklyn is the third largest central business district in New York City , and is located in the northwestern section of the borough of Brooklyn...
, stands for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge
Manhattan Bridge
The Manhattan Bridge is a suspension bridge that crosses the East River in New York City, connecting Lower Manhattan with Brooklyn . It was the last of the three suspension bridges built across the lower East River, following the Brooklyn and the Williamsburg bridges...
Overpass.
The Riverdale
Riverdale, Bronx
Riverdale is an affluent residential neighborhood in the northwest portion of the Bronx in New York City. Riverdale contains the northernmost point in New York City.-History:...
section of the Bronx, just North of Manhattan is called NoMa [North of Manhattan). In the Port Morris
Port Morris, Bronx
Port Morris is a neighborhood in the southwest Bronx, New York City. It is a heavily industrial neighborhood. Its boundaries are the Major Deegan Expressway and Bruckner Expressway to the north, East 149th Street to the east, the East River to the southeast, the Bronx Kill south, and the Harlem...
section of the South Bronx, many residents call it SoBro (South Bronx
South Bronx
The South Bronx is an area of the New York City borough of The Bronx. The neighborhoods of Tremont, University Heights, Highbridge, Morrisania, Soundview, Hunts Point, and Castle Hill are sometimes considered part of the South Bronx....
). It was renamed in order to eliminate the negative stereotypes of the South Bronx. However, many older residents continue to call it the South Bronx. Efforts to change to "Downtown
Downtown
Downtown is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's core or central business district ....
Bronx" have been even less successful.
Proposed Legislation
In April 2011 New York State Assemblyman Hakeem JeffriesHakeem Jeffries
-Early career:Jeffries holds a degree from New York University School of Law as well as a Master's Degree in Public Policy from Georgetown University and a Bachelor's in Political Science from Binghamton University where he graduated with honors for outstanding academic achievement...
promised to introduce a bill to require a series of approvals for new neighborhood names — from the community board, the City Council and the mayor. The bill would also punish real estate brokers who promoted property with an unofficial, made-up name. The bill calls for fines and the possible suspension or revocation of brokers’ licenses.
Further reading
- "If You Lived Here", a collection and analysis of the effects of rebranding and gentrification in New York City, edited by Martha Rosler.