Most people wouldn’t begrudge a little consumer diversity in urban neighborhoods. We could use fewer fast-food joints, liquor stores and 99-cent shops.
But the arrival in some neighborhoods of more white faces, rent hikes, boutique coffee shops and artisanal stores also has meant some long-standing establishments specializing in healthy ethnic food have had to shut down. That deprives residents of the kind of essential, affordable local flavor that gives many NYC neighborhoods their identities.
Crown Heights and East Flatbush have long been known for West Indian restaurants and, in particular, the “Ital” vegetarian food, a staple of Jamaican culture. When my old standby, Imhotep, on Nostrand Avenue and Park Place, closed a few years ago, followed by the 48-year-old Christie’s Jamaican Patties in Prospect Heights, I feared it would mark the beginning of the end of Brooklyn’s love affair with Caribbean cuisine.
But it’s not just West Indian food that’s finding it hard to keep pace with the changing demographics. Cheap Chinese restaurants — where customers can buy a plate of steaming noodles, veggies and tofu for $5 — also are feeling the pinch. “Business is down because the new people moving in don’t seem to want Chinese food so much,” the owner of my local Chinese restaurant told me recently. Part of the problem, of course, is appearance.
Potentially wealthier customers might balk at the idea of ordering food on a chipped Formica counter behind a plexiglass screen. Often, appearances are deceiving. While not every item is healthy, if you’re prepared to read the menu, good food choices are available.
Unfortunately, most restaurant owners can’t necessarily afford to undertake a wholesale interior renovation to cater to the aesthetic demands of the neighborhood’s new patrons.
My fear about the changing face of the city is that while affordable housing is front and center in the debate at City Hall and Albany, affordable healthy food is not. Not everyone can or wants to buy $5 coffee or gelati.
Many New Yorkers just want a nutritious meal at a reasonable price.
Jeff Vasishta lives in Crown Heights.
