Brooklyn Poet Slams Gentrification: 'First Came the Hipsters to Tame the Land'

Pictured: Councilwoman Laurie Cumbo speaking at this year's State of the District event. Photo by John V. Santore

FORT GREENE, BROOKLYN — An overall optimistic tone during Councilwoman Laurie Cumbo's State of the District event Monday took a dramatic turn to the dark side when local poet Patrick Dougher took the microphone.

Cumbo had spent most of the evening reviewing a long list of initiatives she's supported in while office. She placed particular emphasis on arts programming for students, and the resulting artwork — which Cumbo said has tackled with serious topics, like neighborhood gun violence, with striking creativity.

But the evening's most memorable moment, hands down, came during a discussion of housing and development policy.

Cumbo described the 35th District she represents — an area including parts of Fort Greene, Clinton Hill and Prospect Heights — as "the epicenter of gentrification."

She then brought up Patrick Dougher, program director for the Gowanus-based arts organization Groundswell, to speak on the topic.

Dougher, 52, grabbed the mic and recited the following poem.

Days of the Gentri-fire

By Patrick Dougher

First came the Hipsters to tame the land/ to pacify the natives/ the original man and then the settlers and homesteaders/ brought their cavalry to stop & frisk me/ making it safe for the yuppies

Now I don’t recognize the block where I was born/ they’re coming from places with backyards and big lawns/ like West Bubblef**k Michigan and Okie Dokie Wisconsin/ moving in like their SLUMMIN’/

They keep coming now my culture’s been rezoned/ my house ain’t my house and my home ain’t my home no more/ they brought in their money and moved out the poor/ raised up my rent changed the lock on my door / and now I’m not welcome in the corner store…no more

On my block…what the f**K??/ now we got a yoga spot, pet grooming and a Starbucks/ since when did the so-called Ghetto get trendy? /

They making me homeless and smiling all friendly/ (sung) “they’ll smile in your face- all the time they wanna take your place”/Gentr-fire/ Is a liar who will conspire to take you home your earth, wind and fire/ you wonder why your rents raising higher and higher?

‘Cause these are the days of the Gentri-fire…

Gentri-fire got this thing on lock/ my home/my zone/ my hood/my block

Gentri-fire in complete control/steal your land/ steal your style/ steal your street/ steal your soul

It don’t tale the Jefferson’s to figure this out/ we ain’t “movin’ on up”/ we getting moved on out/ no doubt/you see to them its like Monopoly/ all they want is your…property/

Shit I shoulda bought Park Place/ but now it’s too late/ this used to be the Ghetto/ now its prime real estate/ And where the hell am I supposed to go?/ I can’t afford their coops/can’t afford their condos/

They doing us like they did the native Americans/ And NYCHA housing are the new reservations/ fixing up the block and the train station/ building high rises…Gentrification

All the little Mom & Pop shops bought by big corporations with no connection to the community…Gentrification

And my whole damn hood lookin’ like colonization/ less brown skin more white skin…Gentrifcation

(sung) now they look at me with scorn on the block where I was born/ it happened so fast didn’t see it coming on? Now there’s new maps/ new lines being drawn…

‘Cause these are the days of the Gentri-fire…

Gentri-fire got this thing on lock/ my home/my zone/ my hood/my block

Gentri-fire in complete control/steal your land/ steal your style/ steal your street/ stole my soul

"If I was President Obama," Cumbo joked when she returned to the microphone, "that would be my Reverend Wright moment."

However, the councilwoman said, Dougher had "opened up a very important conversation we have to have."

The poet told Patch that Cumbo had attended a meeting several months ago regarding one of Groundswell's public mural projects in Crown Heights.

Dougher — who grew up in Bed-Stuy and lived in Downtown Brooklyn for 15 years, before being priced out — performed "Days of the Gentri-fire" at that meeting, too.

"Apparently, it made an impression," he said.

During her State of the District address, Cumbo praised new city zoning rules designed to promote construction of mixed-income housing.

But outside, Dougher described the bill as "a Band-Aid to allow developers to do what they wanted to do."

"I think that greed will always supersede morals," he said.

Dougher said he could "understand why folks would want to move into these communities" like Bed-Stuy and Fort Greene.

But like another of the borough's lead critics of gentrification, Brooklyn College professor Ron Howell, the local artist and poet said he wished new arrivals would "integrate and live in harmony with existing cultures, as opposed to changing what was there."