Brooklyn: Where You Can Get Paid to Displace Others
Tavi Gevinson recently moved into a new apartment in what real-estate developers would like you to call the Brooklyn Culture District and which is actually called Fort Greene, a historically black, middle-class neighborhood. The Rookie founder/editor-in-chief and actor has been posting to Instagram about her new digs, because moving is always very exciting, and also because her building’s developer is paying her to do so.
Two Trees Management, which owns 300 Ashland, confirmed the partnership in a statement provided to Jezebel by a spokesperson. “We are partnering with a few creative influencers, like Tavi, who are great fits for our residential buildings,” the spokesman said. (The arrangement was first reported by The Cut.) “In a rental market crowded with perfectly staged model apartments, we wanted to show what it’s really like to live in a Two Trees building.”
In February of 2017, the average rent for a one-bedroom in Fort Greene was $2,872/month. A studio apartment at 300 Ashland is renting for $2,555/month, and a one-bedroom is going for $3,258/month. Whatever you’re paying to live at 300 Ashland, one of the “amenities” you’re paying for—along with a bike room and cold storage—is Tavi Gevinson as a neighbor.