It’s So Hard to Say Good Bye … to Bed Stuy Blog

Bed Stuy Blog, the imprint in the cloud that made the neighborhood I was born and raised in a popular destination, is signing off.

Since March 2007, The Changeling embarked on telling a neighborhood’s story through words and pictures, with a little help from the blogosphere.

Prior to its launch, the only thing reported consistently by print and broadcast media outlets were negative depictions of Bedford Stuyvesant and her residents.

Instead of offering the same fare heard and said in the news, she decided to invite you on her journey in search of …  Bed Stuy, where she discovered places to eat, things to do and people to see.

What she and others accomplished in each post would change the perception readers had of an entire neighborhood.

And the neighborhood is better for it.

My involvement with Bed Stuy Blog

I became an avid reader back in 2007, having been recently introduced to blogs.  In fact, the first comment I ever made was at Bed Stuy Blog.

It wasn’t until 2009 that I had the unbelievable notion to contribute to Brooklyn’s growing blogosphere with My Brooklyn Report.

After starting my adventure in citizen journalism on posts about real estate and politics, I approached her with post ideas for a series  on Bed Stuy real estate.

Little did I know that most of what I would contribute would be considered controversial by some, given I was challenging pre-conceived notions about the neighborhood.

Asking where do I (will I) live in Bed Stuy and providing an apartment shopping guide only put me in the middle of some heated discussions with many of the regulars.

I wasn’t sure I would see another post published, especially after committing to writing a monthly series (which I had this graphic made for):

But after 2 car accidents in 1 year, personal health concerns and family loss, it wasn’t possible to undertake what was to be an ambitious effort in 2010.

And in spite of all the trouble I started there, I can’t thank The Changeling enough for her support and confidence in allowing me to share something with her readers.

It’s hard to see it go

Personally speaking, after reading for so long, I’ll miss the sincere dedication and commitment you read in posts by The Changeling, The Progressive Southside, Alexa and others who’ve contributed.

You can only get that reading something written in the first person by someone who has a stake in the subject their writing about.

That’s not something you’re going to find in other places on the Internet covering the Bed Stuy beat.

So instead of breaking into my rendition of Boys to Men’s “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye”, I’ll just keep checking my reader for the next post published there.

I can see the headline …

“Don’t Call it A Comeback, We’ve Been Here for Years“.

See you back here soon, P (we’ll leave the light on for you).