By Nayaba Arinde
Editor-at-Large
Will Bed Stuy’s beloved Smurf Village become a cut-and-paste condo complex?
The Brooklyn neighborhood has been gentrified at an alarmingly shocking pace; multi-decades-old Black businesses and Black-owned or traditionally Black folk-rented homes are being replaced by a new population–some call them transplants.

So, the news that the famed Smurf Village on the important Fulton Street (aka Harriet Ross Tubman Blvd) and Utica Avenue axis is about to be torn down for developers to build yet another condo complex is sparking a palpable reaction amongst established residents and original locals.

Named for its almost cute diminutive three-story style, the word on the Bed Stuy curb is that developers want to take down the low-income apartment complex in favor of over ten seventeen-story buildings with perhaps 2,000 market-rate and “regulated affordable housing.”
With its traditional Dutch architectural style of stepped gables, giving the buildings a “village-like” silhouette, hence the colloquial name Bed Stuy.

Smurf Village was built in the early 1980s. Officially part of the Fulton Park apartments, there are 12 three-story walk-up buildings, two interior courtyards with benches, and children’s climbing apparatus.

It sits adjacent to Boys and Girls High School. Across the way is the busy bus and pedestrian hub, and subway station, and a plaza set to be named later this year for Malcolm X. Traditionally, this is a site for many a protest, family events, joyous rallies, and a concrete playground lined by a variety of stores, the sometimes heady spot for afterschool youth congregations. With the Long Island Railroad close by, it has always been under the developers’ watchful eye.

In a community that has been decimated by rapid gentrification, which has seen everything from rent increases to the culture and flavor of the neighborhood slightly tempered, to the edging out of once-established and reliable community-centered staples, prices on many things have risen, including rents and home prices. This is in a Brooklyn area where the majority of people–53%- rent their homes.

Community Board 3 did not have an official response for the paper, but a member told Our Time Press, “We haven’t had a public hearing yet.”
Saha Guerrero, Press Secretary for Councilmember Chi Osse, told Our Time Press, “Our office is reviewing the proposal, and Council Member Ossé will meet with residents of Fulton Park Houses this weekend. We’re looking forward to listening to residents and supporting their needs.”

“We have a community in Smurf Village,” former resident, Brooklyn school educator Eric C., told Our Time Press. “People have raised their children here for 3 decades. My people tell me that they have had very little solid information about what is really going on. They should not just leave people in limbo like this.”

“I have met twice with L&M Development regarding the proposed redevelopment of Fulton Park Houses, built by the late Jackie Robinson, also known as Smurf Village, at Utica Avenue and Fulton Street, and shared my concerns about the project,” Assembly Member Stefani Zinerman told Our Time Press.

“A well-designed proposal on paper must also demonstrate responsible execution on the ground. Since then, residents have contacted me to report they have received conflicting information from management about their future housing security. That is unacceptable. No redevelopment should proceed without ironclad, written guarantees of non-displacement, clear timelines, and transparent communication.”

Brooklyn activist Jamell Henderson told Our Time Press that he will be organizing a press conference and rally with Citizen Action, “To put pressure on the elected officials. Was the tenant leadership or association notified, or were they given a false presentation? Many of these developers take full advantage of residents who don’t understand the terminology or the visuals they present. Residents, be ready to organize.”

Assemblywoman Zinerman continued, “The proposed density — including buildings up to 17 stories — would significantly transform an already congested corridor. Before any approvals are granted, there must be a comprehensive environmental impact review that addresses air quality, noise, vibration from the nearby Long Island Rail Road corridor, traffic flow, and the capacity of aging sewer and water systems.

Infrastructure in this section of Bedford-Stuyvesant was never built to support that level of density. Public health and safety must come before private timelines. Development must serve the people who are already here — not displace them or overwhelm the neighborhood.
I will continue demanding transparency, infrastructure accountability, and community-centered planning every step of the way.”

“The residents aren’t really happy about what’s going to happen to their apartment complex, especially because some of these apartments have 1, 2, and 3 bedrooms,” said content creator Scourgebliss, as he trudged through the snow in Smurf Village, a couple of weeks back. “When these new buildings go up, I guarantee that they won’t have three bedrooms…and they will be way smaller.”

“They don’t have consideration for the seniors and the handicapped,” said one 20-plus-year resident.
“We can’t be for certain that all the people living here will have a new place,” speaking with some “terrified” and irked residents, the citizen journalist, whose other name is Troy–noted that currently tenants have backyards, a park, a car park and tons of benches, “once the buildings go up that will all go away.”

Troy/Sourgebliss concluded, “The City loves to make claims that they will do something, and when the time comes around, we see many injustices happening. I know that change is inevitable, but there could be other ways instead of displacing people who already live here, and putting up brand new buildings in an already established space–especially when you get rid of parking, a ton of space, and you price people out. Let’s keep Black people in Bed Stuy.”