'Subway Takes' sparks outrage as guest jokes that white people should be banned from sitting on stoops in Brooklyn

A guest on an internet comedy show made a remark that white people should not be allowed to sit on stoops in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant. The guest said the practice “looks bad” and is “aesthetically not as good,” and linked it to changing neighborhood vibes, closing favorite bars and places, and disrespecting the history of the area. The host reacted with shock and later agreed that it is “aesthetically not as good,” without further explanation. The guest said she has lived in the neighborhood for 12 years and referenced demographic shifts associated with gentrification. She later joked that she, as a brown woman, does not sit on her own stoop out of respect.

"“It looks bad. It's aesthetically not as good, especially for Bed-Stuy as a neighborhood,” she says. “As more and more white people are moving into Bed-Stuy and messing up the vibes, and having our favorite bars and our favorite places close down, they should not be inviting all their friends and sitting on the stoop,” she said of the historically black neighborhood. “I think it's rude to the history of the place.”"

"Rahma agreed that “aesthetically [it's] not as good” when white people sit on stoops in northern Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, but didn't elaborate. She finally added that for 12 years she's lived in the neighborhood - which has gone from 74% black in 2000 to 40% black in 2023, as the white population in the same period has gone from about 2% to 26%, sparking complaints of gentrification."

"Aftab later quipped that, even though she's not white, she doesn't sit on her own stoop in the Brooklyn nabe. “So even you, out of respect as a brown woman, you're like 'I'm not gonna sit on the stoop because I'm not black'?” Rahma asked. “Yeah, yeah,” Aftab said, as they both broke into laughter."

Read at New York Post