This Bar in Brooklyn Sparked Gentrification Protests

From Esquire

This weekend, Brooklyn residents took their frustration over a recently opened "boozy sandwich shop" to the streets. Elements of the decor and menu at Summerhill elicited allegations of racism and classism in addition to broader concerns about gentrification in the surrounding Crown Heights neighborhood.

After opening in June, the restaurant released marketing materials citing bullet hole-ridden walls and 40 oz bottles of rosé on the menu, a product which mimics bottles of Colt 45 malt liquor. Becca Brennan, the owner of Summerhill and a former corporate tax attorney, was quoted in Gothamist suggesting serving the bottles in paper bags (which she has since retracted). At a venue offering $12 cocktails, these details seemed derogatory. Some residents saw them as offensive references to gun violence and harmful racial stereotypes in an ethnically diverse neighborhood.

Crown Heights is no stranger to the waves of gentrification that have swept through Brooklyn, and Summerhill isn't the first establishment to elicit criticism from the community. Last year, Dan Wilby was compelled to change the name of his bar, Crow Bar, after protests by the Crown Heights Tenant Union pointed out the racially violent history of its name.

In the past few weeks, flyers started appearing around the neighborhood using some of Brennan's quotes from articles ("I was getting tired of walking to Franklin") and phrases such as "This Is What Gentrification Looks Like."

Residents held an open forum outside the bar this weekend to air grievances about the venue and initiate a dialogue. Organizers released a statement of demands for Summerhill, including a "public apology," the removal of "bullet holed walls," and a business plan to "incorporate local Crown Heights residents and people of color as employees at living wages or higher."

Brennan, a former tax attorney and Canadian transplant, initially dismissed criticism of the bullet holes, citing the the "rumored backroom illegal gun shop" that previously occupied the space.

"I truly never meant it in that way, but I recognize that it was insensitive," Brennan told Gothamist the week before the protest. "I was excited to keep the wall as a shout out to the different businesses that occupied the space before us but my intention was misinterpreted and I'm sorry for that."

Summerhill was open for business throughout the forum, and Brennan did not publicly comment at the event. She did, however, publish a statement on Saturday via the bar's Instagram account apologizing for recent comments.

While the future of Summerhill remains to be seen, the conversation about gentrification goes on.

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