Bushwick warehouse owner invites tenants to ‘join the gentrification’

Doyle Murphy The owner of a Thames Street warehouse is looking for tenants to ‘join the gentrification’ of Bushwick.

Yeah, it’s gentrification — get over it.

So says the owner of a Thames St. warehouse who sent out flyers last month to prospective tenants inviting them to “join the gentrification” in rapidly changing Bushwick.

John Du, a 33-year-old hotelier and real estate investor, bought 25-29 Thames St. last year for $ 1.88 million and thinks the 6,000-square-foot ground-floor space would be perfect for a speakeasy, name-brand retailer or restaurant.

“Great opportunity to secure a long-term lease at reasonable rent in the ultra-hip neighborhood — Morgantown — of Bushwick/East Williamsburg,” reads the flyer for the one-story, white-brick property, which sits around the way from the pizzeria Roberta’s. “Join the gentrification…”

COURTESY OF JOHN DU The owner of a warehouse at 25 Thames St. in Brooklyn began sending fliers last month to bars and restaurants, inviting prospective tenants to ‘join the gentrification’ in Bushwick.

Bushwick has experienced a real estate boom, with rental rates for one-bedroom apartments leaping 13.5%, from $ 1,849 in 2012 to $ 2,099 last year, according to realtor MNS.

“I heard Spike Lee’s rant on gentrification,” Du told the Daily News Thursday, referring to controversial statements made by the director during a lecture at Pratt University in February. “I’ve also heard the other side.”

“I understand where that part of the neighborhood is coming from, but a lot of gentrification has made it safer,” added Du. “There are more cops. There are more food choices.”

COURTESY JOHN DU A former Bushwick warehouse on Thames St. is destined for a new life as owner John Du looks for bars and restaurants to rent out the space.

For some in Bushwick, the candor was hard to stomach, with many calling Du’s pitch insensitive to longtime residents and tenants currently being priced out of the trendy hood.

“It seems gross,” said artist Douglas Rogers, 48, of the gentrification-embracing ads. “That’s what’s going on. It’s happened in Williamsburg and it’s happening here.”

Others who share the neighborhood with metal fabricators and truck depots, said the fliers hit too close to home.

COURTESY JOHN DU A former Bushwick warehouse on Thames St. is destined for a new life as owner John Du looks for bars and restaurants to rent out the space.

“I say to myself, ‘I don’t think I can afford to live here,’” said Marcus Gwynn, a 54-year-old who lives in the Doe Fund’s shelter on Porter Ave. as he rebuilds his life.

“I have nothing against people who have money,” Gwynn added. “But they shouldn’t rule the world.”

dmmurphy@nydailynews.com

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