We have an official addition to the running list of famous people no longer able to afford Brooklyn, and this one may come as a surprise.
Last night, The Observer spoke to Jay-Z at his charity carnival. Monday’s announcement that the Brooklyn Nets would still be called the Brooklyn Nets was very much on our mind, so we asked if the most famous Brooklynite since Walt Whitman might soon be moving back to his home borough to be closer to the team.
“Maybe,” he told The Observer. “I’ve been thinking about it,” and here his brow furrowed. “The prices over there are really high, though.”
Holla, Hova. While starving students can still score deals in Bushwick and Clinton Hill, prices on highrises and brownstones fit to house the King of Rap have soared in recent years. “Brooklyn’s not like before,” he conceded with a laugh.
Maybe the $450-millionaire has no room left in his portfolio for more property, what with the Tribeca loft, Bloomberg building spread, an estate in Alpine, New Jersery, the place in Florida… you get the idea. Still, should Shawn Carter decide to move back, he probably won’t need a broker to help him get around, as he certainly knows Brooklyn’s geography well enough: “Baby I’m cold as ice, like I’m from Brownsville/ But my Bed’s in the Stuy so while I flatten your bush/Till we smoke a CI.”
eknutsen@observer.com
