Jefftown (Jefferson Avenue, Bushwick, Brooklyn)

“Jefftown” (for the Jefferson Avenue area of Bushwick, Brooklyn) was coined by Royal Chase and trademarked by him with a first use on August 22, 2012. The name “Jefftown” was popularized on May 2, 2014, when the blog Gothamist published “A Food And Drink Tour Of Bushwick’s ‘Jefftown.’” On May 16th, Gothamist published an interview with Royal Chase, who explained:
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“Obviously [Thomas] Jefferson was a slave owner. I didn’t want to have that impression of walking around in ‘Jefferson’. So I wanted to make it like, what if his the first name is just ‘Jeff.’ Jeff-Jefferson stop. Town, I’m from South America, Guyana, so Georgetown is very laid back, cool community.”
   
   
Wikipedia: Bushwick, Brooklyn
Bushwick is a working class neighborhood in the northern part of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood, formerly Brooklyn’s 18th Ward, is now part of Brooklyn Community Board 4. It is policed by the NYPD’s 83rd Precinct and is represented in the New York City Council as part of Districts 34 and 37.
 
Gothamist
A Food And Drink Tour Of Bushwick’s ‘Jefftown’
Rebecca Fishbein in Food on May 2, 2014 11:58 am
Pearl’s Social and Billy Club: Pearl’s, which opened off Jefferson in 2011, is a Bushwick favorite, boasting the kind of quirky appeal that’s earned instead of pre-packaged and sold as “cool.” Sure, drinks are served in Mason jars, but somehow it’s not cheesy when Pearl’s does it, it’s just how it’s done, beard or no beard, tattooed or inkless-skinned. No one will judge you if you eschew a $6 Shiner beer in favor of a pickleback shot, provided you do not squeal “woo” when consuming said shot. All the bartenders are beautiful, and there is free strawberry water in the summer. In a word, Pearl’s is Jefftopia.
 
Twitter
bushwick daily
‏@BushwickDaily
Guys, do not freak out over “Jefftown.” Inhale exhale. We’ll explain you the entire phenomenon soon 😊
12:58 PM - 2 May 2014
     
Real Estate News NYC
Uh-Oh, Both Gothamist and the AP Are Sending People to Bushwick’s ‘Jefftown’
02 May 2014
Greenpoint residents were gripped with Lou Reed-style waves of fear when the neighborhood was recently deemed the nation’s best for millennials, and now Bushwick has been hit with a similar hype bomb. Two of them, in fact.
 
Gothamist has unleashed A Food And Drink Tour Of Bushwick’s ‘Jefftown’ and the AP has dropped an article letting everyone and (more distressingly) their mother know there’s “Street Art and Trendy Cafes in Bushwick, Brooklyn.”
 
The AP article notes, “Where the hipsters of New York City go, tourists are sure to follow. So for out-of-towners willing to explore Bushwick, take the L subway line to Jefferson Street and start wandering.” Oh, boy. Get ready for more Germans with Abercrombie bags.
 
Bushwick Daily
So What’s the Deal with “Jefftown” and Should You Hate It?
(...)
So, no. You should not hate “Jefftown.” Why? Mostly because hating is like drinking poison and hoping that the other person dies (that’s how my clever friend puts it). And also, because despite what people assume, “Jefftown” is not a creation of some greedy broker, nor some delusional hipster lunatic; it simply is a name coined by a local dude named Royal Chase who if you ask me is pretty cool, and I personally respect what he does. Royal is a Brooklyn resident of 27 years, born in Caribbean Guyana, raised in Crown Heights. He is a regular at Pearl’s and Mominette, and he co-works at Bat Haus. That’s where he came up with the name Jefftown for the first time, and in 2012 he started to make hats, tees and stickers in collaboration with Silky’s. “I sold online about 80 hats, 100 tees and about 10,000 stickers,” he told me.
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COMMENTS
Posted By : Katarina Hybenova Posted Date : 5.08.14
Natalie
5.09.14 At 9:03 Am
Roy Did Not Create “Jefftwon” To Sell Hats And T-Shirts. We First Met When We Started Building Bat Haus. Soon We Became Friends And He Became My Roommate. He Was Around Jefferson Stop A Lot (Still Is). One Day, The Name Popped Up In Conversations. He Wanted To Make It A Brand, A Concept, And A Sense Of Belonging. He Has Been Making Custom Hats Way Before Jefftown Logo Came Up. So Jefftwon Hats, Etc Is Just A Love Child Of The Two.
   
Gothamist
Controversial “Jefftown” Creator Has Some Words For The Haters
Rebecca Fishbein in Arts & Entertainment on May 16, 2014 9:30 am
We recently roiled the powers-that-be over in Bushwick by publishing a thorough roundup of popular food-and-drink spots off the Jefferson L stop. Much of the epic rage was directed towards the moniker “Jefftown,” an neighborhood nickname that’s triggered considerable of eye-rolling from the locals. Last week, Royal Chase—a 28-year-old Bushwick entrepreneur responsible for coining “Jefftown,” and for creating stickers/hats and other “Jefftown”-related promotional goods—reached out to us to clarify a few things, so we sat down with him at Jefftown’s Mominette to discuss neighborhood branding, gentrification and how to handle the haters.
 
So how did “Jefftown” get started? Obviously [Thomas] Jefferson was a slave owner. I didn’t want to have that impression of walking around in “Jefferson”. So I wanted to make it like, what if his the first name is just “Jeff.” Jeff-Jefferson stop. Town, I’m from South America, Guyana, so Georgetown is very laid back, cool community.
 
Twitter
Lauren Leibowitz
‏@lleibowitzz
“jefftown” is my new favorite least favorite brooklyn buzzword
10:58 AM - 16 May 2014
 
(Trademark)
Word Mark JEFFTOWN
Goods and Services IC 041. US 100 101 107. G & S: Special event planning for social entertainment purposes. FIRST USE: 20120822. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20130327
Standard Characters Claimed
Mark Drawing Code (4) STANDARD CHARACTER MARK
Serial Number 86122384
Filing Date November 19, 2013
Current Basis 1A
Original Filing Basis 1A
Published for Opposition April 15, 2014
Owner (APPLICANT) Chase, Renroy INDIVIDUAL UNITED STATES 2R 82 Saint Nicholas Ave. Brooklyn NEW YORK 11237
Type of Mark SERVICE MARK
Register PRINCIPAL
Live/Dead Indicator LIVE