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Spike Lee has been especially vocal in recent times against the gentrification happening in his beloved Brooklyn and across the entire city of New York. After a New York Times film critic took a slight swipe at Lee over his blasting gentrification, the filmmaker posted a fiery open letter to the newspaper earlier today.

Lee took to Instagram to respond to New York Times film critic A.O. Scott, who penned a column in the paper’s Sunday edition titled “Whose Brooklyn Is It, Anyway?” In the piece, Scott refers to Lee’s anti-gentrification talks of past times to form a larger discussion that the borough has been shown in film and how it has indeed changed over the years. Scott made note of the fact that Lee now resides in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, while also suggesting that the director was part of the reason why Brooklyn has morphed.

Lee responded this afternoon in an unedited, lengthy post via his Instagram account complete with a log of familiar character Mars Blackmon with the caption “We Been Here.”

From Lee’s open letter to the Times:

Mr. Scott, what you fail to understand is that I can live on The Moon and what I said is still TRUE. No matter where I choose to live that has nothing to do with it. I will always carry Brooklyn in my Blood, Heart and Soul. Did anyone call Jay-Z a Hypocrite when he helped with bringing The Nets from New Jersey to The Barclays Center in Brooklyn at the Corner of Flatbush and Atlantic Avenue? Hey Buddy, Jay-Z had been long, long gone from The Marcy Projects and Brooklyn a long, long, long time ago and more Power to my BK ALL DAY Brother. Should Jay-Z no longer mention Brooklyn in his Songs because he no longer resides there? You already know the answer to that one, Sir.

The entire letter is worth a read, and Lee’s passion for his hometown is evident as its always been. Lee also notes that after his highly publicized outburst against gentrification at the Pratt Institute last month that his father’s Fort Green home and a neighbor’s house were both vandalized.

Scott nor the New York Times have responded to Lee’s open letter at the time. Hit the jump to see the full size photo of the thumbnail.

[NY Mag]

Photo: Instagram

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