Rising cost of rent in New York has long been a problem, so much so that even a movie star’s brother can’t get the property he desires in Brooklyn. Uma Thurman’s brother Mipam Thurman missed out on some prime real estate in the now-classy neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn because of its price tags.

“Unfortunately, I was outbid and lost a lot of deals. By the time I figured it out, I had been priced out of what I wanted,” said Thurman. He settled on a property in East Flatbush for a $549,000 two-family home. This is much lower than the cost of his sister Uma’s River House home, which she bought from novelist Barbara Taylor Bradford in 2013 at a price of $10 million.

Bedford-Stuyvesant is a predominantly African-American neighborhood and was the setting for Spike Lee’s acclaimed film Do the Right Thing in 1989. The neighborhood now features brownstones that speak volumes about its gentrification, reaching million-dollar prices in one of New York’s poorest neighborhoods. The drop in crime in Bed-Stuy and the search for more affordable housing have drawn the attention of successful urbanites looking to carve out their own versions of paradise. The progress of surrounding neighborhoods like Clinton Hill and Williamsburg have created pressure for Bed-Stuy to follow suit.

So, big whoop, Uma Thurman’s brother bought in Flatbush. This is about eastward momentum: http://t.co/Zbbg491Zu9 pic.twitter.com/ul3fn5chl6

— Curbed NY (@CurbedNY) August 11, 2014

Here is the average cost to rent a two-bedroom apartment in 25 US metropolitan areas. http://t.co/iQNgru9s22 pic.twitter.com/ce6on33kqH

— Mother Jones (@MotherJones) August 12, 2014

Thurman spent two years eyeing Bedford-Stuyvesant, but apparently couldn’t figure out the bidding process and failed to find a home he could afford in the end. More buyers like him are flocking to East New York to find more affordable homes, according to Ban Leow, a Halstead Property broker. “The coffee shops, boutiques and clubs will follow,” he said, indicating the common trend of cultural influx that is happening all over Brooklyn due to gentrification and the steady arrival of moneyed residents.

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