Do Arson and Development Go Hand in Hand?

fires This week's New York Magazine revisits the role that "accidental" fires play in a city's (in this case Brooklyn's) regenerative evolution. As the article reminds, last summer's 10-alarm blaze that destroyed the Greenpoint Terminal Market was only the tip of the iceberg: the 2006 "fire season" saw a 50% rise in the number of two-alarm-and-higher fires over 2005, which itself had been a record. Is itjust coincidence that the real estate market was setting new highs both years? Particularly suspicious, according to the article, were the eleven fires in the Prospect Heights "Pacific Street Corridor" between December 7, 2005 and February 24, 2006. Atlantic Yards, anyone?
Brooklyn Is Burning [New York Magazine]

Comments

Maybe if the landlords could get rid of tenants paying insanely low rents through rent control, they wouldn't need to burn the buildings.

Posted by: Anonymous at September 18, 2006 9:56 AM

the goverment shouldnt be in the business of rent control.

Posted by: Armchair_warrior at September 18, 2006 9:59 AM

those pacific street buildings were abandoned wrecks occupied by crackheads. thank go ratner is doing something positive for that neighborhood -and all of brooklyn

Posted by: Anonymous at September 18, 2006 10:10 AM

Ditto on both posters views on rent control and that was what probably what prompted 3 (count them) three! fires within 1 month to three separate buildings on different corners of intersection of of 1st Avenue and 90th Street in Manhattan in the late 70's when I lived there. Then and now, I marvel at people who solve their financial problems with violence and put the lives of ordinary people at risk. It was pretty terrifying to us, watching this, but in keeping with the theme of the post, it was followed by new development in that immediate area and the neighborhood in general.

Posted by: donatella at September 18, 2006 10:10 AM

anonymous...hold on one damn minute how DARE you justify or brush off arson which firefighters have to risk their lives to put out. These greedy, unscrupulous landlords should be put in jail for this.
Ratner doing good for brooklyn? Like atlantic mall? Like metrotech - both which are a burden on taxpayers? or by using his crony influence in goverment to take homes and businesses from people/
Ratner is the one who has bought out buildings and attempted to make them derelict - HE is creating the blight to justify his project.

If Ratner can't build a profitable development in the middle of one of the hottest real estate markets in history, then not only is he greedy, he's incompetent.

Posted by: dreadnaught at September 18, 2006 10:18 AM

Landlords could not have bought the properties at insanely low prices without the rent-controls in place.
Typical scum trying to make fast buck rather than trying to earn it.
Trying to scam the system and drive up
costs for everyone else.
Pretty sick of you people to have any sympathy for someone that would set a fire intentionally. It is a criminal act and deserves no condoning.
Beyond comprehesion of how anyone could risklives of others, residents, neighbors and firefighters. Should be prosecuted to fullest extent of law.
And shame on you who think anyone was driven to it.

Posted by: Anonymous at September 18, 2006 10:21 AM

"thank go ratner is doing something positive for that neighborhood -and all of brooklyn"

ahh the forest city employee/idiot du jour has spoken.
Think just for minute...if brooklyn looked more like Forest City's vision that brownstone brooklyn....do you honestly think anyone would want to live there? as it stands, he can't even keep his buildings filled without government help.

Posted by: anon at September 18, 2006 10:55 AM

"Pretty sick of you people to have any sympathy for someone that would set a fire intentionally"

What do you expect from greedy Forest City employees? Scruples? Unfortunately we have a market, mayor and many laws (or in this case, lack of enforcement thereof) that encourage this kind of behavior.

Its not that development is a low ethic profession it's that we encourage low ethics behavior in that profession. Have you ever actually met any Forest City emloyees? The exude scum

Posted by: just me at September 18, 2006 10:58 AM

There is plenty of outrage from the posters and there should be. I remember what I went through when the neighboring buildings went up in flames around me; ordinary people losing their apartments and in my case no one died, but if you want to talk about terrorism of a home grown variety this is it. And yes, as deadnaught says firefighters are putting their lives at risk because of the acts of the lowest life form. It is in the same category as venal and evil as taking someone's home through eminent domain for profit only people can die.

Posted by: donatella at September 18, 2006 11:27 AM

Presumably lots of people want to live in Ratner's dream, otherwise he wouldn't be building it.

Personally, I'd love it if all of the SROs and rent stabilized apts with people paying $500 were cleared -- maybe I could afford to buy or rent a place, instead of having it go to some _lucky_ person whose sole aspiration is to live in one room for 30 years and get a buyout.

Posted by: Anonymous at September 18, 2006 11:36 AM

Is someone blaming Ratner for these fires here? That really sounds off the wall hysterics. And also outrageous to
to compare arson with eminent domain.

Posted by: Anonymous at September 18, 2006 11:44 AM

according to the map in ny magazine the pacific street fires are all blocks past the atlantic yards site. so what's up with the last line of the post and all the histrionic comments. is everything fodder for DDDB anti-AY conspiracies and rants. everyone here needs to chill the fuck out

Posted by: Anonymous at September 18, 2006 2:41 PM

burn baby burn
disco inferno

Posted by: Anonymous at September 18, 2006 2:44 PM

it is the circle of life, didn't you see "the lion king"??

Posted by: kimba at September 18, 2006 4:15 PM

New York Ragazine says this 'Pacific Street Corridor' is sandwiched between
proposed AY and Ft Greene and Williamsburg.
I love how these mag/newspaper writers really know their stuff and stress accurancy rather than worrying about making their story a more compelling read.

Posted by: Anonymous at September 18, 2006 4:34 PM

four people died in one of the fires. these landlords are lower day old scum

Posted by: Anonymous at September 18, 2006 6:55 PM

Yes, those who read the article will note that people died in these fires.

The tone of these posts (and unecessary AY debate) is quite out of place.

Regardless of the economic "causes" (I wouldn't blame rent control, but unders tand why others might) we are talking about landowners allegedly attempting to kill other people from profit.

We should all feel humble in the face of this kind of inhumanity.

Posted by: Anonymous at September 19, 2006 3:09 PM

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September 18, 2006

Do Arson and Development Go Hand in Hand?

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