Police Up The Ante At The Lefferts Hotel

Atriss-
Thanks for getting back on “board”. I guess I have been in NYC long enough (twenty years now) to have seen neighborhoods change. The East Village was funky and fun when I moved here, but East Seventh street was also an open drug bazaar where neighbors were scared to walk the streets. I really think it is a mistake to equate anti-crime activism on the part of community residents with suburbanization. The shame is that it seems to take the influx of relatively empowered people to get attention to problems which were identified long before. Driving drug dealers out has been the goal of many revolutionary, race-based organizations long before the gentrifier arrived. I may yearn for the dance clubs and, er, other kind of clubs of my youth, but creativity, beauty and pushing boundaries exist where you create them.

On your non-crime point. I am not sure how my preceived distaste for Kennedy Fried Chicken (just another way for corporate food factories to sell fat to the poor), or dirty bodegas with no vegetables and overpriced goods is a sign I don’t like Brooklyn. Studies show that people in “rich” neighborhoods pay less for better food. That is why groups like the Clinton Hill Community Supported Agriculture Co-op offers reduced rates for low-income families. And why getting better grocery stores, etc is good for everyone.

It seems so strange that there are complaints about real grass roots community organizing as being some sort of symbol of evil. Isn’t the retreat into gated communities a far worse problem?

Atriss, no one is out to get you. And I seriously doubt that Brownstoner would block your URL simply for expressing a dissenting view. With that being said, I must admit that I find your commentary confusing, frustrating and quite alarming.

At least 20 postings on this thread has communicated to you in no uncertain terms that the movement behind cleaning up the “Grand/Classon Corridor” and shutting down the hotel has been in the works for years. During this time period, community activist (most of whom are black) have worked tirelessly in an effort to improve the quality of life in this community. To assume that the desire to live drug and crime free began with the influx of gentrifiers is insulting to myself and every other African-American who has lived in this community and has worked so hard over the years to improve conditions. IMHO, your views are laced with the sentiment that blacks are indeed “the white man’s burden” and thus incapable of such accomplishments on their own. Without any facts, this was your initial assumption and when you were presented with such facts you simply dismissed it. Are you kidding me?

What part of the Enlgish language can you not understand? Again, the movement to rid the community of the hotel was organic and spearheaded by long time residents of Lefferts – WHO ARE BLACK! Therefore, I can only conclude that (a) you can’t listen ; (b) you don’t want to listen; or (c) you are not the sharpest tool in the shed.

Kindly, answer this question: “What is the purpose of dialogue and discussion” if people simple talk and not listen? It is apparent to everyone on this board that you have a very serious problem with listening. Instead of acknowledging and commending these activist for all of their hard work and effort, you are hell bent on ranting about gentrification in an absolute vacuum and completley oblivious to the serious issue at hand.

In sum, it’s only human nature that after a while one would grow tired debating, for lack of a better word, with a fool. So blocked for dissent? Certainly no. Blocked for being an aggravating fool. Perhaps….

Putnam-denizen, I believe that Brownstoner blocked my work IP address and prevented me from further commenting, though, of course, I can’t prove this. That’s why I stopped commenting when I did. And that seems like a bit of a harsh reaction, IMHO. Its surprising that diversity of opinion is not more welcome on a community message board of this sort. This is an entirely different issue than the trolling debate, btw. Why can’t someone express a sincerely held dissenting viewpoint? What is the purpose of dialogue and discussion if uniformity of opinion will be imposed behind the scenes and people who identify themselves with their comments will be silenced without so much as a warning first??

To address your statement though, if I may, I’m not, and never was, arguing that crack dealing is great. If you read my above comments my thrust (and I believe I am not the only one who feels this way on the board, though perhaps I feel it more strongly than others) was that an influx of gentrifying activists raises concern, perhaps moreso, than petty, victimless crime does. (Incidentally, I remember a recent comment Brownstoner made about poorly designed, Fedder’s buildings in Bed-Stuy being more detrimental to the community in the longterm than criminal activity; many people on the message board AGREED with that statement).

Now, I actually don’t view all gentrification as inherently terrible. Bohemians and real creative types strike me as positive additions to many communities. If not, then at least they are less destructive to the fabric of a community than are yuppies and new-parent professionals who move to a “less established” area like pioneers of sorts and immediately set out to alter the area and modify it to their particular taste. Ofentimes suburbanizing the city in the process. I point to areas like Park Slope and, indeed, Tribeca as examples of this phenomena. Seriously, there are plenty of really nice and very well-established neighborhoods in NYC. If there are people here who don’t feel comfortable around or don’t particularly like certain elements of society that are germane to Brooklyn, e.g. Bodegas, 99 cent stores, Kennedy Fried Chicken, African American teenagers (another recent thread) then why not live on the upper eastside? They have breathtaking townhouses up there. The reason you won’t move there, I suspect, is because you can’t afford to. So you settle for Brooklyn — not Brooklyn Heights or Cobble Hill, priced out there too — but you don’t really like Brooklyn. So you attempt to reshape and transform Brooklyn, which is not and should not be Manhattan, into an extension of the upper eastside. That deeply bothers some people.

Now, that is my view, I hope I have expressed it respectfully and I hope I am not silenced for so doing. However, if I am unable to post again, it will be because Brownstoner (I assume) has blocked this IP as well.

Best,
@riss

I notice when asked to describe himself or justify how crack dealing is just down-home fun, Atriss disappeared. Just to give you an update, the barricades are still up on Grand and the kids are still dealing drugs on Irving, and I heard a guy arguing outside my window how he had no place to go because he didn’t like to do his stuff on the street.

Sex and drugs may be scary, but the gradual sanitization of all of New York City is an equally unappealing prospect. Look at what has happened (on a more moneyed scale) in Tribeca, for one extreme example. A once cool, edgy, artsy area became a place that is now more and more referred to as”Triburbia”, and with ample justification. Check out the tidbit on curbed.com about the Tribeca block association that petitioned the landmark association to have the beautiful cobblestone removed from the streets so that they can be re-paved and made more stroller-friendly. I kid you not. It starts with controlling what your neighbors do in the hotel, which may be justified, but where does it end?