Atlantic Yards: What The Archetypes Are Thinking
The Times asked nine area residents to discuss their views on the Atlantic Yards project. What struck us in reading the responses was what a war of hyperbole and propaganda this whole thing has been, from the promises of hand-outs and subsidies to the scare renderings showing Fort Greene being cast in a perpetual shadow….
The Times asked nine area residents to discuss their views on the Atlantic Yards project. What struck us in reading the responses was what a war of hyperbole and propaganda this whole thing has been, from the promises of hand-outs and subsidies to the scare renderings showing Fort Greene being cast in a perpetual shadow. What continues to amaze us is how many of the poorer people in favor of the project seem to think they actually have a decent statistical chance of getting anything out of this.
The Basketball Fan: “We could walk right to the Atlantic Yards from our house and watch a basketball game. That’s a beautiful thing. The fans, we’re going to be ready for them.”
The Homemaker: “If there’s a huge development plunked down in the middle of our neighborhood, the tone of the whole area will gradually change. People who can afford very high housing prices have to be well off, and I would suspect that most of those new people would be white. I’m fearful of the neighborhood changing so much that we wouldn’t want to live here.”
The Investor: “Is it good? Yeah, it’s good for businesses. Everybody’s property is going to go up in the next 10 years. Property in the range of a million will become $2 million, maybe $4 million.”
On The Block [NY Times]
The Retiree: “The Mitchell-Lama building I’m living in will soon be developed into something higher priced. This is a neighborhood I loved. I just don’t know what the future holds for me and people like me, who can’t afford the high prices of the high-rises.”
The Merchant: “A lot of [my customers] come by car. My concern is, if they can’t park, will they stay? We’ve seen a few larger buildings go up in the area, and parking has become an issue. It can only get worse.”
The Gardener: “The project would take away our sunshine until about noon every day. So from enjoying 12 or more hours of full sun, we’re going to be down to 6 or 8. We don’t know what kind of environment we’ll be in that people would want to garden. Would you want to do a vegetable garden next to Madison Square Garden?”
The Apartment Seeker: I’ve heard they’re supposed to build this complex that gives you a laundry room, places to exercise, places to shop. I’m hoping I’m a candidate. If [Atlantic Yards] is going to bring back a certain culture and standard we had years ago, I think that’s great.”
The Mother: “I’ve seen renderings where the skyscrapers would cast shadows over a third of the park, covering the entire playground, for half of the day. I can’t imagine that the grass would be as green or it would be as nice a place to hang out. If there’s more traffic in the area, it’s just more dangerous. It’s not the type of situation I imagined raising a child in.”
The Business Hopeful: “What I’ve been hearing is they’ll help individuals who want to open small businesses in the footprint of the project, whether by reducing the rent or helping you with a business plan. If I can get in with help in terms of rent and the development of my dream, I’m with it.”
Hey 8:04- If you talk to the low-income residents immediately around the Ratner footprint (they are African-American, Hispanic, and a few are white), they are 90% opposed to Ratner. Some of them even have signs up. Go talk to them- they may not know too much about DDDB, but they know a lying developer when they see one.
I’ve spoken to several people who went to the Ratner affordable housing session a few months ago. They were all disappointed. For these people, Ratner did a better job disproving his promises than DDDB ever did.
8:04pm, I think spending 10 minutes every 2 days on Brownstoner is hardly like I “sit around and blog”. I am participating in a discussion about the community in which I live. Nothing wrong with that. How was I giving that guy an “order”? HE is the fascist who is bullying people and squashing any discussion of the project on EVERY SINGLE AY THREAD ON THIS SITE. Over and over. As for me, I will say what I want, when I want and question this and anything all I want. Deal with it.
Hey, 8:04am poster, you’re right to be concerned about people living in the tenements on Dean St because — in spite of what FCR have said publicly — these tenants have no protection. But you’re mistaken to suggest that these folks are being passive about their fate or that local AY opposition groups haven’t reached out to them. Both have happened. And there’s a very active block association on Dean St, to boot. If you haven’t yet, perhaps you might want to get involved too!
Carltonboy is spot on. Even if the affordable housing is built, and built quickly, it will be a drop in the bucket with respect to the demographic change (from an income perspective) to the neighborhood. It will be instant gentrification and anyone who is not well off or does not own their property will end up having to move because of rent increases. I also agree with Carltonboy that Fulton Mall will ultimately be completely transformed.
Whether, in the end, you think that is unfair or a bad thing obviously depends on your personal situation and view on gentrification and socioeconomic disparity issues – but don’t delude yourself, Carltonboy’s assessment is exactly what will happen if (and probably when) AY is built.
Am I not getting something here? Everyone keeps talking about the little people. THe little people are also the poor hispanics living down Dean St in tenements next to Newswalk and further towards Vanderbilt. They don’t have AY propaganda pictures in their windows like the “homeowners” all around the project do. Their not black, their not white. Maybe D-O-N-E-D-E-A-L is tired of sitting around waiting from “orders” or “comments” from moreons like you afterall don’t you just sit around and blog? P.S. The folks mentioned earlier in the tenements. Do they get subsidies or just DDDb people. Maybe the head of DDDb can split his pie with them. No subsidy for you!
Did anyone else notice that not a single one of the 9 people interviewed were listed as living in Prospect Heights? The bulk were Fort Greene or Crown Heights residents. I understand that AY affects several neighborhoods, but how about asking those who actually live here?
What’s with the freak who keeps posting “DONE DEAL” on every thread about AY?? Okay dude, we get it, everyone is just supposed to never think. Never question. Never discuss. We’ll just sit in front of our TV like zombies, like you. Waiting for Big Brother to give you your marching orders.
all the gentrifiers who haven’t been able to settle in the area already are licking their chops at the prospects of an appartment in AY. gentrification is going to SLAM INTO OVERDRIVE the second this thing gets built folks, and the very people who Ratner has fooled with promised jobs and affordable housing are gonna be SENT PACKING. mark my words. and these people are gonna be screaming and crying and blaming all of the opposition groups for delaying Ratner and costing him money so he couldn’t deliver on his promises, etc. yeah, they’re going to blame the opposition! but the real reason Ratner won’t be delivering is that in the end he has no desire to help other people, his plan is to MAKE OBSCENE AMOUNTS OF MONEY and he cares not about the little person except to garner their support by false promises (because he needs support on the face of things). and furthermore, after the AY deal gets settled watch and see what happens to Fulton Mall. there is no way that the people who are strong-arming AY into existence don’t have a grand plan for Fulton Mall. wait and see, we’re all going to be spectators as downtown Brooklyn as we know it gets completely scraped from the face of the earth.
According to the Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods (CBN), more than 60% of the “affordable” housing will be reserved for people earning $42-113k pa, while just under 40% will go to people earning $21-35k pa. Also, when you consider ALL the housing, ie. factoring in the much larger, market-rate portion, 64% of the residents of AY will earn more than $113k. Currently, only 11% of Prospect Heights residents have this kind of earning power. Need one say more about instant gentrification?