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. 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.”