Making Atlantic Yards a Black-and-White Issue
The map that ran with the Atlantic Yards article in yesterday’s Times was pretty neat. Not that the results were particularly surprising (they were about what you’d expect) but it was particularly interesting for us to see that Fort Greene and Clinton Hill, which get so much press for being so racially mixed are still…
The map that ran with the Atlantic Yards article in yesterday’s Times was pretty neat. Not that the results were particularly surprising (they were about what you’d expect) but it was particularly interesting for us to see that Fort Greene and Clinton Hill, which get so much press for being so racially mixed are still predominantly black on a pure numbers basis. As for the article, it wasn’t much fun being reminded of the appalling amount of race-baiting that’s gone on in battle for the hearts and minds of Brooklyn residents over the Atlantic Yards issue. We thought Brad Lender from PACC summed everything up the best:
If you live nearby, you have a nice home and you have a job, you’re probably not that excited by the benefits, and you’re swamped by the drawbacks. If you live a little farther away, and you don’t have a job and a nice house, then you probably get a lot more of the benefits. None of that is about race per se. But when you layer on that the people who live nearby are more likely to be whiter and wealthier, and the people who live farther out are more likely to be people of color without good jobs or housing, the race elements have become stronger.
We agree. It’s much more about class than race. It just happens to be that economic stratification in the neighborhoods surrounding Atlantic Yards happens to occur along racial lines so it’s a convenient lever for the powers-that-be to try to manipulate.
AY Development Through the Prism of Race [NY Times]
Oh no! Not people from Ohio and Arkansas; that’s where all the racists live!
I’ll bet Clinton Hill and Fort Greene are far whiter today in 2006 than they were in 2000. That map would look completely different today.
I can’t believe anyone would actually conclude Fort Greene and Clinton Hill weren’t predominantly black neighborhoods.
The comment at 12:57PM was made by the troll.
anonymous 11:53 is spot on in their comments. I attended the public meetings and would guess that 90% of those speaking in favor of the AY were being paid to do so.
anon 12:29 PM. You win! (: >
Now let’s see what else constructive you can do with your day…or with your life for that matter.
The anon post at 12:25 is obviously the troll.
anon 12:13 PM (aka troll). It’s enlightening and revealing that you didn’t request intervention against your dear friend Eryximachus. However, you do have a vested interest in silencing other voices that rise in disagreement to your divisive sentiments. Sounds to me like you’re safely and firmly ensconced in the camp of the Neo Nazi. Somehow, I doubt that your real solutions involves something as innocuous as blocking an IP address.
Well, “Welcome Wagon”, I had in mind a less dramatic, but vastly more constructive, intervention by Mr. B. Trolls aren’t welcome here…sorry!