Minerva Versus Scarano, Revisited
The battle over the statue of Minerva’s view of the Statue of Liberty is still raging, according to NY1. As discussed in this space before, residents around Greenwood Cemetary are concerned about the planned development at the corner of 23rd Street and 7th Avenue. Architect Robert Scarano says he has redesigned the building’s line of…
The battle over the statue of Minerva’s view of the Statue of Liberty is still raging, according to NY1. As discussed in this space before, residents around Greenwood Cemetary are concerned about the planned development at the corner of 23rd Street and 7th Avenue. Architect Robert Scarano says he has redesigned the building’s line of site in response to the community outcry to allow for the view, and he says he may even go one step further and use scaffolding to create a life-size mockup at the site, hoping to get approval from the cemetery, which he claims he really doesn’t need. What’s the matter people, you don’t take Scarano at his word that he has the community’s best interests at heart?
Old Brooklyn Battlefield Site Of New Conflict [NY1]
A View to be Killed [Brownstoner]
Brownstoner:
Scarano’s response, and I am presuming it really is him, demonstrates that you really have made it!
I’ve read far more — on this site, in the mainstream media, and pretty much any other Brooklyn-related media — about the Ratner development in Prospect Heights than about the Scarano development in Greenwood. Way more. Just because people protesting Scarano aren’t appending, “Oh, and by the way, we’re also against the Ratner development in Prospect Heights, which is is way more important than our issue!” doesn’t mean they’re oblivious to it.
I have a thought why people are concerned about this issue. Because they live there. They are understandably concerned with development issues that most directly affect them.
And I think the problem with some of the opposition to Ratner in Prospect Heights is — and I’ve said this before — that it’s expressed pretty much in terms oof what it will do to one neighborhood, the one immediately surrounding the site. If you want people in other neighborhoods to support you, you need to persuade them that the development will directly affect them for the worse.
It is not enough to say — as you seem to imply above — that if it happens to you, then they’ll be next. If I lived in Greenwood Heights, I’d say, “hey, I do have a problem in my own backyard, and I’m focusing on that.” Likewise, if you try to argue that people should focus on the ratner development because, essentially, the problem in your backyard is worse than the one in theirs, so they should focus on your problem first, you will get very, very little sympathy.
I understand why folks are upset about this and I agree with them. But something’s missing. Why are so many Brooklynites rallying to this cause while seemingly oblivious to what’s happening in other parts of the borough. Maybe I’m too touchy because I live in Prospect Heights, but it feels like many folks still aren’t aware of what’s at stake. An entire neighborhood will be overlooked by 17-20 high rise buildings, most of them between 35-45 stories high and at least one soaring to over 60 stories. It’s a horror story! And it looks like this pattern of “development out of control” is only gathering speed in Brooklyn — witness the Brooklyn Heights waterfront development, the expansion of Metro Tech, changes in Red Hook and the rebuilding of the Greenpoint-Williamsburg waterfront. Sorry to hijack concern over the Greenwood Cemetery view but the big picture is starting to look very scary and everyone who’s concerned about quality of life Brooklyn had better get mobilized soon!