Sparks Fly over Bailout for Downtown Development
At a public hearing on Thursday, debate arose over the plan to grant CityPoint, the stalled Downtown development, $20 million in tax-exempt stimulus bonds. The proposed development, on the Fulton Mall, would include retail and office space as well as mixed-income housing, and supporters of the project, including Borough President Marty Markowitz, say that it…
At a public hearing on Thursday, debate arose over the plan to grant CityPoint, the stalled Downtown development, $20 million in tax-exempt stimulus bonds. The proposed development, on the Fulton Mall, would include retail and office space as well as mixed-income housing, and supporters of the project, including Borough President Marty Markowitz, say that it will bring jobs to the area, boost the local economy, and promote further development in the area. Seth Pinsky, president of the city’s Economic Development Corporation and chair of its Capital Resource Corporation, the group that will decide on the stimulus request on Tuesday, told The Brooklyn Paper that the bonds will cost $308,000 in tax revenues over 30 years, but the project will generate $340,000 in construction-related tax revenues, $5.7 million in tax revenue from ongoing operations, and the creation of 100 construction jobs and about 70 permanent retail jobs in the portion of the development built from stimulus dollars. Opponents say that the developers don’t deserve a bailout for a risk that bottomed out, and they question how much the project would actually benefit the neighborhood: the jobs created are of low quality; national retailers might displace local merchants; and the affordable housing will still be too expensive for some low-income families in the area. John Tyus, a member of Families United for Racial and Economic Equality, told the Paper, “Fundamentally, this project does nothing to benefit the Brooklyn community, and this is a straight-up Bloomberg bailout of developers who speculated and made poor financial decisions.” GMAP
Foes and Supports Clash over $20-mil Fed Bailout [Brooklyn Paper]
City Point Gets Financing Boost from The Feds [Brownstoner]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xe1a1wHxTyo
🙂
“this week he’s mopping the floor next week it’s the fries”
Coming to America/Kayne West
Will this development have parking? I’m all for helping the poor, but not for subsidizing anyone’s parking spot.
Wow, this is some thread.
1. One of the few times I agree w Rob
2. One of the few times I disagree with MM.
3. One of the few times I agree w Benson.
“Or that their situation is because they didn’t finish high school, something you don’t even know to be true. What kind of job can you get with just high school, anyway? Answer, a minimum wage job.”
MM, I’m sorry you are just so wrong. And arkady, I’ll tell you what is wrong with ‘Nickled and Dimed’
First thing, MM, you have not defined what the alternative is. But it seems that it would be some kind of demeaning public assistance.
MM, I didn’t finish HS either. I came from an abusive family and got the hell out at 15-1/2, mainly cuz I knew that it would be six months for the truant officers could catch up with me, then I’d be sixteen and legally able to drop out. So my formal education ended in the middle of the tenth grade. (sure, I got my GED ASAP).
I lived in welfare hotels where the whole floor shared a shower, and everyone was a loan shark, a stickup kid, or a drug pusher. Or a complete loser.
I had been delivering groceries since I was ten, so I knew the retail food biz. I knew I was smart and could make it if I worked hard. (As someone else pointed out, education and intelligence are usually but not always related)
I broke my effin’ ass to impress my superiors, the customers, and whoever else needed impressing. It worked for me. When I was 17, I was an assistant manager at Daitch Shopwell, even before I was legally responsible for the money I was handling. I was a full store manager for D’Agostinos before I was 19. I was making 22k a year back in 1973, enuf to live in a brand new apt on the UWS, eat out whenever, own a car, have subscriptions to various cultural events. I was living life to the fullest, as they say, and loving it.
At the same time I freely admit to being the beneficiary of white privilege and have often wondered if I would have been as successful if I were not white. Still, that’s less an issue today then it was in the 1970s when I was doing my thing.
Yeah, from retail food I moved on to other things, and ultimately owned my own biz, which is the best alternative to a lack of a degree.
fsrq, you’re the man today.
People who are taught by certain elements of the community that these entry level jobs are beneath respect are being paid a terrible dis-service. Fortunately, most of them instinctively realize it. And they get on line for these jobs anyway.
Arkady, the problem with ‘Nickled and Dimed’ is that Ehrenreich followed each person for only six months. Therefore none of them got the opportunity to work themselves out of a low level position. If she were to revisit them every five years it would be more interesting. But it would probably ruin her thesis.
winelover- my family background is also poor immigrant, and my father started working at 10 to help support the family. The only thing he and my mother were adamant about was that we go to college. On that there was no discussion allowed.
Without saying this excuses anything, but there are indeed people who are handed a bad hand. I know several with nightmare life stories. Some have done ok for themselves and others have not. But when you raise a kid in an environment where education is not valued, or you strip them of hope, the majority will not exceed anyone’s expectations, least of all their own. But having worked with kids in one of my jobs I will stay maintain that a demeaning work environment (not the work- the work environment)will do damage because it makes people feel nothing is appreciated. YOu catch more flies with honey than vinegar. There are ways to instill pride of work in someone.
“IMHO it is arrogant attitude to simply pity those who earn less then you and assume they can’t get any higher. ”
Of course I can’t speak for MM but I do know her- as most people here well know- and frankly both of you, going by that sentence you just wrote are saying the basically the same thing. the last thing MM does is pity someone or assume they can’t go higher because her life story is proof of that. You are both making basically the same argument but from opposite approaches.
Who knew? 🙂
my job at mcdonalds was one of two i had when i was young. the other was selling pizzas door to door. I also had several administrative jobs usually while working in a bar at night.
OF COURSE menial jobs teach you about work! we have free interns working here at my office everyday. sometimes more than one because these people want to learn how business works. my parents insisted that i could only stay in school if i got good grades and if i wanted money, i had to go make it.
i in no way believe that anyone in america has been dealt a bad hand. it’s total BS. you have to go to school, and work work work. no one in my family on either side had an easy start. i come from super poor immigrants. my grandfather grew up with a step father who beat him, but somehow managed to become not only a track star but also an oral surgeon. my dad lost his brother as a child and both his parents died young, that was after my grandfather lost everything and created a ruinous home environment due to his alcoholism. my father is an attorney with his own firm.
no welfare, no handouts saved my family from a life of nothingness.
Bxgrl – “You called MM arrogant for making a point you didn’t agree with. But I think it’s a mistake to think that poor work attitude is what keeps people in low level jobs when I’ve seen so much of it at higher levels as well.”
Except I never said anything like this…
I said MM had an arrogant attitude(after she called my opinion “crap” btw) for saying “”Yes, working at McD’s will teach you the skill of showing up on time, how to flip burgers, work the fryer, and mop the floor, but that hardly translates into getting any kind of job that involves more marketable skills that mean ever getting out of poverty.And standing bored behind the scarf counter at Daffy’s, or the checkout at Pathmark won’t do much for you either.”
IMHO it is arrogant attitude to simply pity those who earn less then you and assume they can’t get any higher.
My view is that these jobs are necessary for some (those without the training, education, connections or experience) to begin to move higher (maybe not to the “boardroom but certainly higher than MM seems to think they can).
And I never said that a poor attitude keeps people in low level jobs – but I did say that for many (not so low level) jobs, a good attitude (even if fake) and a demonstrable work history is all you really need; so while I would acknowledge that the retail businesses that would likely end up at Citypoint (the point) cant supply someone with a good (or fake) attitude – it can give someone the necessary work history – which IS important, and why you shouldnt poo-po additional jobs like this.
Words matter and I generally use mine carefully – please stop putting other words in my mouth (so to speak)
nsr- I am a freelancer and I’ve worked in a lot of different situations. My first big job was for Freeport Mining when I came home after college. I loved the people, hated the corporate world. Just because you and I disagree on this issue, is no reason for you to assume I have no experience in business. And see my above post- I don’t think retail is demeaning either. Unfortunately other people do.