The Failure of Metrotech, Eminent Domain and All
In the latest issue of urban-planning mag City Journal, writer Nicole Gelinas examines the role of eminent domain in the creation and destruction of cities. In the process, she looks back on the failed experiment known as Metrotech: Nearly two decades ago, Gotham decided to build a walled camp in the middle of a lower-class…
In the latest issue of urban-planning mag City Journal, writer Nicole Gelinas examines the role of eminent domain in the creation and destruction of cities. In the process, she looks back on the failed experiment known as Metrotech:
Nearly two decades ago, Gotham decided to build a walled camp in the middle of a lower-class area of Brooklyn to lock white-collar jobs in. This project would accomplish two goals, pols thought. In addition to keeping jobs in New York, Metrotech would spark further development in a slummy neighborhood that never had grown on its own, despite its proximity to lower Manhattan. City and state officials used eminent domain to displace 250 owners and tenants so that developer Bruce Ratner could build the suburban-style office campus.
Metrotech tenants have received about $270 million in state and city subsidies (of which more than $200 million went to JPMorgan Chase). But Metrotech hasn’t kept the nation’s financial-services jobs in New York…Nor has Metrotech, completely cut off from the surrounding streetscape, encouraged the growth of an unsubsidized business community in its neighborhood. Metrotech is what it was when it opened: a suburban-style office campus carved out of inner-city downtown Brooklyn.
We actually don’t know that much about Metrotech–does everyone agree that it is an unmitigated disaster?
Taking Away Your Property for What? [City Journal]
4 Metrotech Center Photo [Scott Murphy]
Metrotech also houses Polytechnic University which just built a dorm across the street from it. No, I don’t think its a total success but at least its an attempt to put some jobs other than retail in downtown Brooklyn.
Metrotech is virtually completely rented to NYS and NYC governement agencies (including the NYPD mentioned above) at ABOVE market rents — your tax dollars at work for Bruce Ratner. The surrounding neighborhood remains gross and totally unchanged by the addition of this isolationist wanna-be suburban office campus in its midst, as workers there arrive in the am, eat lunch in the buildings’ cafeterias, then go home to the suburbs where most of them live. It’s certainly not investment bankers working there, nor is it people who have decided to move to Brooklyn. Just a foretaste of what this man wants to do to the Atlantic Yards (with the help of our elected officials and the MTA).
Yes mostly back-office and as such has become even more desirable as part of Biz-continuity planning after 9/11 (different power grid).
But dont let back-office fool you – we are talking about operations departments and IT departments – while maybe not multi-million dollar annual salaries – these are professional high paying/high skill jobs
Is it mostly back office functions of those Wall Street firms? Just curious. Never heard of any investment bankers working there…
Unmitigated disaster – hardly! It is virtually completly rented, includes the most successful Marriott Hotel in the country and as stated by OE, Metrotech has brought thousands of good jobs to Brooklyn and many of those people were Brooklynites or became Brooklynites by virtue of being exposed to an area of the city they wouldnt have ordinarily been exposed to. Yes it is too closed off – but Brooklyn during the late 80’s was alot different and a campus layout was more viable at that time. However, it isnt really ‘suburban style’ at all, as there are virtually no parking lots, nor is it gated in anyway. It is more like a World Financial Center/WTC kinda thing ( not my ideal but far from some NJ Office complex).
As for not keeping the Financial Services industry in NYC – this is truly a dumb criticism. Metrotech still (2 decades later) retains such Firms as JP Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Bear Sterns, Golman Sachs and the Securities Industry Automoation Corporation. Seems like Metrotech is still delivering the promise it was built upon.
Pre-Metrotech, the neighborhood included the Myrtle Avenue elevated subway line, and lots of small mom & pop type stores on Myrtle Avenue itself. On Lawrence St, there was the annex building of St. Joseph High School, plus the Parmentier Mansion on Willoughby that housed the Sisters of St. Joseph who taught at the School (I was a student there, so I remember when). Aside from these two buildings, I don’t think anything of great value was lost when Metrotech was built. In fact, it probably went a long way towards cleaning up a very scruffy, gritty, dirty area of downtown.
without reading the article, and it may be good I have to say that Nicole Gelinas may be the worst overall columnist in NYC(steve dunleavy not withstanding) . who cares about this ? 27 year old conservative rants and idiotic opinions in the Post. she would be better off getting a job as an aide for scooter libby.
I was one of the first workers in Metrotech when it opened because I was part of a technology planning team for one of the corp tenants. I watched the buildings go up one by one.
IMO, Metrotech is really cool. It’s not like there was much there to displace. Perhaps the disparager is measuring its success against expectations. But, I certainly would not see it as a failure. I has brought lots of high-paying white-collar jobs to Brooklyn and will probably form the anchor of future development in the area.
disaster is a bit harsh…having a large number of well-paid white collar jobs in downtown brooklyn has to help in other ways e.g. some of those people will want to live or spend $$ in the borough..
I don’t know what was there before, but if it was like the rest of downtown, I can’t see how it was much of a loss.
Fact or urban legand I heard once: that metrotech had the largest concentration of security guards in NYC when it opened.. given people’s misperceptions of Brooklyn plus that it houses SIAC (the building with the 24hr police presence), I can believe it.