WHO WOULD NOT WANT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR COMMUNITY RESIDENTS WHO ARE IN NEED?
The Atlantic Yards Project (AYP) is bringing Job Opportunities, Environmental Assurances, Small Business Opportunities, Educational Initiatives, Housing, Opportunities for Public Housing Residents, Community Amenities and Facilities to the Community.
- Should average "regular" community folk’s opinions count?
- How does one determine whose opinion(s) are more urgent and/or significant than others?
- What makes folk think that they have all the answers?
- How do you feel about the Atlantic Yards Project (AYP)?
- What do you think it will do for the area?
- How will you personally benefit from the project?
- What do you feel the Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) is?
- What would you like to see the CBA accomplish?
- What changes will occur in the area as a result of the CBA?
- Do you think you will still be in the community without the AYP or do you think you will be priced out?
Silence is deadly...let your voice(s) be heard!
Don't you think you should get involved?
posted by Community Average Folk 101 @ 3:03 PM
3 Comments:
At 10:14 AM,
Anonymous said…
Hey Average chap who never met James Stuckey ever, below some comments:
1. Should average "regular" community folks opinions count? Of course, we shouldn't let the extremely high-priced PR professionals employed by Forest City Ratner dominate discussion of the project.
2. How does one determine whose opinion(s) are more urgent and/or significant than others? I think the groups that raise the greatest sums from the developer probably have the most valid opinions.
3. What makes folk think that they have all the answers? That's a zen, right? Oh no, it's not, is it. It's the first recorded use of a Markowitzism
4. How do you feel about the Atlantic Yards Project (AYP)? Like "The Warriors", it makes me nostalgic for the 70s, when such stupidity was cutting edge. Quite often I've lain awake at night and wondered "what if all of Brooklyn looked like Metro Tech?"
5. What do you think it will do for the area? Increase sewage flows into the Gowanus canal, thus preventing those idiots at Toll Brothers building stupid McMansions down there for yuppie scumbags.
6. How will you personally benefit from the project? A great deal of shade in the summer for when I'm ambling down Flatbush choosing between sports bars.
7. What do you feel the Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) is? Perhaps the greatest innovation in astroturf creation since the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.
8. What would you like to see the CBA accomplish? A high ratio of affordable housing; sustainable, and rewarding job opportunities; consideration of the traffic impact of a project; and plentiful and accessible green paces. Failing that though, providing just enough affordable housing to cover the backs of corrupt politicians; a couple of one-off construction jobs to buy off the unions; some mumbling about the subways; and private rooftop parks will do
9. What changes will occur in the area as a result of the CBA? A trick question, right. A properly written CBA governs the project, but is the project that actually does the neighborhood-destroying.
10. Do you think you will still be in the community without the AYP or do you think you will be priced out? I dunno, those condos Mr. Ratner wants to build seem awfully expensive. But i'll probably line up behind the yuppies whose homes he destroyed.
At 6:33 PM,
Dope on the Slope said…
1. Should average "regular" community folk’s opinions count?
I'm "irregular," does that rule me out. What if I start eating prunes? Besides, you can't count opinions, you can only count money. Just who decides the parameters that qualify a community member as "regular" or "average?"
2. How does one determine whose opinion(s) are more urgent and/or significant than others?
"One" doesn't. The media decide which opinions get coverage and are shed in a favorable light. Personally, I would like to debate this project based on facts first, and then debate conclusions after everyone agrees on the same basic set of facts. The problem with this project is that the facts keep changing, and there is no local representation or oversight.
3. What makes folk think that they have all the answers?
Lack of contradictory evidence, or insecurity, or, most importantly, asking the wrong questions. The developer and elected officials have only themselves to blame for the character and intensity of the opposition to this project. They've gone about the whole thing backwards.
4. How do you feel about the Atlantic Yards Project (AYP)?
A completely bungled opportunity to develop a vital piece of underutilized real estate (the railyards) that could truly be a win-win for the developer, the city, and local residents. As it is currently envisioned, I think it will be a cultural, political and economic disaster. I hope it gets stopped or significantly changed.
5. What do you think it will do for the area?
Set the wrong precedent for developing Brooklyn, and totally overwhelm the infrastructure. Long-term, it could lead to even more blight and stagnation because it is a single point of failure. One landlord + one architect = one formula for success. If they get it even slightly wrong, and the assumptions behind their "planning" don't hold, then we've got a huge, taxpayer funded corpse of a white elephant on our hands that will be more expensive to redevelop than the current site.
6. How will you personally benefit from the project?
Hard to say. Would I enjoy increased gridlock and traffic noise? Or am I more excited about straining the sewage system? Maybe it's the increased police and fire response times that really excite me. Of course, there's always the possibility of an open checkbook from the Brooklyn taxpayer.
6. What do you feel the Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) is?
I have no earthly idea. To paraphrase question 2 "How does one determine who represents the community?" "Should the people who actually live in and around the proposed footprint have any say at all?"
7. What would you like to see the CBA accomplish?
Contractual guarantees on housing and job creation, with penalties for non-achievement and incentives for exceeding targets.
Build a consensus with ALL stakeholders in Brooklyn, including those who will be most affected by the changes brought on by the development.
A majority of the jobs created should provide wages that qualify the job holder to purchase or rent a unit in the new development. If the jobs are merely temporary or aren't minimum wage, then the developer hasn't earned the subsidy.
8. What changes will occur in the area as a result of the CBA?
Very little, unless the CBA is re-opened.
9. Do you think you will still be in the community without the AYP or do you think you will be priced out?
Do you'll still be in the community if AYP get's built or will Bruce Ratner use the police powers of the state to seize your home?
Do you still beat your spouse?
Do you prefer DDDB's community based approach to planning and development or are you a satanist?
Gimme a break.
The questions are loaded, but at least you are asking.
Thanks for the opportunity.
At 7:29 PM,
concerned citizen said…
dope on the slope, you made a good point who has the right to say whose opinion is right or wrong. That is why it is important for all voices to be heard. Just because someone may be of a particular race or class doesn't mean that they can't make qualified decisions. This project has brought some negative attacks from all camps and we should stick to our issuses with the project in the hopes that there can be some resolution. Our positions may vary due to our priorities, should we abandon our cause no, but being civil to each other is a necessity.
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