A Proposal

Hello Everyone:

It is a sunny Tuesday afternoon in the blogosphere and Yours Truly is here with you. A big shout out to Speaker of The House-in waiting Representative Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) who took it to Mr. Donald Trump. During a very contentious meeting at the White House, part of which was recorded by the press for posterity, the president tried to throw shade on Rep. Pelosi by saying she didn't quite have all the votes she needed to regain the Speaker's gavel, insinuating she was in a weak position. Rep. Pelosi ever so sweetly replied Mr. President, please don't characterize the strength I bring to this meeting as a leader of the House Democrats.  Mic drop.

Moving on 

Yesterday, Yours Truly got involved in a conversation thread about inequality. One of the points Blogger brought up some points about gentrification.  Another point Blogger brought up is the concept of community-based interventions to stave off displacement. Perhaps no place has experienced the full force of gentrification than Brooklyn, New York. Brooklyn has become ground zero for every sort of gentrification signifier: yoga/Pilates studio, coffee place, art galleries, exclusive boutiques, artisanal food establishments, and so forth. Lost in the in the flood are the people and places that Brooklyn so attractive to begin with. One community, East New York, Brooklyn, has found a remedy to encroaching gentrification.

East New York, Brooklyn is one of the poorest pockets of New York City.  In June 2014, Civic Report published a study by the Manhattan Institute, Poverty And Progress in New York I: Conditions in New York City's Poorest Neighborhoods, that surveyed low-income neighborhoods in New York City's five boroughs, including East New York, between 1980 and 2012.  In 1980 East New York's population was 154,931 and 182,896 people in 2012.  The median income in 1980 was $7,086 and $31,986 in 2012 (manhattan-institute.org; Dec. 11, 2018). Compare this to Park Slope, Red Hook, Brooklyn's change in median income: In 1980 it was $12,237 and $87,896 between 2010-12; a 149.9 percent change (Ibid). 

For decades, Reverand A.R. Bernard (nytimes.com; May 21, 2009; date accessed Dec. 11, 2018), the pastor of the mega-church Christian Cultural Center, had a vision for the underutilized plot of land near Jamaica Bay. His dream was to build an urban village composed of affordable housing, local shops, and a new performing arts center (Ibid; Dec. 10, 2018). The dream may be finally coming true. 

The Rev. Bernard has joined forces with Gotham, a real estate developer, to transform the plot in the village with "...nine residential buildings with 2,100 units for very low to middle-income residents, as well as a school, a grocery store and on-site services for seniors" (Ibid). 

Rev. Bernard told The New York Times,

The mind-set in inner-city conditions is doing everything you can to get and not come back,.... Here you're talking about 'Wow.  I want to stay.  I want to experience this community. There's a future. There's hope' (Ibid)

The development would be the most ambitious undertaking in the Brooklyn area, that has seen a spike in construction. Luis Ferré-Saduri wrote in his article "To Fight Gentrification, a Brooklyn Pastor Plan to Build 2,100 Apartment," "In 2016, a section of East New York was the first area to be rezoned [nyc.gov; date accessed Dec. 11, 2018] under Mayor Bill de Blasio's strategy to promote affordable housing and spark economic development in blighted neighborhoods" (Ibid).

Mayor de Blasio's rezoning plan faced fierce opposition from residents, who feared East New York would end up like nearby gentrified Williamsburg.  The new apartment buildings would attract more affluent newcomers, displace longtime residents, and change the character of the neighborhood. 

East New York has attracted developers: "It trails only Long Island City in the number of permits [labs.localize.city; Sept. 14, 2018; date accessed Dec. 11, 2018] to build new apartments that have been approved between July 2017 and July 2018" (nytimes.com; Dec. 10, 2018; date accessed Dec. 11, 2018). 

The majority of the developments scheduled for construction (citylimits.org; Apr. 6, 2018; date accessed Dec. 11, 2018) align with the city's policy (www1.nyc.gov; June 2017; date accessed Dec. 11, 2018) to finance building that 100 percent affordable. Mr. Ferré-Saduri writes, "But many residents feat it is only a matter of time before rents go up, enticing developers to construct luxury buildings with market-rate units" (nytimes.com; Dec. 10, 2018; date accessed Dec. 11, 2018). 

The site next to Rev. A.R. Bernard's mega-church is two miles south of a section that was rezoned two years ago.  The 96,000-square-foot Christian Cultural Center was built on land purchased in the nineties from the former owners of the property next, Starret City (Ibid; Oct. 31, 2017), "the nation's largest federally subsidized apartment complex" (Ibid; Dec. 10, 2018). Rev. Bernard has long been a vocal supporter (Ibid; Apr. 6, 2007) of "preserving the affordability of the 5,582 apartments at the complex and was even immersed in a group that tried to buy it" (Ibid; Dec. 10, 2018)

Rev. Bernard said, "...his new development would act as a bulwark against gentrification.  Construction workers would be hired locally, much of the retail space would be reserved for local entrepreneurs and there were no tenants to displace..." (Ibid). Specifically,

The gentrification of Brooklyn is not the future,... It's happening now, and I think that this is a very creative response to that reality. (Ibid)

Plans for the development call for curbless streets that lead to the center of the complex where the church, the school, a 299-seat theater, and community center ring a green quad akin to university complexes. The ground floor shops of the residential buildings, primarily face the public streets around the perimeter. 

Vishaan Chakrabarti, the founder of the design firm PAU, told The New York Times,

We need to rebuild an infrastructure of opportunity in this country,... All of the things that creates social mobility, whether it's affordable housing, cultural institutions, health care, education--this project is about all of that. That was very fundamental for us. (Ibid)

Construction would take place over a ten-year period and not begin until mid-2020. Before any building can take place place, the project must still pass the New York City's public review process, which includes comments from the local board and City Council's approval.  The entire process can take between six to eight months (Ibid; Mar. 15, 2018).

New York City Councilmember Inez Barron, whose district includes the church, called the plan "ambitious and had great potential" (Ibid; Dec. 10, 2018). Ms. Barron was intially concerned about the proposed building heights, which were eventually modified: "Most will be 13 to 15 stories high, lower than the looming towers of Starret City" (Ibid). 

Councilmember Barron's biggest concern is that the units may not be genuinely affordable to those who need them. Luis Ferré-Saduri reports, "The project would be a mix of income-based apartments for the residents making 30 to 130 percent of the area's median income, or $28,170 to $122,070 [www1.nyc.gov; date accessed Dec. 11, 2018] for a three-person family in the New York City region" (Ibid). 

Councilmember Barron also noted "that the median household income in East New York, which has one of the largest [icphusa.org; June 2016; date accessed Dec. 11, 2018] proportions of homeless families, is significantly low: $34,512. [www1.nyc.gov; July 10, 2015; date accessed Dec. 11, 2018]. And more than a third of families [Ibid] there might not qualify for an apartment because they fall below the 30 percent threshold and are considered 'extremely low-income'" (nytimes.com; Dec. 10, 2018). She said,

I think that housing in East New York should be affordable to the people that live in East New York,... We don't have a siginificant amount of people that live at the 130 percent of area median income. (Ibid)

Although most of the residents support the project, in deference to Rev. Bernard's position, some remain skeptical. One of the skeptics is Daniel Sedney, who told The Times, How many more buildings do you need in this neighborhood? (Ibid). Mr. Sedney continued, 

Affordable housing has turned out to be a lot of garbage. A lot of it is for middle income people.  (Ibid)

Rev. Bernard cited the deterioration of New York City public housing as an example of he benefits of mixed-income buildings--where the higher rent units subsidize the lower rent units--were one of the ways of creating a model for housing.  He said,

We cannot warehouse one income level,... The only way that we can change the community and respond to gentrification of Brooklyn is to have a mixture of income in our communities. We have to create an environment where a manufacturing worker can live down the hall from a doctor and lawyer,mor some other individual who is a professional.  (Ibid)

Gotham Organization executive Vice President Bryan Kelly said, "it was too early to determine how many units would be set aside for each income band" (Ibid).  He noted that according to a city law (Ibid; Mar. 22, 2016) passed in 2016, over 30 percent of the units would permantly stay extremely affordable for tenants in the lowest income bracket. All the units would fall under rent control.  Mr. Kelly said, If we can adapt in any way, we will,... (Ibid; Dec. 10, 2018)

Brooklyn Community Board 5 chairperson Andre T. Mitchell said, "he was grateful he developers met with him early in the process and was impressed by the aspects of the plan that addressed social ills" (Ibid). He joins Councilmember Barron in voicing his concern that affordability was a priority, to make sure that it's a win-win for everybody.  (Ibid). He said,

As a board, we understand that East New York is the new ground zero of all these new developments,... There is still a lot of apprehension in the community.  Often, we hear one thing and it's something else that's done. Developers have also played Three-card Monte with us, and often times they don't come through.  (Ibid). He added,

We have to make sure that promises made are kept.  (Ibid)