Friday, January 19, 2007

"Lure for business investment" or urban nightmare?

From the Queens Tribune: Looks like someone in our government is actually thinking about the impact that upzoning southeastern Queens would have on other parts of the borough!

Project’s North Neighbors Reject Plan

Wow, you mean more people in Jamaica means more headaches for surrounding areas? Do you think City Planning thought of this?

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Once again, tried and true....... Luring "business investments".....a new twist on "urban renewal & Black removal". Notice, once again , how the "privileged folks" (i.e Jamaica Estates) are concerned (as it seems) only with how things affect their own interests!

Anonymous said...

I always love how they make 'compromises' on development schemes. Ask the folks in Williamsburg: after the 'compromise' (which just opens the door to development in general) you get 'variances' (always on the side of more development) which means the developers get 85% of what they want anyway.

Anonymous said...

Good point.

The compromise process is also a good tactic to split the community because a portion that went ahead with the negoations then embraces the new development scheme as their own.

Anonymous said...

True enough, and if development is presented as 'inevitable,' then those that went ahead with the 'compromise' are presented as the 'sensible' people within the community.

Add to this climate the politicians, community board and newspapers encouraging the 'process' and the net result is the public input is all but meaningless in the end.

Anonymous said...

I know Paul Graziano of Associated Cultural Resource Consultants and I believe he does a great job.

The danger is that he seems to be the only person in the entire borough to do this work. Every community that does a review hires just one man.

A borough the size of Queens should have serveral people involved in this process. If Paul should decide to move on, or perhaps change interests, the county would be in trouble.

We need more people like him. It is not a good idea to rely on one person for every job.

Once the preservation movement in Queens takes off (and it will) one measure of its maturity and depth is when there are sereral groups doing the same things as in Manhattan or Brooklyn.

Anonymous said...

Hey Queens Crap, I have an idea. Why don't you take a western Queens over development proposal, and contrast the western Queens prodevelopment rant from the politicians and papers, with the antidevelopment comments in this proposal.

Should make for an interesting thread.

Anonymous said...

Well the public process may be meaningless in the end, but politics is mostly smoke and mirrors.

If the public feels good about something, even if it harms them, then the real inpact this has on their lives is not signifcant or important, is it?

Anonymous said...

Oh my goodness, what a cynic you are! Do we have a closet developer here, a gnome from of our illustrious buildings department, or a scribe from our august fourth estate?

Anonymous said...

Please be careful in what you post! We know the process and its players is a scumbag exercise, but we cannot make personal comments.

There is nothing the powerful interests would love than to find the slightest excuse to shut down the unfettered voice of the people.

Please be careful!!

Anonymous said...

Point taken! However silence in this case is not golden!