Thursday, December 13, 2007

Brooklyn pols caught tweeding

Brownstoner has the lowdown on plans for preserving the Navy Yard's Officers Row houses and building a supermarket that the community needs. Notice the predictable attempt at tweeding by the local pols!

"I am very much in favor of preserving the rich heritage of historical buildings in Brooklyn, but not at the expense of meeting the needs of the people of Brooklyn for fresh produce and jobs." - Albert Vann

...The problem with the political rhetoric like the quotation from Council Member Vann, in our view, is that it frames the issue as an either-or proposition, and in so doing tries to press familiar class and race buttons that do nothing to further meaningful discussion. This tactic tries to equate an interest in preserving the existing structures with wanting to deprive lower-income people of fresh vegetables. The truth is that this is not an either-or issue. No one on the preservation side of the debate that we've talked to is against building a supermarket. If you were a resident of one of the nearby projects, however, that's certainly the impression you'd get from listening to the public leaders.


Officers' Row: Let's Have Our Cake and Eat It Too

Thank you, Brownstoner!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good for you, Crappie. The politicians regularly go for race baiting and everyone gives them a pass.

To hear them talk on ethnic voting patterns (they claim they orchestrate) the day after elections is disgusting.

Good job, crappie!

Anonymous said...

Those Houses are nice, but I can imagine the avaricious land grab the elected will visit upon the housing that was once humble military housing.