Sunday, November 4, 2018

Sometimes you just can't win (even when you do)

From Politico:

On hyper-local issues, however, upstairs-downstairs divides can become acute—and the symbolic positions that feel good on a national level can turn into real-world decisions that impact people’s lives. Most voters in liberal cities have seen these fights: Upscale parents in Democratic neighborhoods whose liberalism vanishes when it comes to bringing in students from poorer neighborhoods (as on Manhattan’s Upper West Side) or pooling PTA funds between richer and poorer schools (as in Santa Monica, California). This is even more common in the area of housing, and in particular affordable housing, where well-off liberals tend to lose interest in “affordability” the minute it threatens to change their neighborhoods or dent their real-estate values.

This problem played out in Queens as well, in a way that suggests the gulf between insider get-it-done politics and symbolic wins. On 82nd Street, just down the road from Crowley’s district office, developers proposed converting an abandoned movie theater into a 13-story mixed-use project with three stories of affordable units in it. Crowley was in favor of it—it meant permanent jobs at the Target that was going in on the ground floor, union construction jobs in the building of the thing, and more housing, in particular affordable housing.

Ocasio-Cortez opposed it, saying that it would bring gentrification and that the affordable housing wasn’t affordable enough. Politically, it was a winner for her: It gave her a chance to bash Crowley for being in thrall to the real estate industry. The portion of the district where it is slated to go up isn’t so much gentrifying as changing; Latinos are moving away and Asian immigrants are moving in. It has grown less white over the past decade, if anything, but she got a boost from the surrounding, whiter neighborhoods that have helped spearhead the opposition, fearing that the project was out of scale with the neighborhood and would increase vehicle and pedestrian traffic.

Ocasio-Cortez won the election, and three weeks later, the local councilman who supported the project withdrew his support. Neighborhood activists claimed victory—over the real-estate industry, over gentrification, over the old insider system.

Just one thing: The project is still going forward.

Crowley and other local elected officials had been negotiating with the developers to add more affordable housing, but once he lost, any leverage to add it to the project vanished. Legally, the developers can still build 10 stories without any go-ahead from the government—and without bringing any new affordable housing to Queens at all. Which is what the developers have suggested they intend to do.

26 comments:

Tony Notaro said...

Yes, we get it. Ocasio-Cortez hates White people.

Anonymous said...

Ok so let me get this straight. There are less whites because the Hispanics moved in and now the Hispanics are being pushed out by the Asians. But when the whites complain about these things happening, they are called racists and bigots but because Hispanics are the one ones complaining now then it's ok? A double standard in my book.

Anyway, what the city does, doesnt surprise me anymore. The city will do what it wants despite all the protests and no matter how many people rally and yell and scream. Welcome to mayor dumbdumbs era.

Anonymous said...

Anyone with common sense needs to find Joe Crowley on the Working Family Party line and vote for him.

To let this district be represented by that ex-barista current socialist moron would be a mistake.

Crowley, for all of his warts, wasn't the disaster she would be.

Anonymous said...

Anyway, what the city does, doesnt surprise me anymore. The city will do what it wants despite all the protests and no matter how many people rally and yell and scream. Welcome to mayor dumbdumbs era.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
not true, you only believe this because traditionally queens is run by people in the know and is filled with people whose background is to accept orders rather than make them or (god forbid! think them up)

this is changing - the internet shows clearly that tammany hall was thrown off by most of the city decades ago while queens is cut off, barefoot, pregnant, and in the kitchen. that is about to change as the old guard is getting even older and will soon pass on.

Anonymous said...

Crowley will get back in. But he is damaged goods and the boys will smell blood.

His days as Boss is numbered. And it ain't going to be pretty.

The world has passed on and left him, and his Party, behind.

Anonymous said...

I want her to win. She Ocasio-Cortez needs to be put on display for all the Voters to see.
Maybe then Voters in NYC will wake up and see that the new radical left is "Not their Mommy's Democratic Party !" There are no moderate Democratics only block voting fools. Project Veritas will show the world what goes on just watch and enjoy the show.

Sunnyside Al said...

The district was “redrawn” (gerrymandered, but I thought only Republicans did that sort of thing!) in 2013 from including Long Island City, Roosevelt Island, East Manhattan and Sunnyside to Morris Park, Parkchester, Pelham Bay, Throggs Neck and City Island. It now consists of a demographic of roughly 49% Hispanic, 18% White, 16% Asian, 11% Black; the writing is on the wall.

Ocasio-Cortez went door-to-door in The Bronx to get the Hispanic vote out. I don’t know if she set foot in Queens to interact with those constituent but that isn’t her base anyway. Meanwhile, Crowley sat his big butt in Virginia and took the primary for granted. He should have been in Astoria, Woodside, Throggs Neck and College Point to get his voters out but was nowhere to be found.

If you don’t want a Democratic Socialist of America candidate elected then get YOUR big butt out to vote for Crowley on the Working Families ticket.

UR So Dum said...

People are racist if they move out because they didn't want to live next to Hispanic people (or another race) , not because they couldn't afford to live in the area.

Who are the "whites" that complained anyway. Middle Eastern whites, Italian whites, Greek whites, Irish whites, Turkish whites? Which whites?

>> There are less whites because the Hispanic moved in and now the Hispanics are being pushed out by the Asians. But when the whites complain about these things happening, they are called racists and bigots

Anonymous said...

Crowley, for all of his warts, wasn't the disaster she would be.

She can do squat as a Socialist which is exactly what Queens needs. Breathing room.

Honest Joe is an insult to us be treating us like we are we are ignorant while selling out to the highest bidder. He is cancer and to a large degree responsible for the mess Queens is in.

Anonymous said...

Love the pic.

Crazy eyes versus sleepy eyes.

Vote Crowley.

Anonymous said...

I guess that special election in the summer wasnt such a good idea.

Anonymous said...

"without bringing any new affordable housing"
So if the developer isn't bringing and poor or Sec 8s into the neighborhood whats the problem?
Are these people now complaining because they ended up with a better deal without Crowley? Remember once a landlord takes in a sec 8 you cant undo the deal made with the devil (Crowley and the city in this case) "affordable housing" is for the life of the building and in some cases forever.

Anonymous said...

"She can do squat as a Socialist which is exactly what Queens needs breathing room"

Perfectly said, and thats the perfect kind of democrats. Ones that cant or wont do shit. I had it up to the ears with what these bastards call "progress" or the other word called "change"

Anonymous said...

I'm republican and all for this Sandra Socialist whatever her name is. She will not only cogg all the democrats machinery but drive them off the rails, up in smoke and crazy.
--and thats a good thing IMHO

Anonymous said...

The real loser in all of this is Boston University.

Imagine spending 40K/yr to produce someone as clueless as this.

My education at Brooklyn Tech certainly was superior to hers.

She's a maroon.

Anonymous said...

ah communism, well America you are gonna to get it

Anonymous said...

Each of the three candidtaes will tie with a third of the vote. Squeeker.

Anonymous said...

What? They taught her brilliantly Be a bartender, congressman walks in, tells her all his secrets, she beats him. Key to success. Wish I'd learned that!

Anonymous said...

Yes, congratulations Democrats,
you're just a day away from voting in a Socialist moron.
Don't tell me about Crowley as an option, that's just more Democrat idiocy
clinging to corruption over crazy.
Just step back and see how your party has become totally unhinged:
-Democrats stand for open borders, as if we need more than 330,000,000 people in this nation with a good percentage of that in Queens.
-Democrats stand against law enforcement, defending MS-13 and illegal immigration against Border Patrol and ICE. Talk about the wrong side of history!
-Democrats stand for continued "birthright" citizenship which is a clear distortion of our 14th amendment which was meant to address injustices against slaves after the civil war. It was NOT intended for Chinese nationals to fly into JFK, pop out a kid and fly back to Beijing with a future American entitled to all the rights of our Citizenship. Nor was it meant for an illegal to slide under our border and have a child at the free clinic in San Diego who now becomes their anchor to import three generations of their family.
-Democrats are for watering down achievement. As in Dumbassio pushing for destroying our Specialized High Schools. That's not a Republican idea.
-Democrats are for Socialism. Democratic Socialism or Revolutionary Socialism. They want you to work for them and have a sucky, mediocre life. See Venezuela, where you can't even get toilet paper. Ironic since most Dems are full of crap!

...Vote your conscience...and don't vote Democrat! Stop deluding yourself that it's the party of JFK...or even Bill Clinton.


Harry Haller

Anonymous said...

Firstly, Crowley is and always has been a moron. Reich and Bolz are the ones that dropped the ball due to sheer arrogance or some other malady. I am sure they are working on "fixing" this problem for the next cycle. As for this cycle, she will win. Been living in Queens my whole life. Wild horses couldn't stop the idiots here from voting a straight Dem ticket. I know scores of people that don't even look at the names, they just vote Row A straight down.

Anonymous said...

I agree that she's a moron but the fact is she will be a member of the House of Representatives in January while I will still be living paycheck to paycheck here in Queens. Hate to say it but it makes me wonder who the real moron is.

Anonymous said...

Vote for Crowley on Tuesday, he's on the Working Families and Women's Equality party lines on the ballot

Anonymous said...

I think she’s in for a big surprise...

Anonymous said...

@Harry Haller Thank you !

Anonymous said...

Demoracts can't reason and most People can't think so they "Feel" !
The "new" democrats appeal to voters with low IQ who want to shut down free speech !

Anonymous said...

Harry Haller awesome!