Juan Gonzalez article about the mayoral race

marthajoy

Hi Neighbors!

Thought you might be interested in this article by Juan Gonzalez about the recent mayoral race. I realize the election is over and done, but in the context of discussing the candidates, he talks about forces driving the steep rise in housing costs in urban neighborhoods like ours.

Hint: It isn't hipsters!

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/11/03/1749256

flute

That is an excellent article. Thanks for posting it!

anonymous

Glad you enjoyed it!

I realize that it is loooooooong, but it is worth the read. I never thought I would make it through and then I got totally sucked in.

qtrain

I just did a back-of-the-envelope calculation that indicated that the Atlantic Yards project might raise average income in Prospect Heights by 5% (by virtue of adding higher income residents, not actually raising incomes). Has anyone seen data on how the proposed development might alter the income demographics of the neighborhood?

anonymous

Subject: demographics

qtrain wrote: I just did a back-of-the-envelope calculation that indicated that the Atlantic Yards project might raise average income in Prospect Heights by 5% (by virtue of adding higher income residents, not actually raising incomes). Has anyone seen data on how the proposed development might alter the income demographics of the neighborhood?

No data yet BUT Ratner's economic study figures the average income of his project will be 70-80k, and that was BEFORE adding 2,800 luxury rate units to the original 4,500 total units. Current P. Heights median income is something around 38k.

You better believe this will change the demographics.

anonymous

"You'd better believe this will change the demographics."

Sounds good to me! Hardly a week goes by without someone posting on this board about street crime, music blasting, panhandlers harrassing people, and other quality-of-life issues. Some of the stories my neighbors have told me show just how much Prospect Heights has improved. Simply put, wealthier residents = a safer and cleaner neighborhood, lower crime rates, better services, and increased property values. Gentrification is happening anyway (and many of us are contributors to it by the amount of money we're willing to pay in rent or mortgage), so why not speed it up a little?

qtrain

pacific wrote: No data yet BUT Ratner's economic study figures the average income of his project will be 70-80k, and that was BEFORE adding 2,800 luxury rate units to the original 4,500 total units. Current P. Heights median income is something around 38k.

I've got the average income figure at home... I'll look into a more accurate calculation tonight. I wonder how close cost of living tracks average incomes.

I smell a FCR press release -- "Atlantic Yards project brings prosperity to Prospect Heights; average incomes soar".

qtrain

*must* *ignore* *troll* AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGGGGGGGGHHH

alex

Wow what a surprise, someone with a (valid) opinion other than your own is automatically labeled as a "troll".

marthajoy

So tempting though....

What did you think about this part?

In the decades after World War II, the white middle and upper classes responded to the influx of minorities by simply fleeing to the suburbs and even the exurbs. They then simply commuted by car or regional transit systems into the cities each day to administer them and conduct their commerce. But beginning with the oil crises of the late 1970s and 1980s, the limits of that absentee approach became apparent and new government policies emerged aimed at gentrifying the inner cities and bringing back the white middle class.

It is mindboggling to me the level on which money rules our lives. It is f*ed up!

marthajoy

Alex wrote: Wow what a surprise, someone with a (valid) opinion other than your own is automatically labeled as a "troll".

The opinion seems really off base once you have read the article.

qtrain

Alex wrote: Wow what a surprise, someone with a (valid) opinion other than your own is automatically labeled as a "troll".

Jack got labeled a troll because he said that disappearing the working poor would improve the community. That's completely fucked up. Reread the Higgins thread if you want to see how I respond to people with valid opinions that differ from my own.

anonymous

Subject: Higgins?

qtrain wrote:
Jack got labeled a troll because he said that disappearing the working poor would improve the community. That's completely fucked up. Reread the Higgins thread if you want to see how I respond to people with valid opinions that differ from my own.

can you post a link to the "Higgins Thread"?

jack my not be trolling but he sure made some disgusting comments!

metulj

Subject: Re: Higgins?

pacific wrote: [quote=qtrain]
Jack got labeled a troll because he said that disappearing the working poor would improve the community. That's completely fucked up. Reread the Higgins thread if you want to see how I respond to people with valid opinions that differ from my own.

can you post a link to the "Higgins Thread"?

jack my not be trolling but he sure made some disgusting comments!

Ah, grasshopper. That's is some mighty fine trolling. Me. I prefer ice fishing.

qtrain

pacific wrote: can you post a link to the "Higgins Thread"?

here. just to be clear, I was referring to Jack's comments in this thread.

pacific wrote: No data yet BUT Ratner's economic study figures the average income of his project will be 70-80k, and that was BEFORE adding 2,800 luxury rate units to the original 4,500 total units. Current P. Heights median income is something around 38k.

I took a look at the 2000 census data, adjusted for inflation, and found no change in average household income with the addition of the Atlantic Yards. Average household income in the area, adjusted for inflation, is right at 87k. Crazy. I see why the census reports median; the average gets skewed by the upper income households. I've got some more data wrangling to do before I work out the effect on median, but I found 53k as the (1999) median household income for the neighborhood (which is consistent with The Neighborhoods of Brooklyn, or 62k adjusted for inflation.