Gentrification of Prospect Heights

anonymous

Subject: Vanderbilt and Washington

The biggest hinderence to pulling people from the musuem, gardens, and park is EASTERN PARKWAY. You have nearly a highway separating them from PH and the major pedestrian crossings scare the life out of locals so you can imagine what they feel like to 'visitors'. As far as comparing 5th Ave to Vand. or Wash, another difference is the width of the street (from bldg to bldg). Fifth ave is much tighter, narrower, and intimate. The traffic is only 2 lanes and much slower. Vanderbilt, though having wide sidewalks, also has 4 lanes of traffic, and fairly fast traffic at that. I'm not as familiar with Washington though it seems to have great commerical density of the two.

These are the obstacles, in my minds. To remedy the EPW problem, I would suggest stronger pedestrian crossing with safer and more secure edges, longer lights, etc. Vanderbilt needs some traffic slowing strategies and better pedestrian ammenities, many of which have already been listed. Another thing that Wash and Vand. area really missing currently is an anchor on their north end, a destination for people from the park, gardens, or musuem have a reason to go to. The development of the railyards (wether overall a bad thing or not) would provide that.

emily

Subject: Re: Vanderbilt and Washington

DH13 wrote: The biggest hinderence to pulling people from the musuem, gardens, and park is EASTERN PARKWAY.

Good point--and there's also the fact that if you look across Eastern Parkway from that side, you see residential buildings more or less exclusively. If you didn't know the area, it wouldn't necessarily occur to you to cross the street looking for food/entertainment at all.

oiseau

I'd say the biggest hinderance is that Washington Ave looks like a ghetto. You see a CTown and you know it's not a good area. Mayeb if it was a Gristedes. Why would anyone want to cross EPW to take a stroll through a ghetto especially if you're not from the area?

sterling2000

Nikki wrote: The first message on this string asks: "How many of you on this board are willing to invest in Prospect Heights?"

I am.

I'd venture to say that despite some mixed feelings, these threads indicate the potential -- largely untapped -- that our neighborhood offers. I know for every 20 people that say they'd invest in a business here, there may only be 1 that actually acts, actually puts the effort in and takes the risk. I can't wait to see those few people make it happen! Can't wait to be one of them.

And, I have to say it--can we please stop talking about gentrification....stop complaining about it?? Most people posting on this site wouldn't be in the neighborhood if it wasn't slightly gentrified already. No one would be talking about investing in it. I wouldn't be. I lived in the Bronx for over 4 years, near Yankee stadium. I wouldn't have bought anything there. I worked in East New York on Hegeman and Schenk--a job that included a police escort to and from work every day (which caused even more trouble). My job was to try to help the teenage foster children in a group home try to choose all the "opportunity" they were given by the city's foster care system over the drugs, prostitution, gangs, and violence that plagued most street corners. It wasn't that long ago, and I welcome you to move there if you want to be in an area free from gentrification. I would not buy there, and I have no doubt that MOST the people I see in our neighborhood would not be rushing to buy property there, rent a cheap apartment there, or open a business. What we now call "gentrification" is a good thing with a needlessly bad connotation. It creates opportunity and open-mindedness. It creates the opportunity that the foster children in East New York needed--the atmosphere they needed to see. It is possibility. If it really drives you that crazy to see progress and pride in a neighborhood, then find a neighborhood that allows your actions to match your alleged principles.

You can't have diversity in a neighborhood without all types of people.....How can a neighborhood that lacks most demographics be really diverse? Do we really think diversity is good as long as it doesn't involve living next to stay at home moms and/or dads? As long as there are no strollers on the street? As long as people don't come from too high an economic class. That sounds like someone saying "I want my neighborhood to be diverse, as long as all the people around me are just like me." Diversity is good as long as it is only a certain type of person? Diversity is having people with different values, different goals, different lifestyles all around us. Diversity is not having people who might have different skin color or heritage or ethnicity but who are all starving artists, or who all try to buck the system, or who are all political activists sharing bread. But I guess that is slightly off topic. I don't know how I got there. Except for that every thread on Daily Heights--(I don't deny reading all of them)--bashes moms and strollers and sometimes even stay at home dads. How grateful I am to be none of the above...

Throughout this thread, it is clear that people want successful businsses to come into the neighborhood or to grow in the neighborhood. It's going to bring money into the neighborhood one way or another, and that is not a bad thing.

(Wow--I guess I wanted to say something. Or I must be having a bad day.... :x I will now step off my weak soap box and get back to work. And be quiet.).

Word.

(But don't be quiet).

Why do so many of the postings lump "gentrification" and "development" as just naturally bad things?

Gosh, am I showing my age as I trot in the direction of four decades and want a bit of comfort, safety and convenience for myself and my family whilst still attempting to treat people fairly and congenially? I don't people need to give up one to have the other.