The issues involved in the salvaging of neighborhoods and rehabilitating them so that they become livable and part of the mainstream of the city are complex and highly emotional. It seems sometimes that one’s perspectives are premised on one’s moral, religious, social, economic, and philosophical sentiments.
I do not pretend to know the answers to the complexities arising from the process. However, as a longtime NYC resident and average Joe who loves the Big Apple in its entirety – all five boroughs – I am concerned about how best to make every borough, every corner, every neighborhood of NYC a viable, livable place to be.
When neighborhoods decay through drugs, crime, poor and inadequate housing, lack of social services, we all suffer collectively. One can’t stick one’s head in the sand and say, “It doesn’t affect me, I don’t live in that part of town anyway.” Whatever happens in Bedford Stuyvesant, Crown Heights, South Jamaica, Mott Haven, Harlem affects us all. Decay tends to spread to other parts of town via spillover of criminals, lack of tax revenue, disgruntled citizenry, etc.
So here are some questions to ponder:
1. Do we gentrify neighborhoods by giving a green light to any developer who risks his/her capital and moves in to revitalize the community?
2. How do we deal with the issues of existing residents when the smoke clears, the dust settles, and we now have an abundance of hi-risers, businesses, good quality restaurants, movie theaters, entertainment and social infrastructure? Who picks up the tab? Should we expect older residents to pay more to enjoy the increased level of services and accoutrements? How much more? Market rates? What about if they can’t afford market? Subsidies? Or should longtime residents fall victim to the unbridled workings of free enterprise and be required to pick up and leave town? Where do they head out?
3. Does NYC in general have a moral responsibility to have as its residents all segments of society or should it be first come with the big bucks, first served? If market rate should be the new status quo, do we dismantle public housing, Section 8, rent control, rent stabilization? Is it okay for NYC to be the playground of the wealthy from within the state and country and from overseas – many of whom can afford pied-a-terres here – while others struggle to afford a roof over their heads in the place of their birth or where they’ve spent most of their lives?
4. Does morality or being my brother’s keeper belong in the discussion anyway? Shouldn’t housing and the right to housing be like with any other product on the market where demand and supply interact to determine price?
These questions are raised because I myself do not know all the answers. I struggle to come to terms with the grim reality of housing in NYC and sometimes there’s a conflict between my innate beliefs premised on ethical considerations and the concept of free enterprise and economic betterment. The whole theory behind our economic system is that the workings of the market result in the greatest good for the greatest number of individuals. Somehow, my conscience tells me that the basic needs of people for food, clothing, shelter cannot be left entirely to market forces.
