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September 11, 2008
A TALE OF TWO CITIES, and ONE BELEAGUERED BOROUGH
NoLandGrab Community Commentary
During his travels last month through New England, communtiy activist Alan Rosner's summer reading provided a stark contrast to developments back home in Brooklyn.
On a brief road trip through Western New England and the Hudson Valley, I picked up two free local magazines. One, Chronograph, had an article on the rebirth of Downtown Schenectady, NY. Since I attended Union College there, I read the piece. The next magazine, The Country, had virtually the same story, but about Pittsfield, MA.
The parallels jumped out. Schenectady and Pittsfield had both spiraled downwards, losing their tax bases and downtowns when their largest employers closed up shop — and for both of them, that corporation was General Electric. I’d seen the results in Schenectady on a visit years ago.
Both downtown rebirths came with new mayors who fought for their revitalization, beginning with efforts that brought local theater arts centers back to life. This led to restaurants and retail, combined with a concerted effort to support public and private investment in their downtowns and businesses.
What jumped off the pages was seeing that Schenectady consciously decided not to base their revival on the sports-venue model, while Pittsfield turned to the arts and retail after enduring a bitter, divisive fight over a baseball stadium. That story is documented in former Major League pitcher Jim Bouton’s book, Foul Ball: My Life and Hard Times Trying to Save an Old Ballpark.
Here in Brooklyn, Marty Markowitz, the Brooklyn Borough President, bit the apple offered by Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner and, forever after, he has pitched a false nostalgia. He turned away from using his booster energy to support the BAM cultural and arts area expansion. Instead he went for the sports stadium, and was enabled by Bloomberg and backed by Pataki’s state power brokers. Now Brooklyn faces ongoing Developer’s Blight, acres of blight-enhancing parking lots, and another 10 to 20 years of construction.
Instead of selling off the commons to inside bidders, Schenectady & Pittsfield chose to enhance theirs, to make it an attractor for their surrounding populations. Brooklyn’s gotten baited and switched.
Another example, albeit one without the false promise of a corporate sports rescue, is the Vermont city of Burlington on the shores of Lake Champlain. We visited, dined & walked around downtown and found a revitalized city, based on making the downtown and lakefront walkable and enjoyable. The arts, entertainment, retail, restaurant & small business model works. It was Brooklyn’s before Marty & Bruce embraced.
Posted by lumi at September 11, 2008 4:35 AM