On Third Thought

The always thoughtful Esteban, from the Crown Heights Tenants Union, added a comment on "On Second Thought" that puts this article in its proper place...as one reminder of the tactics, but hardly the last word. Here's his comment from the last post:

I think part of what makes the story so compelling is the matter-of-fact way the issues are discussed. As Cea [from UHAB] says in the follow-up article, it's shocking to hear the actual words that Ephraim uses, but only because we are much more accustomed to hearing terms like "knowledge worker" or "good tenant" (that's my landlord's preferred phrase, and he uses it exclusively for new, white tenants). In the same way, it's common knowledge that though the law clearly prohibits it, landlords practice "source of income" discrimination ALL THE TIME. Ask any Section 8 recipient how hard it is to get a landlord to agree to rent to them; better yet, ask an HIV positive HASA recipient how they fare. The point is, these are not isolated incidents or things that kinda just "happen." Getting rid of the black and brown people in a building is an essential part of the business model for landlords like mine (Burke Leighton) or ZT or BCB. So you know they REALLY hate it when long-term tenants and new tenants organize together!

On Second Thought

Been thinking this over. I don't like the smell of it, and I'll come right out and say it. There's something rotten in Denmark about that article I just posted about. I'm a fairly good judge of bullshit, and I'm starting to sense either a tad bit or a big pile. I might be wrong, but here's what I was thinking on my bike ride over the Manhattan bridge. (Spectacular by the way, except that weird Apocalyptic wind brewing.)

I'm not saying Gibson went for the marketing jugular here. Actually, that is what I'm saying. His book just came out, and this stuff is going through the roof on social media. I'm sure Mr. Gibson will profit quite handsomely off his oral history of gentrification. Imagine that. A white guy making money off gentrification.

What bothers me is that this very big issue of real-estate-ambulance-chasing is being reduced to some offhand and (literally) under the breath comments by a single guy. If in fact everything he's saying is reported accurately (I have to assume in the age of high profile writer's fraud that NY Mag listened to the tapes...yes?) then there are THREE hard-to-fathom things happening.

1. White people are moving in and expressing their displeasure in having to live in the same building as black people. Really? Privately they might be uncomfortable, but in 2015 it's REALLY uncool to express your racism publicly. And newcomer Brooklynites are painfully cool. And saying it to your landlord or management company is pretty darn public. I'm guessing it happens...um...not a hell of a lot. The fact is, buildings are changing so fast the racists hardly have to say much of ANYthing and their dreams will come true.

2. Even if they ARE uncomfortable with the old-school neighborhood types, they're DEFINITELY not going to be uptight about roommates of color, as expressed in the article. I mean these kids mostly went to liberal arts schools and bent over backwards to be cool on race. And if you hadn't noticed, interracial dating and groups of partiers is hardly uncommon. Middle to Upper Class people don't generally have a problem hanging out with a diverse group of other Middle to Upper Class people.

3. This Ephraim fellow must be having a bad common-sense day, or why would he be sharing this stuff so openly? One reason would be if, in a warped way, he's trying to impress Gibson. If that's the case, all bets are off. He could just be lying in that way that braggarts do, or exaggerating. Hell he basically says he has to lie to do his job. Why should we take him at his word here?

No, I'm not excusing this guy's behavior, or doubting that the actual transactions themselves are happening. For the most part, it's public record. But my instincts tell me this is more about selling books than in telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

Just To Try To Hold On To Your Lunch After Reading This

From NY Magazine comes some craaaaazy sick strategy talk from a man who makes his money encouraging the rapid change of neighborhoods. Just like in the stock market, you look for an "edge." The edge, when it comes to buying and selling properties in black neighborhoods, is knowing how to play the many angles of racism, perception and ignorance. It's a shame that the quoted dude is Jewish, since it's not strictly a game for the religious sects. Far from it. But there it is. Perhaps he became a bit comfortable riding around in his own car, showing off a bit to writer DW Gibson. Catch Gibson's series of articles, and perhaps we can stop pretending that gentrification is some sort of natural market process - one buyer, one seller, all good.

Here's some of the hardest bits to stomach:

We’re small, so we look into places that haven’t caught on — we just did a place on Nostrand Avenue. People are not even there yet. We put in $600,000 and everyone was laughing at us. “It’s crazy, you’re over there. A building for yuppies, white people? It’s not going to work.” The building was full of tenants — $1,300, $1,400 tenants. We paid every tenant the average of twelve, thirteen thousand dollars to leave. I actually went to meet them — lawyers are not going to help you. And we got them out of the building and now we have tenants paying $2,700, $2,800, and they’re all white. So this is what we do.

My saying is — again, I’m not racist — every black person has a price. The average price for a black person here in Bed-Stuy is $30,000 dollars. Up over there in East New York, it’s $10,000 dollars. Everyone wants them to leave, not because we don’t like them, it’s just they’re messing up — they bring everything down. Not all of them.

Most of them don’t believe you at first. "Oh, you Jewish people you’re a bunch of thieves, you’re never going to give me my money." But once you start actually having a base of people who know you, who you actually gave the money, it’s better. Sometimes it’s really tricky because you’ll have one person willing to leave for $2,000 and another wants $20,000. And the second this guy finds out that guy is getting 20 he says, “Hell no, I’m not leaving. I want 20, too.”

They don’t know — here he lowers his voice — that even if they get the money and they left, they could always come back. They don’t know that part. And it’s so scary sometimes because they could come up in the middle of construction and say, “It’s my property, I didn’t understand what I was signing, and I want to come back.” Some blacks have an attorney and everything. So I try to make them happy, even if they’re going to go for $7,000 or $8,000, I’d rather give them an extra grand so they’re happy and they’re not going to think about it too much. Again, I don’t want to be a racist, but when I have a building—I can’t even say it because it’s not going to sound right.

He lowers his voice again:

If there’s a black tenant in the house—in every building we have, I put in white tenants. They want to know if black people are going to be living there. So sometimes we have ten apartments and everything is white, and then all of the sudden one tenant comes in with one black roommate, and they don’t like it. They see black people and get all riled up, they call me: “We’re not paying that much money to have black people live in the building.” If it’s white tenants only, it’s clean. I know it’s a little bit racist but it’s not. They’re the ones that are paying and I have to give them what they want. Or I’m not going to get the tenants and the money is not going to be what it is.

The scary part about doing this is, if the black guys start to realize how much the property will sell for. This is a new thing now, the past year. A million, two million dollars—it’s crazy, crazy numbers. None of them realize yet—some of them do—the amount of money you can get. The scary part is they’re going to realize they can get the same exact house in East New York for $400,000, $500,000 and they can get paid $1.5 million for their home in Bed-Stuy, they’re going to start dumping houses on the market and the market’s going to be flooded and it’s going to cool down. It’s already cooling down.

Rent! Not the Musical

It's the basis of the NYC economy, myth and muscle. You don't get to 8 million people - 9 is the estimate by 2020 - without a heck of a lot of leases. There's a lot of talk about zoning around here - some people want to build more affordable housing and plan for smart growth; some people think the City will hoodwink us if we do so. No matter to the thousands of people already living here, many of whom are scared to read the mail from their landlords.

So what can you do? What if 100,000 people showed up at this? Think Albany could ignore us then? I don't think so. Look, maybe you're not political. Fine. Plan a day in Manhattan and stop by Foley Square and go grab some dinner after. Go to a movie or one of those late night Museum things. And be counted. And if your so inclined grab a sign and save your voice for the big scream. It's fun to see the full fabric of NYC laid out in one big colorful flag.

The line "stop gentrification" misses the point as far as I'm concerned, and is unnecessarily class and race divisive. If you really want EVERYone to show up, don't single out people as part of the problem. People move here all the time, and they move where they get the best rent. And some of them are connected in ways that could make the battle an easier win. Sigh. That's all from the critique side, but I can see why it's helpful to get out the numbers.

But screw it. When has an issue ever been totally cut and dry? See you there!

Shooting Near Parade Ground

Damn, damn, damn. See that helicopter hovering above the Parade Ground earlier this eve? It wasn't whistling dixie. Been quiet over near the Ground for awhile. Thank god no one was killed. The line "boy fled on bike" speaks volumes.

FLATBUSH — A teenage boy shot and wounded a woman and a teen girl across from the parade ground near Prospect Park Tuesday afternoon, sources said.

The unidentified 34-year-old woman was struck in the shoulder and the 14-year-old girl was hit in the leg, according to sources. They were taken to Kings County Hospital about 5 p.m., according to the FDNY. Their wounds were not life threatening.

The boy fled on a bike, but was quickly apprehended near the Brooklyn Museum, sources said.

More from DNA Info.

Get the Cars Outa the Park

It's time.

In this well-written petition, the pandering to cars has got to end. Y'all get free parking. Y'all get free access to Manhattan over the bridges. Y'all get to double-park, and pollute our air, and honk your asses off anytime you like, and mow us down in the crosswalks. Now vamoose from the parks. I ride my bike, with child no less, every weekday to her school. There are very, very few cars that use the entrance at Coney Island Avenue, the only one that's open any more. Maybe a few hundred a morning. And for this we have to be wary of traffic, which often seems oblivious to the rules - one lane for runner/walkers, one for bikes, one for cars. It's hard enough dodging the would-be Lance Armstrongs.

I've been shocked at the Community Board by how pro-car everyone around here is. They FLIP OUT everytime someone suggests creating bike lanes, or dedicated MTA bus lanes, or even slow zones. SLOW ZONES FOR CHRISAKES! Like on interior streets. Are you effing kidding me? No to slow zones?

Hey, I love cars. I love taxis and car service. I like renting them to get out of town. I want them to be able to get around quickly, just like everybody else. But cars in parks? What in heavens are we thinking, here? Does Robert Moses still work for the City? People get all nuts when we talk about new regs for cars, like we're taking away their baby bottle. It's embarrassing. Keep your car, but save your bitching.

Sign the petition. I know, I know, another stupid petition. But maybe it'll make you feel better. I know it made me feel great about myself for about three seconds. Someone tells me Brad Lander has an interest in this. Seems like his kinda thang. Here's the text:

As the neighborhoods surrounding Prospect Park have become more developed and more heavily populated, use of the park by pedestrians, cyclists, runners and other residents has increased. Although the reduction in car traffic in the park has been a positive development, it is becoming clear that even limited access to the park by passenger vehicles is a disaster waiting to happen.

There is no evidence that re-routing traffic through the surrounding neighborhoods will cause any negative impacts. It is time to completely close Prospect and Central Parks to traffic.

Sooner or later someone is going to get killed. A little kid or a senior citizen is going to get mowed down by someone who thinks they're saving 5 minutes by racing through a park. Then we'll stop rush hour traffic and everyone will remember their name. Mayor de Blasio, stop this unneeded rush hour traffic in the parks now and we will remember your name as the person who saved lives. 

These roads are closed for 158 out of 168 hours a week.  Can we just end this confusing and dangerous situation and let our parks be parks and not shortcuts.

This Is Why You Live In Brooklyn

And Lola's from Flatbush too. Designing clothes, roller skating...who's got time for anything else? And heck you, dear neighbor, can slap on your skates and roll right on over to the party. No need to drive or take a train. What a hoot. Me and the little ones were out there last Saturday when a party kicked into gear. The costumes were priceless.

The 2015 Lola Star Dreamland Roller Disco calendar includes:

May 15th: Flashdance – 80’s Dance
 
May 22nd: Xanadu – Glitter and Sparkle

May 29th: Pretty in Pink Prom – All Things Molly

June 5th: Girls Just Wanna Have Fun – 80’s Girl Pop

June 12th: We are the Champions- Freddie Mercury and Queen

June 19th: Material Girl – All Things Madonna

June 26th: Bust a Move – 90s Pop and Vintage Hip Hop

July 3rd: Saturday Night Fever - Disco

July 10th: Hungry Like the Wolf – Duran Duran and New Wave

July 17th: Let’s Get Physical – 80’s Workout Gear

July 24th: Cruel Summer- 80’s Pop

July 31st: Divas of Disco – 70’s Disco and Diva Fashion

August 7th: Groove is in the Heart – 90’s Pop

August 14th: Ziggy Stardust – Celebration of David Bowie

August 21st: Walk Like an Egyptian – The Bangles and 80’s Dance

August 28th: Hair Metal – Big Hair and Air Guitar

September 4th: Great Gatsby – Zoot Suits and Flappers September 11th: Purple Rain – All Things Prince

September 18th: Grease – 50’s Dance and Styles

September 25th: 80s Pajama Party – 80’s Dance Party

October 2nd: Just Like Heaven – The Cure and Goth

October 9th: Thriller –Michael Jackson and Halloween Preview

About Lola Star

Lola Star has captured the hearts of millions with the fabulous line of merchandise that she designs, hand makes and sells at The Lola Star Souvenir Boutique on the Coney Island boardwalk, the Lola Star Surf Shop, her brand new Rockaway Beach Boutique and her online boutique.

Lola created Dreamland Roller Rink which filled the formerly abandoned, historical landmarked Child’s Building on the Coney Island Boardwalk with glittering magic from 2008-10. As founder and former director of the Save Coney Island Organization she advocates for the preservation of the historic Amusement District of Coney Island. Lola is also a huge animal lover, vegan and helps to rescue animals in need.

Union Hall for Flatbush - The Nest

Charlie Kasov and Tyler Fischer

Underground comedy. Well alright then. Appears that Bluebird Cafe has a basement option, and you'll be able to head downstairs for some yucks, courtesy of funnymen Charlie Kasov and Tyler Fischer. Maybe bands to aren't far behind? If you've been to, or played at, Union Hall on Union near 5th Avenue in Park Slope, perhaps you'll get the vibe they're after. Without the bocce. Starting Saturday. Read all about it:

http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20150511/prospect-lefferts-gardens/saturday-night-stand-up-coming-new-prospect-lefferts-garden-venue

And it's called The Nest. And there's music on Wednesdays. Who knew?

It's Mindboggling Really

Today Rachel at DNAInfo rounded up the latest 13 developments happening in the CB9 area, adding to her latest compilation of 15. This is much more handy than my slapdash noodlings and I appreciate that.

But if you REALLY want to have your noggin' shot off its perch, slop up a heapin' help of this mind-blower from Jacob G.


Far be it from me to suggest it, but don't you think a community undergoing this crazy barrage of building might want to do a Planning Study with the City to see what's to come of it, and maybe demand some goodies for the longterm health of the community? Nah. Let's just wait and see how it plays out. Wouldn't want to rush into anything, now would we? I'm sure the developers will wait for us to get our act together. They're due for a nap now anyway.

Diana & Isaac - Right Where They Belong

When you hold a special election mid-term, the winner's gotta get right to work! No slowin' down this single mom...

Diana - you deserved the win, and we're counting on you (and Isaac) to do us proud. Go get 'em DeeRich!