Yesterday morning, Harlemites held a meeting. Sorry, not a meeting. The meeting. You know, the one they seem to have every few days but prove to be completely pointless. After having the New York City Council approve the Manhattanville rezoning plans despite all their previous pleas, I can’t see how their current tactic of holding these meetings will work. The main concern raised during these meetings is that of gentrification, urbanization–increasing area value, pushing out lower-income residents. Either we have to accept that as a fact of life, or we have to figure a way out of this mess.
In a recent article in the Spectator, Betsy Morais reports:
Community Board 10 Chair Franc Perry also addressed the City Planning Commission, saying, “We know the truth—that is, the majority of any residential development will not be within the financial reach of the average Harlemite.”
Okay, everybody else knows that too. I figure either the pro-expansioners are not giving two shits about anyone involved, or they haven’t explained the alternative options well enough. Manhattanville aside, isn’t this whole gentrification business in general an inevitability?