Broadway Triangle: Reverse Class Cleansing in BBurg
Most folks react badly to the notion of huge housing towers rising nearby their homes. But the NY Daily News reports on some Williamsburg residents with a serious case of IMBY. “They’re calling on the city to revise a rezoning plan for Broadway Triangle in Williamsburg to include more low-income housing – in towers, if…
Most folks react badly to the notion of huge housing towers rising nearby their homes. But the NY Daily News reports on some Williamsburg residents with a serious case of IMBY. “They’re calling on the city to revise a rezoning plan for Broadway Triangle in Williamsburg to include more low-income housing – in towers, if necessary,” they write. The site includes 31 acres, and the plan as it stands now includes 1,895 apartments, almost 50 percent of them affordable, in six- to 10-story buildings. At least one parcel has been awarded without a bid, and sounds like residents have other objections to the city’s vision for the area (some protested the rezoning plan back in November). Residents see the development as a way of “combating gentrification,” and providing housing for folks who might be displaced by luxury development elsewhere in the ‘hood. “We have suffered a class cleansing,” said one resident. “The working class is being removed from Williamsburg, Bushwick and beyond.”
Residents Call for More Low Income Housing Towers [NY Daily News]
Photo from The Real Deal.
Let them eat cake.
First, the land is a deserted land. The people surrounding the triangle are mostly working families, how do they survive? They combine there families; brothers, cousins sisters etc.. all living together to pay the rent. When an chance to build something that can help these people then why not? It borders Lyndsey development that has 5 20 story buildings,hence it wouldn’t be out of context of the nabe. this is far from the small brownstone buildings. This isn’t a 20 story building on north 7 and Bedford ave. This is very much east Williamsburg/bed stuy/bushwick area and a place to build a diverse community with mix incomes. The reality is 60 percent of the land is pvt. That will not have to build major affordable housing the affordable housing is in the public land, therefore that will create a mix income levels that has been proven to improve the quality in life for all people. The BTCC coalition is a truly diverse community group with Hasdic, African American, Latino, business, open space supporters and religious organizations that has emerged to speak for those that have to work 18 hour days to support their familiers. Just maybe.. Ridgewood/Bushwick and UJO forgot to include some people while designing this plan? Finally, HPD/UJO/RIDGEWOOD model doesn’t support OPEN/SPACE AND PUBLIC PARKS. There plans calls for pvt or enclosed open/space and parks for the people that will live in the buildings not in the area. The coaltion demands for these parks and open spaces to be open to all people!
Buckfast:
Polemicist is actually spot on.
Polemicist r u for real?U dont think anyone has been displaced in W’burg or Bushwick?stop smoking crack
good for them. seriously. maybe if people stopped being afraid of living with and around “poor” people life would be much easier. im not one for gigantic housing projects with nothing in site but that, but giant luxury housing projects are equally as polarizing for a community. LISTEN UP PEOPLE: WE ARE NEITHER BEVERLY HILLS, NOR NEWARK, NJ. WE ARE BROOKLYN.
*Rob*
“The working class is being removed from Williamsburg, Bushwick and beyond.”
Correction, the working class that previously tenanted the many smaller apartment buildings in the area are occasionally displaced. The residents of the many NYCHA properties have not been displaced, and the “working class” neighborhood residents that owned property prior to the recent boom have profited handsomely.
It should be also noted that the vast majority of new development occurred on sites that previously was not utilized for development. In the few cases where a residential property was replaced by a condo, typically houses were demolished. I am aware of not a single rent-stabilized building that was vacated for redevelopment purposes.
This is yet another article motivated essentially by avarice. Williamsburg and Bushwick still have a far larger percentage of the population being on public assistance than the vast majority of the United States.