The Whirlwind, Bruce Ratner and Magic Johnson
Posted by: Denelle
I know I haven't been around much in the past week (my apologies about that), things have been busy and I have been lazy.
I took a whirlwind trip to Louisiana over the weekend. My best friend lives there (in Alexandria) and so I went to see her and do a job interview (again in Alexandria). I know, I know, it is almost inconceivable that I would trade NYC for central Louisiana but my dad always taught me that when a door opens you walk towards it until the Lord either takes you through it or shuts the door. However, I am happy to report that this big city girl will be staying in the big city. I think Lee Ann is doing a smashing job of being the Louisiana gal in our little world and since I'll never be able to be as handy with duct tape as she is, I'll stick to what I know - being a NYC tour guide. Truthfully, I simply don't feel a release to go and so I've taken that to mean I should stay put. Hopefully I'm not wrong.
Brad and Dave, I did have the opportunity to see the Baton Rouge airport and I must say it has a very nice garden area in the middle of the terminal. So, don't let anybody tell you that Louisiana is (completely) backwards.
You Pay What???
It is no big secret that real estate prices in this great city are outrageous. The average price for an apartment in Manhattan is over $2800/month with the purchase price averaging around a cool $1-2 Million. And these are not spectacular show places, they're just your average one-two bedroom apartments which often need some elbow-grease and TLC. As a result those of us without the income of Donald Trump have moved into the other boroughs which are (somewhat) cheaper. For instance I pay a paltry $1250/month for my junior one bedroom in Brooklyn.
That's ok, take moment to recover. I know I have to every time I write the rent check.
And now Bruce Ratner is threatening (well planning actually) to move the N.J. Nets out of N.J. and into Brooklyn. Who cares if there is suddenly a professional sports team in my back yard? I do. Because it's more than just a sports team. Ratner is planning a whole development along a several block stretch of Atlantic Avenue (The Atlantic Yards). By invoking Eminent Domain, Ratner plans to force people from their homes and build tall, shiny, luxury apartments in their place, all the while claiming that the building and construction will be good for the neighborhood.
I wish someone could explain to me how taking people's homes away from them and pricing them out of their neighborhoods is a good thing.
But he's not alone. Today's NYPost reveals that Magic Johnson is part of a development group that has purchased the Williamsburgh Savings Bank (possibly the most recognizable building in Brooklyn - and just across the street from the Atlantic Yards) with plans to turn it into - yep you guessed it - luxury apartments.
The starting price for these apartments is $1200/square foot. That's $600,000 for a 500 square foot apartment. And Johnson has the audacity to say "It's a win-win situation for everyone - for us, for Ratner and more important, for the folks who live there," Johnson said. "All this development brings a lot of job opportunities, community-based retail and obviously, more housing for these folks." Excuse me? Nobody who lives there or who works on the project will be able to afford those prices. And what's more, the real estate prices in the surrounding areas will be driven up as a result and the people who live there (that would be me) won't be able to afford to stay either.
I suppose to these guys who are worth hundreds of millions of dollars it seems inconceivable that people couldn't afford to pay $1200/square foot for an apartment. Personally I think they should spend a month living in the real world, on a real world budget and then let us know if they still think this is a "great thing" for the people of Brooklyn. Meanwhile, Ratner is busy buying people's support by donating money to an area school, having the Nets' players reading to the children of the area and he's even forked out enough money to lure one of the top staffers from the opposition (Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn) over to his team. While money may not be able to buy you happiness, it certainly seems to be buying Bruce Ratner everything else.
Here are a couple of great links if you want to get a feel for what things look like now, what things will look like and what is being proposed on both sides.
Atlantic Yard Blog
Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn
I know I haven't been around much in the past week (my apologies about that), things have been busy and I have been lazy.
I took a whirlwind trip to Louisiana over the weekend. My best friend lives there (in Alexandria) and so I went to see her and do a job interview (again in Alexandria). I know, I know, it is almost inconceivable that I would trade NYC for central Louisiana but my dad always taught me that when a door opens you walk towards it until the Lord either takes you through it or shuts the door. However, I am happy to report that this big city girl will be staying in the big city. I think Lee Ann is doing a smashing job of being the Louisiana gal in our little world and since I'll never be able to be as handy with duct tape as she is, I'll stick to what I know - being a NYC tour guide. Truthfully, I simply don't feel a release to go and so I've taken that to mean I should stay put. Hopefully I'm not wrong.
Brad and Dave, I did have the opportunity to see the Baton Rouge airport and I must say it has a very nice garden area in the middle of the terminal. So, don't let anybody tell you that Louisiana is (completely) backwards.
You Pay What???
It is no big secret that real estate prices in this great city are outrageous. The average price for an apartment in Manhattan is over $2800/month with the purchase price averaging around a cool $1-2 Million. And these are not spectacular show places, they're just your average one-two bedroom apartments which often need some elbow-grease and TLC. As a result those of us without the income of Donald Trump have moved into the other boroughs which are (somewhat) cheaper. For instance I pay a paltry $1250/month for my junior one bedroom in Brooklyn.
That's ok, take moment to recover. I know I have to every time I write the rent check.
And now Bruce Ratner is threatening (well planning actually) to move the N.J. Nets out of N.J. and into Brooklyn. Who cares if there is suddenly a professional sports team in my back yard? I do. Because it's more than just a sports team. Ratner is planning a whole development along a several block stretch of Atlantic Avenue (The Atlantic Yards). By invoking Eminent Domain, Ratner plans to force people from their homes and build tall, shiny, luxury apartments in their place, all the while claiming that the building and construction will be good for the neighborhood.
I wish someone could explain to me how taking people's homes away from them and pricing them out of their neighborhoods is a good thing.
But he's not alone. Today's NYPost reveals that Magic Johnson is part of a development group that has purchased the Williamsburgh Savings Bank (possibly the most recognizable building in Brooklyn - and just across the street from the Atlantic Yards) with plans to turn it into - yep you guessed it - luxury apartments.
The starting price for these apartments is $1200/square foot. That's $600,000 for a 500 square foot apartment. And Johnson has the audacity to say "It's a win-win situation for everyone - for us, for Ratner and more important, for the folks who live there," Johnson said. "All this development brings a lot of job opportunities, community-based retail and obviously, more housing for these folks." Excuse me? Nobody who lives there or who works on the project will be able to afford those prices. And what's more, the real estate prices in the surrounding areas will be driven up as a result and the people who live there (that would be me) won't be able to afford to stay either.
I suppose to these guys who are worth hundreds of millions of dollars it seems inconceivable that people couldn't afford to pay $1200/square foot for an apartment. Personally I think they should spend a month living in the real world, on a real world budget and then let us know if they still think this is a "great thing" for the people of Brooklyn. Meanwhile, Ratner is busy buying people's support by donating money to an area school, having the Nets' players reading to the children of the area and he's even forked out enough money to lure one of the top staffers from the opposition (Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn) over to his team. While money may not be able to buy you happiness, it certainly seems to be buying Bruce Ratner everything else.
Here are a couple of great links if you want to get a feel for what things look like now, what things will look like and what is being proposed on both sides.
Atlantic Yard Blog
Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn
