From: | owner-cpeo-brownfields@igc.org (by way of "cpeo@cpeo.org" <cpeo@cpeo.org>) |
Date: | Thu, 6 May 1999 10:59:33 -0700 (PDT) |
Reply: | cpeo-brownfields |
Subject: | Harlem Finally Rides the Economy's 'A' Train |
For the complete article go to: http://search.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-05/05/066l-050599-idx.html The following text are snippets from the article. Tony Original message from Alex Lantsberg from SAEJ ============================================== From: "alex lantsberg" <wideye@ziplink.net> food for thought from a recent washington post. seems like the issues discussed here are exactly the types of challenges when discussing brownfields and potentially undesirable effects of urban brownfields projects. alex lantsberg SAEJ =========================== Harlem Finally Rides the Economy's 'A' Train As Crime Falls, a Retail Boom Arrives By Michael Grunwald Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, May 5, 1999; Page A01 (SNIPPETS) NEW YORK, May 4—Starbucks will hold its grand opening in Harlem Wednesday, bringing its yuppie coffee to America's best-known ghetto. A few blocks east on 125th Street, there was a ribbon-cutting last week for a new Pathmark, the first supermarket in a neighborhood with nearly the population of the District. A few blocks west, developers are building Harlem's first mall, featuring the Disney Store, HMV Records and a nine-screen movie theater. It may be too soon to call this a second Harlem Renaissance, but after decades of decay, the emergence of $3.80 mocha frappuccinos and national chain megastores on Harlem's main drag are not the only signs that this onetime cultural and spiritual hub is on the upswing. Crime is plummeting. Rents are skyrocketing. Upscale families are restoring elegant brownstones, and not just in the black-bourgeois district called "Strivers' Row." A government "empowerment zone" is pumping $550 million into the area. Officials say Harlem has even surpassed the Empire State Building as New York's No. 1 destination for foreign tourists ... ... Still, Harlem has plenty of critics unhappy with the pace and color of progress. The empowerment zone's work has been delayed by political battles, particularly the feud between Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani (R) and Gov. George E. Pataki (R). Activists grumble that most of the major Harlem projects are benefiting white developers and out-of-town megafirms such as Walt Disney Co., rather than local entrepreneurs. And some critics warn that the new retail projects and gentrification will not solve Harlem's most serious problems: an uneducated work force, a lack of high-paying jobs, an abundance of drug treatment centers, homeless shelters and halfway houses ... ... The official vehicle for revitalizing Harlem has been the nation's largest empowerment zone, which will ultimately provide $300 million in cash and $250 million in tax breaks, all designed to attract capital to an area that has been off-limits to investors. The zone got off to a slow start because of political spats among federal, state and local officials, but it is now investing $11 million in the $65 million Harlem USA mall project, $2 million in a $23 million multiplex on 125th street and additional money in a $100 million retail project on the East River. That project, anchored by Home Depot and Costco, will be the largest in Harlem's history, creating 2,000 jobs ... ... And there are still deep problems here. Unemployment is down, but down to 15 percent, not including the large numbers of discouraged or incarcerated workers. And gentrification is making affordable housing increasingly scarce; last year, half the city's applications to convert cheap single-room occupancies into apartment buildings came from Harlem. The rate of homeownership in Harlem is still only 6 percent; nationally, it is 66 percent. "Gentrification is a two-edged sword," Perkins said. "I'm glad to see Harlem USA; it's nice to have a mall. But that's not community investment. That's not building a future." These conflicts are not just theoretical; they can bottle up development. Racial and political disputes over the Pathmark project delayed it for a decade, holding up more than 200 jobs for community residents. The revitalization of the historic Apollo Theater on 125th Street, home of the famous Amateur Night that launched the careers of so many black recording stars, has been stalled by battles involving Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.). The starkest example is the petty bickering that has stalled Harlem Center, a plan for a $49 million retail and office project across the street from Starbucks... http://search.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-05/05/066l-050599-idx.html | |
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