[lbo-talk] hoteliers in Harlem

Nathan Newman nathanne at nathannewman.org
Sun Feb 26 13:09:55 PST 2006


----- Original Message ----- From: "Doug Henwood" <dhenwood at panix.com>

Nathan Newman wrote:
>What I'm trying to figure out is whether Doug thinks it's a horrible thing
>that Harlem is actually getting some economic help?

-This is a sleazy rhetorical technique. Because I think it's odious -that the state is pushing to gentrify Harlem, thereby causing the -displacement of scores of thousands of poor people, I'm against -"economic help" for the neighborhood; because I think people who -object to using eminent domain to enrich private developers, I'm in -favor of some right-wing libertarian free-for-all a la Houston. But I -guess that's what you've got to do when you don't have any evidence -to offer.

What is unconvincing is your implicit argument that Harlem would not be gentrifying without government involvement. All of NYC has seen a massive increase in prices for housing in the last half decade; every neighborhood on a major train station near the City has been moving up in cost quite rapidly and Harlem along 125th St has some of the best transit options in the City.

You cite a $8.5 million development deal as evidence of the conspiracy to gentrify Harlem but ignore the $2 million per townhouse private investments being made along the avenues that dwarf the city investments. Maybe none of those gut-rehab investments would have happened without the NYC plan, but it seems unlikely. Yes, 125th St. got some encouragement in open an Old Navy Store and a couple of other chains-- if that was solely responsible for leveraging the estimated $80 million of private investments going into townhouses along just my single block, then it's a economic development miracle in multiplying loaves and fishes.

I'm hardly a big fan of the whole range of tax subsidies out there but they just are pretty small change in comparison to the tidal wave of supply and demand problems driving gentrification in most neighborhoods.

My basic view on what should be done is that the city should be harnessing that development pressure and allowing many taller buildings, especially near transit hubs -- and that includes a number of blocks along 125th St. -- while requiring affordable housing as a condition for allowing developers to build those taller units. Inclusionary zoning is being used in a number of the Brooklyn projects under development, which makes them far more attractive than a lot of traditional development approaches. I'd love to see the approach multiplied throughout the city.

Nathan Newman



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