Crossing Brooklyn Ferry

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This blog only represents the views of the author and does not reflect the policies of the City of New York or its Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications. 

Is urban “revitalization” a mere expression of cultural preference – reflecting white, upper-middle class predilections? Was the pre-revitalization 42nd Street somehow a more authentic expression of something before it, and Bryant Park, became “Disney-fied.” Essays in “Deconstructing the High Line: postindustrial urbanism and the rise of the elevated park,” edited by Christoph Linder and Brian Rosa (Rutgers, 2017), suggest that prior to its re-visioning as an urban public space, the High Line of gay cruising and wild, invasive plants was authentic, organic and more correct. In an essay in Deconstructing the High Line, Darren J. Patrick even argues that the pervasive and self-seeding, but non-native, Ailanthus altissima, had more of a right to live and thrive in the along the abandoned elevated rail line than the artificial more native, highly curated plant selection that distinguishes the High Line now.

When we were working at Grand Central Partnership and Bryant Park Restoration Corporation, we were occasionally surprised to learn that there were academics, like Sharon Zukin, who thought that we were engaged in a misguided attempt to destroy the complex, authentic social ecology of “The Deuce.” We couldn’t understand how someone might prefer the porn theaters, prostitution, unpicked up trash and three card monte of 42nd Street of the 70’s and early 80’s to what we were envisioning. Continue reading →

A Memo from Brooklyn to Queens: Re: Amazon, HQ2

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Dechirico

Giorgio de Chirico, Piazza d’Italia.

This blog only represents the views of the author and does not reflect the policies of the City of New York or its Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications. 

The original New York City highly incentivized corporate center was MetroTech in Downtown Brooklyn. MetroTech was built by Forest City/Ratner (FCRC) as back office space for Chemical Bank (now JP Morgan Chase), Bear Stearns (now defunct, as some may recall), Brooklyn Union Gas (now National Grid) – with some New York City government offices thrown in to sweeten the pot. Having worked in Queens for a decade, with an office now in Brooklyn at MetroTech, feel I have some credibility in bringing something to the spirited discussion now taking place about the advent of Amazon to the Queens waterfront.

The first point to get out-of-the-way is that no Governor or Mayor could ever let a project like H2Q slip through their hands without making a major effort to win the competition. It would be a political disaster to be seen as not having made a maximum effort to attract Amazon – even given the outcry now taking place on the part of some local elected officials. No one wants to be seen as the “the Mayor who let the Yankees move out-of-town.” In addition, these kinds of negotiations of necessity have to take place without publicity and with a minimum number of people involved. Complex economic development deals can’t be negotiated in public. For the deal to close there has to be a level of certainty to the outcome – hence the use of the Empire State Development Corporation to avoid the normal public review process. Putting the process behind closed doors and circumventing public review are political risks the Governor and Mayor took to get the deal done. If the electorate truly objects to the terms of the deal and the manner in which it was accomplished they have a remedy – vote them out of office at the next opportunity. That’s how democracy works. Continue reading →

Landing in Flyover Country

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A Cirrus SR 20

Our Towns: A 100,000 Mile Journey into the Heart of America

By: James and Deborah Fallows

432 Pages

http://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-8373827-11819508?sid=PRHEFFDF5A7F1&url=http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/?ean=9781101871843

Owning and being able to fly your own plane creates a tremendous opportunity to learn about what is happening in communities across the country. There are thousands of landing strips outside cities large and small, and while a small plane is highly subject to the vagaries of the weather and only travels at a speed of about 200 mph, it sure seems to beat driving – and the views can be both amazing and illuminating.

James and Deborah Fallows have a Cirrus SR 20 (retail price $329,000, in case you’re asking), and Mr. Fallows knows how to fly it. The SR 20, a reader learns from the book, is the most popular single engine propeller plane on the market – and it comes with its own parachute – for the plane. They took advantage of this resource to travel around the United States, from northern Maine to southern California, to explore non-gateway cities and their progress towards revitalization. The largest of the places visited was Columbus, Ohio (now the largest city in the state). But most of the towns were much smaller: Duluth; Greenville, South Caroline; Bend, Oregon.

I’ve often heard speak of James Fallows as a fellow traveler of the placemaking movement, and his writing for the Atlantic and its City Lab reflect that. The book’s acknowledgements cite Fred Kent, Bruce Katz, Amy Liu and Richard Florida, names we know. But James and Deborah Fallows bring a particular perspective to their odyssey. First they are people who can afford to buy and keep that plane! Second, it’s clear from the text that they are members in good standing of the “inside-the-beltway” establishment. Not only does Mr. Fallows write for the Atlantic, but he was, early in his career, a White House speech writer (for President Jimmy Carter). While an SR 20 can’t fly much higher than 10,000 feet, and generally flies at lower altitudes, the D.C. native perspective tends to be from 30,000 feet. Indeed the Fallows’ attempt to take the same approach in gathering information about each of the two-dozen towns they visit (starting with visiting the editor of the local paper) and try to draw out patterns among what they find. Continue reading →

The Prophet of Micropolis

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Vince DeSantis

Vince DeSantis

Vincent DeSantis, the author of “Toward Civic Integrity: Re-establishing the Micropolis,” published eleven years ago, works in the spirit of Holly Whyte: quietly, carefully and with great acuity. Vince was my host, at his B&B, on my trips to Gloversville, New York. He is a Gloversville native, an attorney, served as the City Court judge in town for years and is now the at-large member of the city’s Common Council. He’s the moving force behind many of the good things happening in Gloversville. What I didn’t know, I suppose because of his reserve and modesty, is that he wrote a book that was years ahead of its time and that even today should be essential reading for everyone involved in placemaking. Back in 2007, Vince was conclusively making the case for small cities and how to revitalize them.

The book is available here: http://www.amazon.com/Toward-Civic-Integrity-Re-establishing-Micropolis/dp/1933994258/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1529418592&sr=1-1&refinements=p_27%3AVincent+DeSantis or here:

http://shoptbmbooks.com/toward_civic_integrity.html.

A Ted Talk by Vince on the topic can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1qEpNWJGSk.

“Towards Civic Integrity” describes why the small city is a rewarding place to live and how it provides a fruitful medium for supporting an enriched civil society, using Gloversville as an example. Vince discusses how the economies of small cities work – how they add value to raw materials by making things and selling them to the world beyond, thereby creating wealth. He describes the social bonds that are created among citizens of small cities – and how small cities promote civic engagement and simple neighborliness. The book identifies the problems created for localities by capital markets and large corporations driven by lowering the prices for manufacture – and both their utility and their indifference to localities and human impacts. His vision for the future for Gloversville, articulated a decade before I came to similar conclusions after a couple of visits, was of a relatively low-cost, high quality of life for creative people (in the broadest sense) who engage in small-scale manufacture of high quality goods and delivery of unique services. This is economy made possible by the internet and efficient modern delivery systems – and replaces the manufacturing economy.

Continue reading →

THE RIGHT STUFF: SARATOGA SPRINGS

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Downtown Saratoga Springs

Saratoga Springs, New York seems to be doing all the right things. It has a great mix of local and national retailers. The buildings along Broadway, the main street, are generally of high quality vernacular late 19th and early 20th Century architecture. More recent additions have been designed, for the most part, to be consistent with the existing architectural vocabulary. The city even boasts a major new development by national real estate investor/developers. Broadway sports wide sidewalks and some decent site furnishings and horticultural amenities. It has a lively pedestrian presence both day and night. It has all the things economic development professionals are seeking for their communities. Being there is simply a great experience. It is a place with a distinct identity. It provides a range of options. It feels safe and pleasant. It is simply all the things we want a public space experience to be.

Those of us in public space revitalization frequently focus on whats wrong with places. But Saratoga Springs presents an opportunity to look at what’s right. It would be well worthwhile for those of us interested in downtown economic development to take a close look at the programs and forces that brought this positive turn of events into being. I can’t think of a more appealing small city downtown anywhere. Generally, small town great main streets don’t spontaneously generate.

A lively downtown hasn’t always been the case in Saratoga Springs. We visited the city in the late 80’s and early 90’s and found it run down. During the racing seasons at the historic thoroughbred racetrack, from mid-July through the end of August, hospitality amenities in town were grossly over-priced. On one trip to Saratoga Springs about 25 years ago we stayed in one of the most disgusting hotel rooms in our thirty years of extensive travel. We took a dated, uncomfortable room with a shared bath in a rooming house during the race season for over $400. This year our stay was in a brand new Embassy Suites, which was part of a development including off-street retail adjacent to, but not in, the hotel. Continue reading →

PPS WELCOMES NEW CEO, PHILIP MYRICK

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5b35290b3af99e31dcb04038_Phil (1)http://www.pps.org/article/pps-welcomes-new-ceo-philip-myrick

A huge step forward for placemaking — beginning an era of openness to new ideas, partnerships with all individuals and organizations who share PPS’s mission and kindness. The Board of PPS owes a huge debt of gratitude to Gary Toth for leading us through the transition under difficult circumstances; to Jon Zagrodzky for wise and effective strategic counsel; and to Robert Bass for his unfailing support and leadership. Not-for-profit founder transitions can be difficult, but with a great staff, strong board and committed supporters it is possible. I’m so much looking forward to working with Phil Myrick to expand PPS’ reach in creating great public spaces and revitalizing cities and towns.

Meet Me In St. Louis

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IMG_1635Downtown St. Louis has made as little progress in urban revitalization as any big city downtown I have been visiting over the last twenty-five years, despite a number of high-profile projects, like Union Station, and the continued success in a number of other St. Louis neighborhoods, like the Central West End, Grand Center, Lafayette Park and Laclede’s Landing. It is significant that the Downtown does come alive, to a certain extent, on the nights of Cardinals games. But when there is no game, both at night and during the day, the streets and sidewalks of the Downtown are dead.

There are a number of contributing factors to this, beyond the impact of the car and the “white flight” that affected so many post-industrial downtowns in the 1960’s and after. First is how far apart from each other active uses are in the Downtown. Many of the streets, particularly Market, are quite wide. Those streets have little shade. Building entrances, particularly those of structures built after 1960, are far apart – and those buildings have only one pedestrian entrance, limiting the level of visible pedestrian activity. Ground floor retail is unusually discontinuous. The St. Louis climate is particularly hostile to outdoor activity year round. A high level of heat and humidity dissuades pedestrians from remaining outdoors for about half the year. With a serious lack of shade – even in parks and plazas – as a result of very limited tree cover. The city’s major tourist attraction, The Gateway Arch, is set off from the downtown by an at-grade highway, and the classic Dan Kiley landscape around it (which has recently been extensively restored), tends to preference design over people and is generally forbidding. Finally, St. Louis may continue to be the most racially segregated big city in America. Continue reading →

What’s The Matter With Nebraska?

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omaha skyline

Omaha Skyline

A recent trip to Omaha, Nebraska revealed to me a way in which the United States has changed in the last forty years that hasn’t been much commented upon. Perhaps we might call it “The Kale Effect.” I went to college in Ohio in the 1970’s, and as an active alumnus of my college I made frequent return visits. I used to say that in decades of trips to Northeastern Ohio I had never had a good meal. But I certainly am unable to say that any more. Cleveland has become a Midwestern gastronomic destination (and I have had many a good meal at The Albatross in University Circle in recent years). High quality food culture has reached many, if not most, cities of any size between the coasts – and food journalism frequently focuses on great new finds in both of the Portlands (Oregon and Maine) – and many places in between.

On a weekend trip to Omaha we ate in TWO French bistro style restaurants – both of which served both good food and interesting wines and beers. And yes, kale, the sacred vegetable of Brooklyn was on the menu in both places (a food, the romance of which is lost on me). Even on a recent trip to Gloversville, New York, in the rural foothills of the Adirondacks, both kale soup and kale salad were on offer. The latest food trends have become ubiquitous across a country where in the middle of the 20th century spaghetti and meatballs was considered exotic. Continue reading →