Well folks, it appears to be happening. 626 has closed, and Hudson's ready to roll.
626 Flatbush.
Le post previous on le subject.
Regarding comments below about the other big apartment projects:
Chetrit's still plodding along on Parkside. Tom Anderson said they were up for another shot at public financing in June for Lincoln Road. I'll drop him a line. Everybody wants these things done yesterday, huh?
Always with the schpilkas! They'll happen when they happen. What, you're gonna get out there and help them throw up some gyp-board?
Seriously though, I've been watching the wheels go around both here and in other parts of Brooklyn very closely. And I'm wondering...what exactly is it that you makes y'all so sure a big tower goes up, and things get clean and tidy and less gangstery? And how does that happen, exactly? I mean, the police ARE paying very close attention, and have been, and a lot of things they've been watching I can't even tell you about because it really could muck things up if word got out. I'm serious...not that we've got Einstein and Holmes on the case, but there are cops out there, believe it or not, so I'm not sure a single building would, by itself, spell the difference.
I think one commenter nailed it when he/she talked about strolling Flatbush. Because of the perception of danger, families don't really shop or hang on the Flabenue, making it LESS safe, and that feeds on itself. Businesses have no need to cater to types of business that doesn't exist, and the cycle continues. Lighting is spotty; supers and biz owners don't shoo away loiterers. Dogs are allowed to terrify people. This stuff ain't rocket science. What I'm saying is if more people WENT there and hung out, fewer knuckleheads would hang there. And if more people hung out, more 911 calls would come in complaining about unacceptable behavior and trash. That's really a big part of what changes - perception. There's other stuff too of course, but that's what I saw happen on Smith Street, long before it became restaurant row. And folks, it was DANGEROUS in 1989. No joke. Then I saw it on 5th Ave. And Vanderbilt. And Dekalb. And Murder, I mean Myrtle. And Franklin...
And I'm looking at this issue as closely as I can for a guy with a family with a full time job. It's fascinating stuff. I keep coming back to the book "There Goes the 'Hood." by Lance Freeman, mostly because it's the only full book I've had a chance to read since, I dunno, Voyage of the Dawn Treader or something, but also because he notes the both micro and macro ways that change happens.
These days I'm watching a slow motion soap opera on my street, and the story is not at all linear. And real people get lost and bruised in the shuffle. There's more white folk on block, to be sure. Has quality of life gotten better? Me and (30 year resident and co-conspirator) Janice were talking last night and the answer is...sorta, not really. And very few people, at the end of the day, give a damn about the big picture.
626 Flatbush.
Le post previous on le subject.
Regarding comments below about the other big apartment projects:
Chetrit's still plodding along on Parkside. Tom Anderson said they were up for another shot at public financing in June for Lincoln Road. I'll drop him a line. Everybody wants these things done yesterday, huh?
Always with the schpilkas! They'll happen when they happen. What, you're gonna get out there and help them throw up some gyp-board?
Seriously though, I've been watching the wheels go around both here and in other parts of Brooklyn very closely. And I'm wondering...what exactly is it that you makes y'all so sure a big tower goes up, and things get clean and tidy and less gangstery? And how does that happen, exactly? I mean, the police ARE paying very close attention, and have been, and a lot of things they've been watching I can't even tell you about because it really could muck things up if word got out. I'm serious...not that we've got Einstein and Holmes on the case, but there are cops out there, believe it or not, so I'm not sure a single building would, by itself, spell the difference.
I think one commenter nailed it when he/she talked about strolling Flatbush. Because of the perception of danger, families don't really shop or hang on the Flabenue, making it LESS safe, and that feeds on itself. Businesses have no need to cater to types of business that doesn't exist, and the cycle continues. Lighting is spotty; supers and biz owners don't shoo away loiterers. Dogs are allowed to terrify people. This stuff ain't rocket science. What I'm saying is if more people WENT there and hung out, fewer knuckleheads would hang there. And if more people hung out, more 911 calls would come in complaining about unacceptable behavior and trash. That's really a big part of what changes - perception. There's other stuff too of course, but that's what I saw happen on Smith Street, long before it became restaurant row. And folks, it was DANGEROUS in 1989. No joke. Then I saw it on 5th Ave. And Vanderbilt. And Dekalb. And Murder, I mean Myrtle. And Franklin...
And I'm looking at this issue as closely as I can for a guy with a family with a full time job. It's fascinating stuff. I keep coming back to the book "There Goes the 'Hood." by Lance Freeman, mostly because it's the only full book I've had a chance to read since, I dunno, Voyage of the Dawn Treader or something, but also because he notes the both micro and macro ways that change happens.
These days I'm watching a slow motion soap opera on my street, and the story is not at all linear. And real people get lost and bruised in the shuffle. There's more white folk on block, to be sure. Has quality of life gotten better? Me and (30 year resident and co-conspirator) Janice were talking last night and the answer is...sorta, not really. And very few people, at the end of the day, give a damn about the big picture.