New York City is considered one of the top retail capitals of the world. With designer stores and famous spots littered around the city, it is no wonder that the city’s retail industry is flourishing. On one end of these retail stores are the chains (ex: drug stores and banks) and designer stores (like Marc Jacobs) that are the big businesses that dominate the market. On the other end are small mom-and-pop businesses—the ones that define the culture of the community and neighborhood they are located in. While many of these small businesses are places that are treasured by New York City residents, the majority of them are being wiped out by the effects of gentrification and the rapidly changing real-estate market. About 1000 small businesses close each month in NYC (Theodos), and the future for the rest of the small businesses in the city is questionable. Jeremiah Moss’ blog, Vanishing New York, is an extensive documentation on valued small businesses and how they are driven out by the forces of gentrification. The posts on his blog cover all the neighborhoods across the 5 boroughs, and dates back to 2007. It provides as a record for all the mom-and-pops, clubs, and little stores whose disappearances usually raise a small outcry from the neighborhood they’re from, and then gradually fade from everyone’s memories.
Gentrification Has Virtually No Effect on Homeowners
The general public knows that residential displacement is the biggest and most negative impact of growing levels of gentrification in major cities. What is unknown, and what is commonly misconceived, is the extent to how great the effect of gentrification is on displacement among the poor. Stabrowski, Newman, Wily, and Vigdor all attempt to answer this question, with the understanding that it is very difficult to measure indirect displacement as a result of gentrification. They have all concluded that statistically, only about 1.3% of family displacement has been directly due to gentrification (according to a study conducted by urban planner Lance Freeman). Their opinions diverge, however, when taking a step further to study how big a part gentrification plays in indirect displacement—that is, how income, community value, and a sense of belonging leads people to leave their homes for a poorer neighborhood. Richard Florida’s article, “Gentrification Has Virtually No Effect on Homeowners,” adds on to this discussion by reviewing a new disparity that many urban theorists don’t consider—the effect of gentrification on displacement of renters vs. displacement of homeowners.
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The Rise of Brooklyn, What’s Wrong and What’s Right
The word “gentrification” brings, to the typical New Yorker, an image of evil—where lower and working class residents are pushed out of their homes by the upper class, and when the culture and community of each neighborhood gradually loses its identify. Alan Ehrenhalt’s NYTimes article, “The Rise of Brooklyn, What’s Wrong and What’s Right” localizes the effect of gentrification to Brooklyn, and discusses the glossed-over aspects of the process by referring to an assessment done by Kay S. Hymowitz.
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How 19th Century Immigration Made New York City Rethink Its Parks
Some of the leaders in the development and redevelopment of New York City have been urban planners who did not see the city as a whole, but rather prioritized social classes based on how much their wealth can contribute to the success of NYC as the financial capital of world. Brian Tochterman’s article points out that Florida’s theory on urban development favored the “creative” class, and ignored the rest of NYC’s population—which made it impractical for its application on the city. Tom Angotti’s chapter discusses how larger and more powerful players have pushed smaller and local property owners and business out of the real estate market throughout the course of NYC’s history. Many other leading theorists in the FIRE fields have shaped NYC to become more of a city for the wealthy and powerful, rather than for the entire population. This priority was subtly expressed in various projects throughout Manhattan—a key project being the creation of Central Park. Central Park was supposed to be a public project designed to boost the social, moral, and biological quality of the city and all of its citizens, but it was manipulated in many aspects to benefit the rich and ignore the poor.
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Robert Moses and the Decline of the NYC Subway System
Robert Moses is unarguably one of the greatest influences in the development of New York City. What is arguable, and in fact heavily debated, is whether his work had a more positive or negative effect on the city. Continue reading “Robert Moses and the Decline of the NYC Subway System”
