Mayor DeBlasio is planning to build a new housing project in East New York. Although the neighborhood is not considerably affluent, I thought that the comments made by many of the residents were relevant to our discussions. In particular, the comment “New housing should not overwhelm the neighborhood’s character, one resident, Tommy Smiling, said as he stood outside a bodega on Pitkin Avenue. In swiftly gentrifying parts of Brooklyn like Clinton Hill, where Mr. Smiling’s son lives, “it’s all brownstones, and then you have this skyscraper,” he said. “I’m not into that. Four stories? O.K., that’s not bad.” ” was striking

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/07/nyregion/brooklynites-welcome-a-plan-for-more-affordable-housing.html?ref=nyregion&_r=0