Overdevelopment and the Non-Hispanic White Community
From The Peopling of New York City
Contents |
From An Interview with a Community Stakeholder
The non-Hispanic white community of Flushing arguably is responsible for the greatest amount of resistance to overdevelopment. This could be due to higher levels of home ownership, along with a longer history within the community. Ownership is a stand alone reason for resistance to overdevelopment because the developments often stick out in neighborhoods, lower property values, strain public infrastructure (e.g., schools), and can cause problems for other properties. The impression left by community stakeholders in this group, such as Paul Graziano, is that they are heavily against these new developments because of the impacts on neighborhood aesthetics and quality of life.
However, it is a matter of opinion whether these new developments are not aesthetically pleasing. They must be to the owners if they are willing to purchase them. Furthermore, whether the neighbors have the right to make decisions over someone else’s property is unclear.
In regards to racial tensions and overdevelopment, the non-Hispanic white community may have seen these overdevelopments in the past as an invasion by other racial groups, specifically Asian. However, today it seems as if no particular group is responsible for these developments and in fact, non-Hispanic whites themselves may be the proud owners of what some community members may describe as a monstrosity. A lot of the original racial tension between non-Hispanic whites and Asians was caused by the fears of overdevelopment. However, the real cause of these developments is simply money, a factor that is affecting another group even more drastically. See Overdevelopment and the African-American Community
Media
Audio from a Meeting with Mr. GrazianoConclusion
The non-Hispanic white population of Flushing is declining as is its African American community but at a much slower rate. Because of their higher levels of home ownership, non-Hispanic whites have a greater stake in Flushing but overdevelopment will continue to occur unless restrictive zoning changes are put in place. It appears as if non-Hispanic whites mainly inhabit the peripheral areas of Flushing rather than in downtown but that may change with the new downtown construction. A complete out-migration of non-Hispanic whites will not occur even in the age of overdevelopment in Flushing because of this group's strong connection to the community and its role within it.