Even though so many changes have occurred, those that are publicized appear for the better, but many are still under the poverty line. As a consequence of the rising rents and the changing economy of the city, because of the fiscal crisis of 1975, New York began cutting funding for public education and services instead of taxing the wealthy. Wages for government officials shrunk and the rich proceeded to get richer as the result of Reagan’s trickle-down policy.
Williamsburg and Greenpoint represent two diverse areas. Because of its proximity to the Lower East Side, Williamsburg was greatly influenced culturally, and the difference between the two areas has become more apparent since 1950, when Robert Moses separated Greenpoint from Williamsburg by destroying homes for the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. Over the past years, Greenpoint has become a distinctly Polish area. Since the early 1980s, the absentee landlords in Greenpoint have renovated apartments, increased the rents exponentially, and rented to young, well-educated professionals, with Williamsburg becoming comparatively poorer. Even in Williamsburg, aggressive landlords have displaced the poorer residents with increased rents and property values. The residents have demanded government reinvestment in their neighborhoods however, when reinvestment did occur, it served the interests of the wealthy rather than the poor.
The residents of Greenpoint and Williamsburg have worked together to negotiate conflicts, to improve the public facilities, and to forge a connected, vibrant neighbor- hood with deep cultural roots. They have banded together to fight for the loss of their democratic voice. There has been a decrease in public assistance, with increasing difficulties for women to maintain their families, especially as they began actively participating in neighborhood activities, fighting for the preservation of their rights and the rights of the denizens of the area. Williamsburg has extensive NYC Housing Authority projects and a poorer Latino population has remained there. The population of the homeless has also increased because of this increase in living costs.
McCarren Park has long been a unifying symbol of the area, a public space for community activities. Though it has not been in use for twenty years, it has been the site of community activities, such as concerts, but now plans for its reopening have been set in motion because of community efforts.
However, Bloomberg, planned the rezoning of the area in order to allow for more residential areas instead of commercial and industry areas, much to the dismay of community activists, who nonetheless fought for the promise of government improvement of the park area.
A comparison between the Occupy Wall Street movement is made in that they both seek to protect the interests of the people and defend democratic rights. This is shown to be a perpetual battle against those who seek to oppress.
