The ULURP committee had a meeting on February 4 with the goal of answering questions about the recent proposal to apply upzoning to most of the area. The meeting was intended to resolve some of the residents’ fears and trepidations about the project, but the whole thing felt more like an episode of Jerry Springer. Amid the more relevant questions of the availability of affordable housing and the survival of small business were angry residents who were too emotional to fully convey their points. One lady went so far as to boo a speaker away from the podium and demand that the committee look each resident in the face before “kicking them out of their homes.”

It’s no secret, then, that there is much hostility about the prospect of high-rises and more expensive rent. The question was brought up over and over of what would be lost by not going through with the upzoning project. One Crown Heights resident, a middle-aged man, made a very good point; he averred that the committee needs to prioritize before upzoning, deciding whether it’s more important to make money or help the community. The committee responded by saying that the promised goal was to preserve the community while making it more financially prospective, but failed to delve into details on how this would be ensured.

As the Crown Heights residents went up to speak, the emphasis on community was apparent. Most speakers told their stories and shared how they wouldn’t be able to afford rent if the project went through. These speakers were supported by the audience, and someone went so far as to plead with the committee that: “we’re a community. I love these people. I don’t want to lose that.”

It seems the biggest concerns lied in the fact that with upzoning comes more expensive buildings. The poorest people would be pushed out and replaced because they can’t afford rent; those who were able to keep their domiciles would face issues with the more expensive market that would inevitably arise. Diversity, some residents argued, would be crushed; the neighborhood would become dominated only by “yuppies” who could afford the new expenses. Where would that leave the rest of the residents? Where would they have left to escape to?

The MTOPP, a neighborhood-born coalition, was present and passed out flyers. These detailed the many ways transit-oriented development in America has failed people in the past, citing San Francisco and Seattle as examples. Though their mission is with a good heart, much of the pamphlet was rife with propaganda and contradictions.

It seems to me that upzoning will, indeed, ruin much of the current community of Crown Heights. However, a louder voice needs to emerge to speak for the neighborhood, one that maintains a clear track of logic and who can represent fully the diverse community there. Until then, it appears that upzoning will most likely continue, and the people will end up displaced – or at least with the constant threat of displacement looming.

MTOPP’s website: http://mtopp.org

Community Board 9: http://www.communitybrd9bklyn.org/committees/