Author: Kevin Rawdon

New York in its essence, is a city of business. The Dutch East India company, first settling the island, established its reputation as a center of commerce. From  the New Amsterdam of the past to the New York City of the present there have been many dynamic shifts in the purpose and the utility of the city. Yet in light of all these changes the simple fact remains that New York City has a strong economy backed by business. As the city grew and Brooklyn shed its agricultural landscape, the amount of people steadily increased, however, at a certain point the size of the city stagnated. The outer boroughs met their boundaries, and thus the capability of spreading out was eliminated. The city then had to build upwards, establishing places for people to live where once birds flew.

Fast forwarding to the present we see a new kind of business boom, forcing new changes. This is the tech boom, the latest and arguably most dramatic influx of new labor in the city, and all around the world. At the very least, the most dramatic in recent history. “New York City’s tech sector employed 117,147 people in 2014, a 71 percent increase from a decade earlier (68,571).” The sonorous BOOM of the tech industry is echoing all through the city, throughout seemingly unrelated sectors of metropolitan life. The numbers alone are astounding. The starting income of these individuals would impress mechanical engineers, and the sheer volume of work that has been created where previously there was none demands serious attention. This BOOM has great potential to destroy rather than clear the rubble allowing for greater development.

The boundary between destruction and production is very fine. The guardian of this boundary is of course, the citizens of New York City and their representative in government. A massive influx of work and capital can seem to have no repercussions, however, upon closer inspection it is clear that these changes in the city’s economy are affecting those with no ties to the benefits of new capital. These people are the lower and middle classes. The new capital and new high paying work is forcing those making less and paying less for housing to be deemed undesirable. Thus they are uprooted in order to have another tech worker live and pay more where that middle class worker once lived.

The people of New York City must be able to tame this unwieldy BOOM. This influx must be tamed and channeled into the bettering of the city, rather than the destruction. This sound must bend to the will of the populace bellowing consonance rather than economic dissonance. Unless it is decided that New York City should be thrall to economics.

In this ‘New World’ we are living in, technology has reached the core. Technology infects or augments our everyday lives depending on an individuals judgment. On either side there are individuals with great passion for their perspective who call for, or tell of the destruction of the opposition. Those in opposition to technology, along with its redefinition of society call for elimination of this tide of influence from our everyday lives. Widespread surveillance, use of synthesizers and computers to produce music, use of machines to replace human labor, as well as open arms being extended to technology based city economies, are all things these individuals would oppose. On the other side, those in support of technology would point to the inevitability of technologies influence, citing the convenience it provides over the “Old World” obstacles such as learning an instrument before making music, or paying for human labor minimizing profits. The inevitability of the technological tide holds more weight in my opinion. Elijah in his post expressed his techno-fatalist view which I find more pragmatic than subscribing to one end of the optimist, pessimist binary.

With this type of fatalist view, we see the changes that are happening in our world as inevitable, and in acknowledging this we can guide the changes in the best way we find. Rather than throwing rocks in windows of tech-based businesses, we must see these changes and react with them, not against them. It’s clear from the venture capital charts that the centers of technology tend to be in strong economic cities, with legislation that opens itself to a change in their workforce. San Francisco being the start-up capital has seen its city scape change dramatically. New York City has not opened its arms as wide, but is experiencing the same type of changes. In New Geography these changes have been triangulated as a “Hollowing Out of the American Labor Market.” The working class is having the carpet pulled out from under them, while the low wage jobs still need to be done, and the upper wages rise higher. This hollowing out does not show signs of filling back in. The question is NOT whether you like technology or not, or whether you think we should accept technology as a base in our economy. Rather it is a question of how we deal with this INEVITABLE change in our world. We must face the abyss that faces us, and sway it by with all of our might.

ps: technology is a totally viable base for a musical genre. i dig it.

The housing market in NYC has become a satire of itself. It is easy to laugh about the absurdities of soaring prices bolstered by the establishment of pretentious businesses, however, these comical aspects can divert attention from the true injustices. The ultra rich who have more money then they know what to do with are playing monopoly with the city. Rather than being attracted to a community for its sought after commodities, the ultra rich are interested only in a secure real estate investment. Meanwhile these unscrupulous investors displace the wealthy yuppies into hipster zones, subsequently the younger, less wealthy hipsters retreat into cheaper neighborhoods, further and further into Brooklyn. The only wealth that trickles down in NYC is for the landlords of these newly desired areas who are now sitting on a goldmine. The residents of these areas then become displaced. Displacement is one of the greatest issues presented by the readings. Where do these people go and what they do?

The answer is not clear. For now, they have their communities torn apart by those with more monetary value. The solution to this crisis is to get the super rich out of the city. They do not contribute anything to the culture of the city. Without regard to their money, they are worthless to the city. The people participating and living in the city are being uprooted by these privileged schlubs who have nothing better to do than throw their money around. To accomplish this, first there must be an empowering of Community Boards to foster the growth of a massive grassroots movement that could unite the diverse communities of active citizens in New York City. With organization the people of New York City will be able to stand up to those who contribute nothing to our city.