Size Matters
On the heels of Manhattan's largest auto mall setting up shop in my East Harlem neighborhood, news of a proposed parking lot continues to trickle in. The project would include 1,000 new parking spaces and an underground garage for city buses. It is massive in scope; filling an area bounded by 125th and 127th Streets and Second and Third Avenues.
The parking lot proposal is part of a "bigger is better" development agenda being pushed on East Harlem. There are also plans to build a shopping center along the East River between 116th and 119th Streets that would include a Home Depot and a Costco.
Where am I? Last time I checked, Harlem was still attached to the island of Manhattan. These retailers, parking lots and auto malls seem detached from Manhattan reality. Sure, New Yorkers like to shop big; but they generally do so in local shops and small boutiques. Harlem needs big-scale planning for small-scale projects; planning that reflects the neighborhood and the residents that reside here...
The parking lot proposal is part of a "bigger is better" development agenda being pushed on East Harlem. There are also plans to build a shopping center along the East River between 116th and 119th Streets that would include a Home Depot and a Costco.
Where am I? Last time I checked, Harlem was still attached to the island of Manhattan. These retailers, parking lots and auto malls seem detached from Manhattan reality. Sure, New Yorkers like to shop big; but they generally do so in local shops and small boutiques. Harlem needs big-scale planning for small-scale projects; planning that reflects the neighborhood and the residents that reside here...
posted by Rachel Natalie Klein at 3:18 PM
4 Comments:
As I'm sure the CEOs of Home Depot and Cotsco would say: "Every one of us is given an opportunity in life. It’s the person who can recognize an opportunity who comes out ahead."
Touché, David. I agree with your point and am curious about local opposition to the site: How many people were involved/how organized & outspoken were they/how connected politically etc. Any insight?
Big business will certainly thrive in this area, as hundreds of thousands of cars pass by the site each day. Construction on the East River Plaza project is set to begin in early March and is estimated at more than 300-million-dollars.
I'm don't know anything about it. I live in Park Slope, and over the last nine years have watched 5th avenue evolve from rows of burnt-out storefronts to the new restaurant hotspot. The improvements are welcome, but there is no middle ground and working people are being pushed out because of the ridiculous rent hikes.
As far as political connections for big development ideas, Ratner's sports stadium is a good example down here. We have a Target and Chucky Cheese on Atlantic Avenue, as well.
All in the spirit of the "shopping mall" look that is proliferating througout the city.
As a person who lives on 118th and Pleasant and can look out my window and see the construction and hear the noise at 7 am each morning, I am both excited and nervous about the economic developments occuring in this area. I own a brownstone, so I can only imagine the value of having a home in this area, but at the same time, dealing with the headaches and changes construction and economic developments and investors with deep pockets bring worries me.
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