What Passes for Optimism

Regarding that article in the Real Estate section in which I was quoted, ThatGreenpointBlog (in the course of saying some nice things about me – the feeling is mutual) has taken exception to the “optimistic view of Greenpoint” conveyed by the article.

Golly, it was an article in the Real Estate section (and a good one, at that). If you were expecting a hard-hitting investigative piece on the state of Greenpoint after the collapse of the world economy, you’re reading the wrong section of the paper. Besides, I have to say that I’m hard pressed (having reread the article a couple of times) to find the rampant cheerleading. Can an article that talks about the GTM fire, a 17-million gallon oil spill, Newtown Creek Superfunding, a waterfront wasteland, a 20% year-over-year drop in real estate prices, and the lack of promised parks and open space really be that optimistic?

And for the record (I’m looking at you, Commenter #4, “Bri” – Community Board 1 voted against the 2005 rezoning because it was too much development, not enough affordable housing, not enough protection for local industry and not enough parks and open space. You can look it up (here too).

2 responses to “What Passes for Optimism”

  1. 11211, I applaud you for sticking to your guns on this. Indeed, I don’t detect any “cheeleading” in your commentary – just a realistic and hopeful view of the neighborhood. Some people feel that adopting a curmudegonly attitude might precipitate action (at least, that’s the only reasonable spin I can put on it, otherwise it’s just miserable), but that tends to be counter-productive. Keep fighting the good fight.

  2. Less to fear from the curmedgeon than from the histrionic, I’d say.