Group Calls Bloomberg's Proposed LES Rezone "Racist"

yep, you shouldn't be surprised.

you're famous on gawker.

these "quay-lows" don't care about chinatown. there shouldn't be any height restrictions.

^ "But if you compare the displaced residents to the new residents... well let's just say there will be a striking contrast."

But, QRaymond, isn't that a classist argument and not a racist argument?

I have followed this re-zoning since its inception.

There was much ample notice and loads of hearings.

The Chinatown community was asleep at the wheel. (let's keep it at "Chinatown"and not 'Chinese" to avoid the race-baiting and because a whole lot of ethnicities live in Chinatown besides Chinese).

About six months ago, a Trotskyite gadfly from the EV, who was rebuked by even the most NIMBY on CB3 for his outlandish behavior, approached the Chinatown community, and, like the Trot that he is, tried to inspire international proletarian revolution, as it were.

Unfortunately, naive elements within the Chinatown community fell for it, hook, line and sinker.

Soon followed the "racism' charges. Heck, if you have no argument, start slinging invectives like 'racism' and surely some of the sh*t will stick.

False cries of 'racism' work when your arguments fail from lack of truth.

That, IMHO, is the genesis of this nonsense, and most of the activists who slaved on this for years would agree

From what I have read the 197 re-zoning plan will actually increase development in the East Village, and will dramatically increase development and displacement on the Bowery and Chinatown.

The question is, does this increased development expand the stock of middle and affordable housing?

The answer is no-- all we'll get is overcrowding, a greater strain on our infrastructure, and the widespread displacement of our communities.

Is it racist? Maybe not in the minds of its creators. But if you compare the displaced residents to the new residents... well let's just say there will be a striking contrast.

^ "Could have fooled me." ^

Why is that no surprise?

I think that's an iffy argument, though it's obviously not explained very well here.

Protecting the LES / East Village from high rise developers is DEFINITELY a good thing.

Every time I see that BLUE condo that went up (and was responsible for getting Tonic closed down) on Delancey I want to puke. The irony of it being built over a 99 cent store was overwhelming.

Could have fooled me.

Irish and Italians don't constantly play the race card.

Chinese do.

Every race is racist; it's just particularly enjoyable to call out activistos because they're the loudest hypocrites on the subject.

Come to think of it, the Irish live as one big happy family, both the Catholic and Protestant. There's no discrimination there either. I guess all that killing in Ireland was just a "mistake."

@thefacts

Actually, "lo fan" is Hungarian which mean "horsedick in your ass." The Chinese LOVE speaking Hungarian every chance they get. Don't believe me? Watch Blade Runner with Ridley Scott commentary on when Edward James Olmos called Deckard a "lo fan." I guess "horsedick in your ass" has equal meaning to "White Devil."

"Hell, they even discriminate among themselves, one province with the next."

Riiiight....and Northern Italians has no such discrimination against their Southern Italian brethren.

Sounds like height limits there are a good thing.

Before the bank and condos were built on Houston and B, the building next to it almost collapsed from the construction. The entire structure across one side cracked. The city wanted to force all the tenants out, somehow a compromise was made and it was decided to use steel beams to support the building until the new high rise was finished which would support the building. Granted this high rise kept the building from losing a wall or falling on its side, however it would have never cracked to begin with had developers not ripped up the ground near its foundation and cause so interference that you could feel the ground shaking 2 blocks away in another apartment building. If they continue putting up these buildings, simple apartment buildings will just crumble. Developers won't have to worry about angry tenants, we'll all be dead under the rubble and our belongings.

I predict more construction accidents if they replace tenements with high rises in that neighborhood. just like what happened earlier this summer, you can't shoe horn a glass and concrete high rise.

those are small lots anyway, it's like what's happening in Queens. building 5 story multi dwellings on what was once a single fam home sized lot.

One of the major reasons for height limits in the LES is because the residents want sunlight. If you start constructing tall buildings it will turn the area into a miserable dungeon. Because the number of families and long time residents of the area have been forced out the opposition to the rezoning has diminished. The new transient residents aren't going to take a stand against the rezoning. Even the community and tenant advocacy group Good Ole Lower East Side (GOLES) supports the rezoning. Talk about sell outs. Maybe that has to do something with the $300,000 in Federal pork dollars they had received in 2007.

As far as I know Chinatown property is overwhelmingly Chinese-owned, so any "selling out" for a luxury high-rise would have to come from within the community. I don't see how you can call that racist.

Chinese should be the last to call anyone racists.

Ask them what "lo fan' means, their favorite pejorative for "white devils".

(opps, I gave it away.)

Hell, they even discriminate among themselves, one province with the next.

i hardly think this proposal is racist

The walls are held up by structural roaches.

Most of the smaller buildings in Chinatown appear terribly run-down. Luxury high-rises are certainly not the answer, and neither are housing projects, but the area needs to be cleaned up. I always wonder how most of the businesses and apartment buildings in Chinatown ever pass health and building inspections - they look like they'll cave in at any moment.