Monday, March 26, 2012

Onward, Brooklyn Boulevard

The Park Slope Civic Council is a hosting a Fourth Avenue pilot-project workshop tonight at the Brooklyn Lyceum.  The project, between Bergen & Degraw, will serve as a model for a grander transformation of "urban space" on Fourth. I'm sorry I won't be able to make it, but maybe it's just as well.  This sort of urban-design jargon makes me angry & depressed:

Through a series of playful temporary interventions, the pilot project will 1) begin the dialogue to engage residents along 4th Avenue and 2) test greening strategies and 3) create a socially engaged streetscape through experimental play...
Some initial questions:
    How might we transform the street into a living room for the weekend?
    How might we transform a few parking spaces into mini-gardens?
          How might we ingrate new behaviors on the street that incorporate movement and social interaction?   

          How might we form a new identity along 4th Avenue that connects these interventions together?

          How might we collect the wishes of other residents passing by?

The thought of Fourth Avenue as a weekend living room is my idea of hell, & the talk of "new behaviors on the street" (queues for brunch?  perhaps a return of the infamous dumpster swimming pool?) are only cause for unease.  Despite the condos that tower over the avenue, I still like Fourth as a refuge from the crowds further east, and don't think it needs a "new identity" but I guess it'll soon be completely colonized by chattering hordes. Why does it (like so much of Manhattan & the western shores of Brooklyn ) have to become drained of real-world value, & turned into some sort of giant playland for immature, wealthy adults?  It will soon be nothing at all.

4 comments:

peggy said...

hi kate! my feelings on this are decidedly more mixed than yours. i am curious: what do you mean, exactly, by "real-world value"?

onemorefoldedsunset said...

Even I'm not sure! I couldn't put my finger on what I really meant to say, but was really annoyed by the Civic Council language I quoted. It seemed patronizing and fanciful, as if the avenue were just a blank canvas for entitled fun & games. The reality is (whether one likes it or not) is that it's a major traffic artery in the city, and though it's got plenty of condos (& some attendant bars, restaurants, etc.) it's also got a lot of older businesses that continue to be driven out as the makeover continues. I don't really see what it "needs" to become. I think neighborhoods can become so saturated by gentrification that they sort of become like film sets, or foreign to the people that originally lived in them. Parodies of living. Sorry - still not really answering your question! Maybe over a drink soon?

peggy said...

I see your point but the reality is that "things change". It is sad to see old-timers driven out but many are reaching retirement age anyway and will be gone regardless of gentrification, etc. Yes, we are due for a drink!

onemorefoldedsunset said...

Yes, things do change. I suppose I am increasingly weary of the changes. I miss the decreasing mix of people that used to live around me - just on my block alone. I miss some of the eccentricity & friendliness of fellow neighbors. Brokers ring my doorbell & contractors call on the phone, looking to buy, buy, buy. Right now I'm haunted by real-estate demons. I think about getting out of here more & more frequently.