It has recently been announced that city officials will be investing $210 million in an effort to fight the ongoing crime in New York City Housing Developments. $210 million that will be spent on NYPD patrols, exterior lighting and whatever other safety precautions the city sees fit to address this growing problem. But where is the money for the playgrounds that sit at the heart of most of these developments? Where is the money for the after school programs that usually run in the community rec center or how about money for the seniors who make up a good portion of NYCHA's residents?
My parents moved to the WilliamsBridge section of the Bronx during a time of turmoil. Terms like "white flight" and arson were synonymous with the period. The Bronx was burning. The Parkside Houses were a peaceful hamlet of sorts, quietly tucked away between the Bronx River and Co-Op City. Built in 1954, they were more than a few steps up from the dilapidated buildings that dotted the South Bronx like terrible acne. It was a completely different world. It was clean but more importantly it was safe.
During the summer there were annual cookouts, completely free. They were usually funded by the local community board, a few native political figures, and the housing authority. There was always an abundance of food, games, and prizes. Live music was supplied by the old timers who would always dust off their instruments in order to provide us with some quality entertainment. It was how I was introduced to smooth jazz and big band music. There was also free day camp for the kids in the neighborhood, not just strictly the children living in the projects. Volunteers from the community who were temporarily unemployed or youths preparing to enter the work field would rally up the children and take them to the various parks that surround the area like the Bronx Zoo or the New York Botanical Garden. In exchange they were able to keep their names on the lease without having to see an increase in the rent. It was a system that benefited not only the housing authority and the tenant but the community as a whole.
When the projects were first conceived by Robert Moses in the early 1930's it was originally intended for working class families who lived in the city. One of the first of its kind it was and is the largest public housing association in the nation designed with the working "man" in mind. But over the years a slow and steady shift in the residential makeup of the community was taking place. Blue collared families, Black, White, Hispanic, were fleeing their homes in mass. By the time I was ten most of the families in my building, the building I grew up in were all replaced with strangers. Low income to absolutely no income earning families soon filled the vacant apartments. And then like a bad horror flick it was like the people of Parkside had been abandoned. The annual cookouts were the first to go. Followed by the free day camp, then the funding for senior citizen center was cut. Only seniors would be able to enjoy a brief respite at the center whether it be for a quick bite to eat or to cool down under the air conditioning and only seniors from the projects would be able to use the center.
Most of the units have now fallen into disrepair. On average it takes about a year for anyone from maintenance to address whatever issue you may have in your home. Peeling paint, broken cabinets, need a new fridge… it will take one year from the date it is reported to be addressed, not necessarily fixed.
With gentrification in our city threatening to displace thousands of New York families from their once downtrodden neighborhoods it is alarming to see that communities, once a safe haven for the working "man" and their families, are slowly being turned into ghettos, replacing the ones lost to "hipster economics" and ever increasing rent prices. To draw a comparison to a city that is often times called the "6TH borough", New York City much like Philadelphia is becoming a town polarized by race and economic status.
Since we left the dark ages of the 70's and 80's, New Yorkers have struggled to create and maintain a sense of unity. However the "Pax Novus York" ushered in after the devastating events of 9/11 are coming to a fast end. It's borough versus borough, rich vs. poor. You either matter or you don't. Instead of segregating the projects from the surrounding neighborhood, they should be embraced. Isolating the developments more so than they already have been will only create an environment ripe for more crimes to be committed. Add constant policing to these already disenfranchised communities and it will only incite more violence and fear… $210 million on NYPD patrols and exterior lighting but no money for the twelve inch long crack in my mother's ceiling?
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