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Tuesday, November 10, 2015

With A Brooklyn Accent: Why It's Not Irrational to Fear Gentrification- Especially in the Bronx

With A Brooklyn Accent: Why It's Not Irrational to Fear Gentrification- Especially in the Bronx:

Why It's Not Irrational to Fear Gentrification- Especially in the Bronx





Gentrification is nothing new. There have always been urban development initiatives which have displaced poor and working class people, sometimes associated with urban renewal, sometimes shaped by market forces

But what makes gentrification so toxic and dangerous today, not only locally but globally, is that the immense concentration of wealth in a small number of hands, coupled with declining incomes for working class and middle class people. This gives large developers unprecedented economic and political power. The wealth of a single developer can exceed the combined wealth of an entire neighborhood! This gives them the power, not only to buy off politicians, but to get local business leaders and non profit organizations to support their plans, even if such plans may in the long run, damage their standing.because they will displace so many of their long time clients and customers.