DUMBO and Sustainable City Principles

Abstract

This chapter aims to determine the extent that the planning of the DUMBO neighborhood addresses Sustainable City Principles (SCPs). DUMBO is one of three selected case study Manhattan neighborhoods (of nine studied neighborhoods over three New York boroughs). The chapter firstly provides a background to DUMBO, including results of an on-ground author survey of the neighborhood. Three key Sustainable City Principles (SCPs) (as adopted in Chap. 2) are then introduced, including: Heritage Protection; Housing Provision: and, Open Spaces Allocation. Current development in DUMBO is examined using the three SCPs as a guide The DUMBO neighborhood needs and issues are then examined (under the three SCPs). This examination is centered on the annual profile report completed by the Brooklyn Community Board 2 (containing DUMBO) for the City Council. A DUMBO case study redevelopment project (e.g. East River Foreshores Redevelopment) is then selected. The SCPs are addressed for this case study and conclusions drawn. Finally, an overall conclusion is drawn on the extent that the planning of the DUMBO addresses the SCPs. With this conclusion, it’s noted that comments are made in the final chapter (after examining all neighborhoods) on the extent neighborhood planning in New York addresses SCPs. It’s also noted that the final chapter will comment on neighborhood planning addressing SCPs in any city or urban area (also referencing futurists and planning theorists as introduced respectively in Chaps. 1 and 2).

Plate 6.1

Robert Fulton (Source Wikipedia 2017)

Addendum 6.1: Key Needs and Issues Within Brooklyn Community District 2 Statement of Needs Report Fiscal Year 2017

• (a) The District has a population of 99,617 (2010) represents an increase of 19% since the Census of 2000). Those residents on income supplements represent 19% of the population.

• (b) The city is losing affordable units of housing faster than new units can be constructed. The City announced a goal of building or preserving 200,000 units of affordable housing over 10 years across the City. The NYU Furman Center, however, commented that it will take a million new apartments to impact housing cost from the supply side. As neighborhoods in the District gentrify at a faster pace, the issue is increasingly acute here.

• (c) According to the health department’s 2015 Community District 2 health profile, the level of fine, airborne particulate (Parts per Million, PM 2.5) is higher in the district than the Brooklyn and citywide levels and childhood asthma hospitalizations are roughly 50% greater than the borough- and citywide figures. However, these aggregated figures under-represent conditions in certain locations. A map included in the 2013 New York City Air Survey, clearly shows PM 2.5 levels are higher near the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, disproportionately affecting the Farragut, Ingersoll and Whitman public housing developments.

• (d) There are 13 residential developments where more than 30% of the residents, or approximately 3700 people, are age 60 or older. In surveys conducted through Community Board 2, nearly all respondents indicated a desire to remain in their homes for as long as possible. More than half responded that they would welcome a nurse or social worker who will make regularly scheduled visits to their development.

• (e) There has been a noticeable increase in street homelessness in Brooklyn Community District 2.

• (f) As it has in most of New York City, crime has been greatly reduced in Brooklyn Community District 2, which is patrolled by the 84th and 88th precincts, Police Service Area 3 and Transit District 30. However, there has been a 61.5% year-over-year increase in shooting incidents and a 53.3% increase in shooting victims.

• (g) In its report, “State of New York City’s Housing and Neighborhoods in 2014,” the NYU Furman Center ranked the district’s median rent ninth highest in the city, at $2995. That is a phenomenal $2000 increase from a decade earlier.

• (h) Little affordable housing has been constructed in the areas where density bonuses were mapped to incentivize its development.

• (i) The unemployment rate in the three New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) developments is 29%, three times the rate (9.8%) of the district. The median household income in the Farragut, Ingersoll and Whitman NYCHA houses is roughly $17,000. Three-quarters of the households there earn less than $35,000 and almost one-third manage somehow on less than $10,000. By comparison, the median income for the district as a whole is approximately $83,000 and the households earning less than $35,000 constitute less than 30% of the total.

• (j) Like most of New York City, Brooklyn Community District 2 is unlikely to achieve the city’s ideal of 2.5 acres of open space per 1000 residents, even with the addition of Brooklyn Bridge Park.

• (k) Responsibilities and expectations of New York City’s 59 community boards have grown considerably in their almost 40 years of existence. Manhattan community boards are busier than ever, the districts closest to Manhattan resemble it more and more, and districts at a greater distance are experiencing unprecedented gentrification and other changes.