I’m sure few of you read the Brooklyn Daily Eagle — the 170-year-old paper that covers a borough of 2.5 million has a little over twice the online readership of this two-year-old, neighborhood-specific non-print publication. But your attention is worth a few minutes for entertainment’s sake, just to take in the journalism trainwreck that is this piece by Rachel Geizhals on the coming firefighting shift closing in Bushwick.
Several of the people quoted attribute Bushwick’s “downfall” to city service cuts amid a spate of evil slumlords burning their buildings down for filthy insurance lucre, as if this existed in a vacuum. On the contrary, Bushwick did not explode unexpectedly in the economic crisis of the late 70s, it had slowly been hacked to pieces beginning in the 1960s with help from President Lyndon Johnson’s disastrous Great Society policies. Among other problems these policies caused, they made “blockbusting” possible by backing up failed loans — a midcentury bailout scheme, if you will, for the most careless banks.
City service cuts did follow this sharp decline in Bushwick — why throw good money after bad when you don’t have much to begin with? But this did not create the problems, and is not the same as trimming down one of the least-used firefighting shifts in the entire City of New York, as in the case of Engine 271. Bushwick is not burning, and in contrast to the simplistic analysis of historian Adam Schwartz quoted in the article, owners are pouring millions of dollars into their properties in Bushwick — in upgrades, not gasoline.
But the article really starts spinning off into absurdity when its segues into issues of gentrification. I was told by one of the sources consulted for the piece that the author kept trying to dig up dirt on the tensions between Bushwick’s communities. Apparently this person’s insistence that she is on good terms with all her neighbors disappointed the muckraking journalist, as she was struck from the story altogether.
From comparing New York in the “War on Terror” to London during the Blitz (where did she find this guy, Republican Party HQ?) to Laura Braslow, Community Board 4 member and head of Arts in Bushwick, calling all of us “colonialists,” this article is hereby the most absurd piece of journalism of 2008 — full of the kookiest contextless quotes, hysterical nonsense assertions, and fevered overreactions to a very minor night shift cut at only one of Bushwick’s many firehouses.
Sarah Pappalardo January 5th, 2009 at 4:09 pm
correction: “colonialist” not “imperialist”
and while I believe that one fact has some truth to it, the entire second half of this article is overblown and ridiculous.
Sarah Pappalardo January 5th, 2009 at 4:13 pm
aaaand on that note, what’s the deal with people “protesting” budget cuts…DURING A RECESSION?
like, would you be happier if they cut the police force?
Jeremy Sapienza January 5th, 2009 at 4:14 pm
Oops, thanks.
Dresden January 5th, 2009 at 4:20 pm
I totally agree Sarah – it’s like Paul McCartney telling an island off of Canada not to club seals, and not giving them any alternative to a multi-million dollar industry….
Or drug growers in Afganistan.
chillinoncentral January 5th, 2009 at 5:51 pm
Irresponsible wanabe journalists will often sensationalize a news story to shape negative notions and blindside the very readers who may be most sensitive to the event. This is the kind of negligent reporting that promotes “disinvestment” and spreads gloom in a neighborhood that a) doesn’t deserve it, b) doesn’t need it, and c) doesn’t accept it. Kudos, Jeremy!
Steve January 5th, 2009 at 7:00 pm
Sarah–This city has one of the largest concentrations of wealthy people (actually, I think the single largest concentration of billionaires) in the world. Not long ago it was generous enough to practically throw money at real estate developers building very profitable ball parks. Money can be found for firefighters. If doing absolutely necessary triage, yes, cut the police before the fire department.
will January 5th, 2009 at 7:58 pm
Some of the quotes were a little ridiculous, but people don’t like service cuts, especially to police and fire departments. It did contain all the usual elements that drive Jeremy crazy though.
If only the author had at least paid lip service to the idea that all fire protection services should be privately run by individual property owners to protect their individual properties. Why should a property owner who doesn’t care if their building burns down be forced to pay for fire protection through taxes? That is the real issue.
Jeremy Sapienza January 5th, 2009 at 8:49 pm
Will, you clearly know nothing about what I think a good alternative is, as the example you have provided is ridiculous. I would like you to refrain from putting words in my mouth. Thank you.
I agree with Steve about ballparks versus fire service and even police vs fire — but it’s a rare politician that puts away money in fat times to save for lean. What do they care what happens in Bushwick or Mott Haven or Hollis after their term is over? They live in the Upper East Side.
will January 5th, 2009 at 9:48 pm
All I said about you was that the article drove you crazy. The rest was just satire. I didn’t say “Jeremy wishes that all public services were privatized.” Please don’t put words in my mouth. Thank you.
Ingo Hart January 5th, 2009 at 11:15 pm
If Bushwick really does start burning again won’t the city move resources back to where the action is? if the fire house really isn’t used to its highest capacity right now what is wrong with saving money by keeping it partly shutered for now?
Dr. J January 20th, 2009 at 5:10 pm
Blaming Bushwick’s decline in the ’70s on LBJ and Great Society programs is absurd.