Mental
Health Association in New York State, Inc. |
Community Connections, Spring 2003Sweet Irony: New York An irony is playing itself out in the Bowery section of New York City, where neighbors appear to be welcoming a 53-unit development for homeless and low income people with psychiatric disabilities and rising up in righteous indignation against a new dormitory for New York University students. The controversy, noticed in a December 6, 2002, news item by New York Times reporter Nadine Brozan, appears to have everything to do with how sponsors of the two projects anticipated neighborhood concerns. Brozan’s article notes the housing being developed by Community Access has received “considerable praise both for its design and for the sponsors' efforts to inform the neighbors about what the building will look like,” while the dormitory has been roundly criticized for its size and a design that does not fit neatly into the neighborhood of 19th century brownstones and carriage houses. An abstract of the Times article can be viewed at http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50816F7395F0C758CDDAB0994DA404482; full text is available for purchase. For more information: Margaret Knox, project manager for Community Access. Telephone: (212) 780-1400. This article reprinted with permission from the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) 1012 Fourteenth Street NW, Suite 610, Washington, D.C. 20005 (202) 662-1530; Fax (202) 393-1973; info@nlihc.org posted 6/13/03 |