Omar Freilla

Big Box Salvation vs. Green Collar Dreams

Nowadays, it's hard to name a struggling neighborhood that isn't being eyed for a big box store or mini mall. Their spread has taken flame like a new gospel, with developers, in their public role, acting as evangelists preaching economic salvation and invoking a promised land of jobs. There is no doubt that the loss of manufacturing jobs over the decades has left a hole yet to be filled. But somehow, an army of low-wage service jobs just doesn't seem much like salvation. Considering last week's announcement that New York has the highest level of income inequality in the country, the idea of big box stores as an answer to our prayers seems like a con. But then, what other way is there?

To many the current state of affairs is the natural evolution of capitalism in a globalized economy, so we might as well get used to it and practice smiling for bigger tips. While there's some truth in the first half of that sentence, it hides the reality that there's nothing natural about the tax breaks and other incentives that are doled out to favored corporations in the hopes that they'll relocate here, expand, or just stay. These incentives all follow a clear logic that pins hopes and dreams on some industries over others. Within this mix, manufacturing is an unwanted step-child.

That must be why it's so hard for many to envision growing the kinds of jobs - manufacturing jobs - that have survived here and can meet the City's needs. In that mix are a small but growing number of companies who are taking advantage of our unique blend of "natural" resources, our trash.

What if the city doled out tax breaks for manufacturers who used NYC's recyclables the way it doles out incentives to the FIRE sector? What if the City became as dedicated to building Recycling Industrial Parks as it is to building sports stadiums? What if we actually added jobs that can support families? Pipe dreams? Hardly. So why not?

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Posted at 12:07 AM, Jan 30, 2006 in Economic Opportunity
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