Adrianne Shropshire
CBA Drama
The NY Observer posted a piece yesterday titled, The CBA at Atlantic Yards: But Is It Legal? that highlights some choice quotes from the New York City Bar's panel discussion on the topic of CBA's.
CBA's are one tool for attempting to insure accountable development in communities. To either place the hopes and dreams of a community on them or to dismiss them as inherently undemocratic is a failure to understand the potential as well as the limitation of this tool.
As far as their legality Julian Gross, a California-based attorney who has worked with a number of coalitions on the CBA's, comments that their legality is tied to the responsibilities placed on both developer and the coalitions.
It's surprising that one development in this city has sparked such an emotional exchange and attack, not on the developers, not on electeds who continue to give away the store, but on one little tool. The indictment of CBA's is so sweeping and the language - undemocratic, illegal - so damning. Matthew Shuerman is correct when he acknowledges that CBA's grew out of the absence of effective action from elected officials who couldn't do enough for business interests as their constituents were bearing the brunt of the negative impact of development. But it also came from progressive elected officials looking for policy tools to mitigate the power of developers and business associations in city hall. Self-organized community coalitions worked with these elected officials to reposition the needs of communities, build and deepen relationships, engage business interests, and reframe the debate about what development should look like and who shold benefit. That's democracy.
If the tool isn't working evolve it, fix it, come up with something new. But let's not throw it out because we don't like one of dozens of agreements won across the country.
Adrianne Shropshire: Author Bio | Other Posts
Posted at 12:19 PM, Mar 15, 2006 in
Cities | Community Development | Housing | New York
Permalink | Email to Friend
