news! ...from greenpoint, USA

there is good news for the residents of greenpoint, brooklyn: the new york attorney general, andrew cuomo, is finally filing suit against exxonmobile and other companies who operated along newtown creek decades ago. during the course of their business on the creek they leaked approximately 17 million gallons into the ground and adjacent creek, creating one of the world's largest oil spills, bigger than the widely known exxon valdez tanker spill.

the spill has contaminated ground water and soil in the northern part of my neighborhood so much that there are now toxic vapors emanating from the ground. while the suit will do nothing to stop this immediately, it should quicken the pace of the clean-up and extract large sums of money from exxonmobile.

there was a weak agreement made between the state and the oil companies in 1990 but there were no penalties leveed against the companies and no deadline for clean-up. cynically, it would seem now that greenpoint is the focus of major development and there's the possibility that rich people will be living in the neighborhood, the state has finally come around to forcing the oil companies' hand.

further reading:
cuomo sues exxonmobile: Crain's NY Business
history of the spill: Riverkeeper
image source: Greenpoint v. Exxon

greenpoint of view

there has been some recent webpress on a "satirical" essay that appeared in a haverford college alumni newsletter. the essay, by a haverford alum who resides in greenpoint is about gentrification, specifically in greenpoint, a prodominantly polish neighborhood and the place i call home. the author makes a series of bad polish jokes mixed with lame prose that, if one was not sure of his intent, makes his essay appear more bigoted than satirical.

now, i live in greenpoint and am aware that i am a "gentrifier". this is something that i have felt conflicted about since i moved here almost 2 years ago. i love the neighborhood, but many of the things it has to offer aren't for me. for instance, there are about five 99-cent stores in a four-block range on Manhattan Ave. 99-cent stores don't have merchandise i want to spend my money on. so i would be glad if, say, a few of those closed and other businesses took their place.

i think that someone who is commited to a neighborhood and wants to see that neighborhood thrive should support businesses in that neighborhood, but only those that provide goods or services of good value in close proximity. for example, the best donuts i have had in the city are made at Peter Pan Bakery. this place is definity polish owned. you can get a huge, hot cinnamon bun for a buck, but their coffee, while cheap, kinda sucks. so if i want a lattee (i know, the icon of lame whiteness) i go a few blocks away, to Cafe Grumpy, to get a lattee that tastes great, is bigger than and costs less than a small at Starbucks. but Grumpy is definitely owned by people who moved to the neighborhood. and that "Franklin Street 'coffee shop'" the author talks about was not opened by native greenpointians. i don't go there either, not because they don't serve "Venti Caramel Macchiato", but because it's further away than Grumpy and the food and coffee aren't very good.

it's a struggle to be a gentrifier and avoid gentrifying your neighborhood. i know the line between neighborhood revitalization and gentrification is thin if it exists at all, but this conflict will probably be rendered moot in a couple years when the waterfront is developed with condo high-rises. oh well. i, for one, welcome our corporate overlords!

Moved to Speak: "The Black Squirrel's Burden" (original essay)
Gawker: "Polaks Protest Haverford Alum's 'Satire'"
Gothamist: "Satire or Stupid to Slam Greenpoint"
The Onion: "Sometimes I Feel Like I'm The Only One Trying To Gentrify This Neighborhood"