Crains New York - August 12, 2013 - (Page 11)

STEVE HINDY America’s disturbing polarization F or six years in the early ’80s, I was a Middle East correspondent for the Associated Press, based in Beirut and Cairo. I saw my share of bloody ethnic, religious and tribal conflict, of people who were fighting mad. I think civil war is the ugliest manifestation of human nature. I thank the stars for the diversity and tolerance of interracial and interreligious marriages in America. It worries me to see signs of tribalism in this country. White Republican suburbs surround minority Democratic cities like Detroit, Newark, Camden, Hartford, Bridgeport and Trenton. Blue states and red states are sometimes compared to the divisions of the Civil War. New York City is racially and ethnically diverse but overwhelmingly Democratic. Some see this as a natural clustering of like-minded people. That is true. It seems to me that the political and judicial process in America is aggravating this polarization of our society. The redrawing of congressional districts, fundamentally a once-adecade duty of the state legislatures, has resulted in politically pure Republican and Democratic districts. The New York Times recently noted that this seemed to ensure Republican control of the House of Representatives. Congressional delegations in swing states like Wisconsin and Michigan favored Republicans even though Democratic voters outnumber GOP voters in those states, both of which elected President Barack Obama. Then we see a Supreme Court decision that goes against racial quotas in college admissions, making our university system less diverse, and the Voting Rights Act gets gutted. The political fallout is important, but I think the real danger is tribalism. Even where there is no racial di- Midtown east critics zone out on reality W ith the last major effort of the Bloomberg administration headed for a showdown vote in the City Council by the end of November, it is a good time to look at the fundamentals of the plan to rezone the blocks north of Grand Central. Actually, it is imperative to do so because opponents of the zoning changes proposed for midtown east have launched a campaign of hyperbole that bears no relationship to the plan or the rationale behind it. The basics begin with a fact: Most New York office space is old and rapidly becoming obsolete, especially compared with rival corporate centers like London and those in the Far East. In the city’s midtown east area, three-quarters of the buildings are more than a halfcentury old. The idea is to spur the construction of new, modern, energy-efficient and technologically advanced office towers over the next two decades (yes, over 20 years). At most, a dozen new skyscrapers will be built, adding 4.5 million square feet of office space and bringing 16,000 new jobs to the neighborhood. If that sounds like a lot, it is not. The City Planning Commission says there are 70 million square GREG DAVID feet of office space in midtown east and a quarter-million workers today.All of midtown offers a little less than 200 million square feet of office space. The percentages—especially the 6% increase in people— puts all this into perspective. vide, people seem to find reasons to hate each other, just as they do in the Middle East. The tribes of America divide along issues such as gun ownership, abortion, gay rights, immigration and big government. There are religious conservatives or Tea Party conservatives on one side, and liberals on the other. There are voting blocs that will accept no compromise on their view of these issues. Maybe the problem of humankind is humans. Maybe this is just the way people are, and we are doomed, as Jesus is quoted as saying in the Book of Matthew, “to wars and rumors of wars” until the end of time. I hope not. Well, at the very least, everyone should be aware that the gridlock in Washington that results from the polarization of our political process is merely a symptom of a much deeper problem: the tribe mentality of America. This means, as an example, that a small group of Republicans can impede efforts to extend health care to all Americans, to mandate background checks for gun buyers, and to enact immigration reform and deal rationally with the millions of illegal immigrants in our midst. I don’t think this is what the Founding Fathers had in mind. It’s frustrating, and it makes me mad. Let’s hope no one gets fighting mad. The changes in midtown east will complement the new office space rising on the far West Side and at the World Trade Center site. It is likely—and every New Yorker should hope—that all the space being proposed will not even meet the demand. If it is too much for the market, the engines of finance and business services will have faltered so much that the city will have bigger problems than excess office space. Given the numbers, how can opponents honestly claim that midtown east will be transformed into Shanghai or that the area around Grand Central Terminal will become gridlocked? They can’t, but their claims are designed to further a long-term agenda. The loudest voices against the rezoning—the Municipal Art Society, members of community boards,architect Robert A.M.Stern and lately The New York Times— rarely give economic concerns priority. It’s as if they fear market forces. So they seek to craft a plan that gives them the ability to influence which buildings get built where, and they want a process that delivers that. In practice, though, such an effort would leave the choice to the City Council, where politics rules— including campaign contributions, lobbying clout and possible outright corruption. It would be a disaster. Upzoning midtown east is a modest effort to meet a pressing need. End of story. Crain’s annual Corporate Events and Holiday Parties Guide provides our unique dual-audience of meeting planners and executive decisionmakers with expert advice, tips and vendor options when they are scheduling their end-ofyear meetings and holiday events. To view the 2012 edition, please visit: crainsnewyork.com/2012CEHP For advertising information, please contact Nancy Adler at (212) 210-0278 or nadler@crainsnewyork.com Issue Date: 9/9/13 Close Date: 8/22/13 August 12, 2013 | Crain’s New York Business | 11 http://www.crainsnewyork.com/2012CEHP http://www.crainsnewyork.com/2012CEHP

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crains New York - August 12, 2013

IN THE BOROUGHS
IN THE MARKETS
THE INSIDER
SMALL BUSINESS
BUSINESS PEOPLE
OPINION
STEVE HINDY
GREG DAVID
REAL ESTATE DEALS
REPORT: SPORTS BUSINESS
FOR THE RECORD
CLASSIFIEDS
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
SOURCE LUNCH
OUT AND ABOUT
SNAPS

Crains New York - August 12, 2013