Page 117 - Demo

E d i t o r i a l sMoving Toward Loosening the RedlineTen years ago people were not much interested in what a bank did with the money deposited there. As long as mortgages and home improvement loans were available a bank%u2019s investment policy was not questioned. But then it seemed that mortgages and loans became harder to .get, especially in decaying urban areas. It did not seem to matter what your credit history was. More often than not the condition of the neighborhood or surrounding areas was what mattered.Banks countered that it was imprudent to invest in a neighborhood that might not be stable or said that the demand for mortgages was small. Neighborhoods residents countered that there was a demand and not investing in a neighborhood was part of what made it less stable, and jeopardized the investments already there.Neighborhood groups then tried to find out how and where banks invested their hard earned dollars to evaluate which banks invested in their neighborhoods and which did not, only to find that little if any informationiS avduauie. uanKo, GaCc^ i iui uic cmiiiucii puuuuauuu Of aTi annuai rGpCrt,were not required to make public what their investment policies were.The 1977 Community Reinvestment Act tried to rectify that situation. Each year now banks are required to publish what they consider to be their service areas and what types of mortgages they offer. Banks if they choose to do so can include information on what they think are the community%u2019s credit needs and how they choose to meet those needs.All local banks comply with the law. Even though few banks chose to evaluate what they considered to be a community%u2019s credit needs - the most valuable kind of information %u2014 we think the CRA statements are a step in the right direction. It is now up to the people who deposit their money in the banks to pick up a statement, evaluate it and react. Federal regulatory agencies constantly reevaluate their regulations and the public%u2019s comments could improve the quality of the statements.S o u n d O f f R eaders Talk BackNot NirvanaI don't know where Marily Finer(Still Searching. Aug. 2), Aldo Bianchi (In Search of the Perfect Brownstone, July 29), and Eileen Swarts (Search Goes On, Aug. 9), got their expectations of Park Slope. It is neither Nirvana nor Filene%u2019s bargain basement.Park Slope is an old neighborhood, and prices and availability of houses go by an old law - supply and demand. A great house on a great block can demand a great price. If the block is less chic or the house needs more work, the price is lower.The people who bought beautiful houses in Park Slope for $12,000 twenty years ago were pioneers buying in a rather risky neighborhood. Ten years ago you could buy a rundown house in the somewhat fancier Park Slope for $12,000 and spend a few years renovating it - camp ou tin one section while you worked on another. The early brownstoners worked hard through block associations, the Park Slope Civic Council, PTA%u2019s and other groups to improve the neighborhood.Recently the Park Slope Civic Council discussed the problem of high prices and set up a commitee to see whether anything could be done. My own feeling is that we should remind househunters of all the other nice neighborhoods nearby. FortGreene, Flatbush, Boerum Hill, Crown Heights, Prospect Lefferts Gardens, etc., all have nice people, good houses and neighborhood associations. Perhaps if the demand is spread around, the supply will be more adequate, and prices will be moderate. It is a certainty that you won%u2019t get something for nothing unless nobody else wants it.-Rosalie Friend, Fifth Street,Station DemolitionWe would like to thank the Phoenix for its July 19, 1979 story on the Coalition to Save Brooklyn%u2019s Long Island Railroad Terminal Complex. Recent moves within MTA have put the Terminal Complex in immediate danger. With their lack of funds to do the entire project, they have publicly admitted to the dividing of it into two stages. The $20 million in funds raised through the already approved Bond issue will basically only now cover Phase I. Since they have this money they can proceed.Phase I includes demolition of the Terminal Complex and the heavy underground construction part of the job (i.e., excavation, platform-track work and substructure). Phase II which includes the actual aboveground building will have to wait until funds can be located. Or, looked at another way-more land for the %u201c Land Bank%u201d and future development, we should live so long.The issue comes to rest on MTA%u2019s solution for what it has projected as an increase in passenger traffic for the station. They feel a new Terminal would create a more attractive and comfortable atmosphere and draw traffic from an overcrowded Penn Station. A letter we received from MTA President and General Manager Francis S. Gabreski leads us to wonder, given MTA%u2019s maintenance policy,just how long the new Terminal would be attractive and comfortable.In it he cites a Brooklyn Eagle article of March 13, 1940 in which the Terminal is described as %u201cgrimy%u201d and %u201c a disgrace.%u201d It would seem from this that the Terminal was brought to its current state with a non-maintenance and insensitive alteration program that goes back many years.We maintain that given a sensitive reuse of the current Terminal Complex with its wonderfully structured, skylighted Train and Truck Sheds it would be a showstopper that would be used with delight. After all, how many people come to look at the new Penn Station in comparison, let%u2019s say, with Grand Central?The bag of worms is endless. Our movement is growing in support. Our efforts are aimed at halting demolition pending a study and review of the entire plan by a disinterested third party, agreed to by all. We need help. Meetings are Mondays 6 pm, Club Car Bar, LIRR Terminal.%u2014Mark Zulli, Co-Chairperson,Coalition to Save the LIRR Terminal Complex.The Money RaceI recently learned that Congressman Fred Richmond is a co-sponsor of the Campaign Contributions Reform Act, a new bill designed to reduce the influence of special-interest contributions in Congressional election campaigns. Richmond deserves our thanks. The %u201c paralysis,%u201d stagnation and drift%u201d in Congress, as President Carter accurately described it, can be blamed in good part on the number of Congressmen who march to the tune of well-heeled special interest groups (oil companies, for example) who bankroll the Congressmen%u2019s campaigns through %u201c Political Action Committees%u201d (PACs).Campaign contributions by PACs totaled $25 million last year, and have tripled since 1974. As even Senator Russell Long, the oil lobby%u2019s most skilled spokesman in Congress, has pointed out, the line between a large campaign contribution and a bribe can be a very thin one. By placing new limits on the amount of PAC money that candidates could accept, the new bill would slow down the %u201c political arms race%u201d among special interests, and give the ordinary citizen%u2019s interest a better chance to be heard. %u2014Bob Newman, 14th Cong,dist, Co-ordinator, Common CauseC o m m u n i t y F o r u mFulton Mall Improvement Association Prepares To Make An Urban Dream A RealityRecent stories in the press (%u201c Fulton Merchants Bond Together to Improve Local Street Conditions,%u201d Aug. 9, PHOENIX) suggest that there is considerable confusion about the history, the present status and the future of the Fulton Mall. The readers of the Phoenix will benefit, therefore, from a brief review of what is happening in downtown Brooklyn, how the Mall began, the present construction schedule and the role of the Fulton Mall Improvement Association (FMIA).The Fulton Mall began about 10 years ago as a dream of merchants and other businessmen in the downtown area. Together with city officials and citizen%u2019s who live, work or shop in downtown Brooklyn, they had the foresight to realize that a great street could decay unless massive steps were taken to arrest blight and build a modern, convenient, commercial district. The reality of that dream will be the Fulton Mall. For decades, the commercial district had been one of the 3 or 4 prime retail areas of the country. Although retail sales remained strong, the area was becoming shabby, poorly cared for and lacking in the kind of resurgent interest in new stores, new construction and development that had given continued strength to suburban shopping centers and some major commercial urban renewal districts.Richard Sachs, President of Sach New York, is a resident of Brooklyn Heights, and Chairman of the Fulton Mall Improvement Association.The concept and the construction of the mall, after years of planning, was approved by those who would be affected most directly by the development: the merchants of Fulton Street. It was also reviewed and approved by local community boards, the City Planning Commission, the Mayor%u2019s Office of Development, the Board of Estimates and the State Legislature. When the Federal government provided funding, the city was able to submit plans for competitive bidding and construction could get under way.No constructiion project has ever proceeded without disruption, some delays, changes and operating difficulties. On the other hand, no progress can be made towards urban stability and prosperity unless there is development, renewal and construction. The Fulton Mall, and other complementary downtown development projects such as the Albee Mall, will bring new business to Brooklyn, new customers and new economic strength. Fulton Mall will be the focus of a renewal that will stimulate resurgent interest in the joys and convenience of urban shopping. It will be a beacon for shoppers throughout Brooklyn and beyond.In an era of energy shortages, comfortable, safe and attractive urban shopping, wonderfully served roscc tr^ncit will be welcomed by consumers everywhere.The FMIA was created essentially to operate the mall as each phase is completed. Its interim responsibilities areto serve as liaison between the City, which is constructing the Mall, and the merchants of Fulton Street and shoppers who use the area. In addition, the FMIA has the responsibility of maintaining the FultonFulton Mall will be a beacon for shoppers throughout Brooklyn and beyond.Mall area by providing a cleaning service auxiliary to that supplied by the Department of Sanitation. The cleaning operated by the FMIA has been in operation since the end of last March...and even the most casual observer would immediately notice that the stores around the Fulton Malle e m m n n it v a m th e c le a n e s t in th e f\Illegal peddlers and safety in any commercial area of New York City are the responsibilities of the Police Department. Wc would encourage Fulton Street merchants, as well as those in other areas, totake concerted action to improve those conditions which threaten the viability, safety or comfort of the commercial area. A united group of merchants will certainly bring more effective enforcement of laws controlling illegal peddling, shop lifting and other conditions adversely affecting the safety of the area or the economy of legitimate commerce.The FMIA will work in concert with individual merchants and/or groups of merchants to make sure that the Mall is operated in accordance with law and, whenever necessary to assure the safety and comfort of merchants and consumers, we will seek active enforcement of the law. It may be of interest to your readers to know that the State Enabling Law that created the Fulton Mall district authorized the Fulton Mall Improvement Association to hire a security force to augment the security and enforcement efforts of the City Police. A committee of the board is currently reviewing proposals to employ such a force; a report will be made at the next meeting of the Board of Directors. Finally, construction of the mall is moving actively ahead. We belive that most of the delays and disruptions arc behind us. This magnificent urban redevelopment will breathe new life into what has always %u2022 been an exciting street--but like most urban neighborhoods, it needs renewal to retain its exciting qualities. Fulton Street, with completion of the Mall, will again be among the world%u2019s most vibrant, successful, appealing shopping areas.Aug. 16. 1979, The PHOENIX, Page 9