[BOB]

Gentrification is not a four letter word. Neither is tourism. Home owners should dig this.

yeah, but when you have a developer who verbalizes such absolute disregard for the local inhabitants, as in this case, it usually translates into actions in a design and civic engineering context that are ultimately a net negative for locals (more traffic, eyesores, environmentally unbeneficial outcomes, tax deals that suck money out of the community, etc.)  whether they own or rent.

[boyeee]

people surf in new york?

[Crackie Onassis]

not recently.

[PTSD]

people surf in new york?

All We Do Is B!tch

[the Kook]

Apparently New Yorkers surf in Southern California. 

[jammy]

gentrification is a four letter word when you are visually assaulted by a bunch of "tossbags" who look like they shop from the same ironic clown bin and don't really give a hoot about the original character of the neighborhood. if i wanted to live in williamsburg, shop like i live in williamsburg, and drink coffee like i live in williamsburg, then i would live there. repeat sentence and sub in LES or your neighborhood of choice. neighborhoods which, as we all know, began as homes for people who are not people, until people who are people decided they would be better if people lived there. this attitude is the crux of the problem, not the amenities that may come with it.

i am completely behind any neighborhood improvements that improve the quality of life for me and my neighbors of all stripes. improvements in property values are a bonus. i have enjoyed the new concessions very much. i would love a nice hotel, another restaurant, etc. but there is something to be said to moving one's business into a neighborhood in a respectful, even humble way. which is essentially the way many of us moved out to the rock, appreciating the place for its current state, its past (my mother in law danced in the irish music halls on the corner of 108 in her youth), and its future.

i do not like online debate or dispute, it gets ugly quickly, but in this case i feel like i have to speak up. please don't tell me what i "should" like; i don't tell you what should happen in long beach.

alright, i've wasted half my kids nap on this post.

dude.....I wish there was an effing hotel in rockaway! I'd like my parents to have somewhere to stay that didn't have condom machines in the room or zombies on the stoop.....

and wouldn't that be great for the local merchants + tourism. Also, potential new restaurants. Clothing boutiques. Eventual increase in apt/house rentals. Rental prices increase? Home values? More calls for beautification projects. Increase in safety?
Gentrification is not a four letter word. Neither is tourism. Home owners should dig this.

[Årne Longbörgenssen]

Jammy for president !

[boyeee]

people surf in new york?

[The Lone Surfer]

If you had a nice hotel the Quick contest would be in Rock instead of LB. Then there really would be a pro contest in NYC.

The quick never would have happened without the allegra.

[frroK]

gentrification is a four letter word when you are visually assaulted by a bunch of "tossbags" who look like they shop from the same ironic clown bin and don't really give a hoot about the original character of the neighborhood. if i wanted to live in williamsburg, shop like i live in williamsburg, and drink coffee like i live in williamsburg, then i would live there. repeat sentence and sub in LES or your neighborhood of choice. neighborhoods which, as we all know, began as homes for people who are not people, until people who are people decided they would be better if people lived there. this attitude is the crux of the problem, not the amenities that may come with it.

i am completely behind any neighborhood improvements that improve the quality of life for me and my neighbors of all stripes. improvements in property values are a bonus. i have enjoyed the new concessions very much. i would love a nice hotel, another restaurant, etc. but there is something to be said to moving one's business into a neighborhood in a respectful, even humble way. which is essentially the way many of us moved out to the rock, appreciating the place for its current state, its past (my mother in law danced in the irish music halls on the corner of 108 in her youth), and its future.

i do not like online debate or dispute, it gets ugly quickly, but in this case i feel like i have to speak up. please don't tell me what i "should" like; i don't tell you what should happen in long beach.

alright, i've wasted half my kids nap on this post.

dude.....I wish there was an effing hotel in rockaway! I'd like my parents to have somewhere to stay that didn't have condom machines in the room or zombies on the stoop.....

and wouldn't that be great for the local merchants + tourism. Also, potential new restaurants. Clothing boutiques. Eventual increase in apt/house rentals. Rental prices increase? Home values? More calls for beautification projects. Increase in safety?
Gentrification is not a four letter word. Neither is tourism. Home owners should dig this.

Thank you for this post. You've summed up it up perfectly.

[Northstreet]

I haven't looked at the Rockaway zoning overlays for a while, but I'm not even sure where a hotel, or especially a waterfront/adjacent hotel would be acceptable to the zoning board. 
 
How about some irony......As a former LES resident (it was different there 10 years ago)....I find it ironic that one of the first fancy LES nightclub kind of place (libation) was owned by people from the peninsula, and also the bar that i was closest to was also owned by rock folks......

[flower box]

gentrification is a four letter word when you are visually assaulted by a bunch of "tossbags" who look like they shop from the same ironic clown bin and don't really give a hoot about the original character of the neighborhood. if i wanted to live in williamsburg, shop like i live in williamsburg, and drink coffee like i live in williamsburg, then i would live there. repeat sentence and sub in LES or your neighborhood of choice. neighborhoods which, as we all know, began as homes for people who are not people, until people who are people decided they would be better if people lived there. this attitude is the crux of the problem, not the amenities that may come with it.

i am completely behind any neighborhood improvements that improve the quality of life for me and my neighbors of all stripes. improvements in property values are a bonus. i have enjoyed the new concessions very much. i would love a nice hotel, another restaurant, etc. but there is something to be said to moving one's business into a neighborhood in a respectful, even humble way. which is essentially the way many of us moved out to the rock, appreciating the place for its current state, its past (my mother in law danced in the irish music halls on the corner of 108 in her youth), and its future.

i do not like online debate or dispute, it gets ugly quickly, but in this case i feel like i have to speak up. please don't tell me what i "should" like; i don't tell you what should happen in long beach.

alright, i've wasted half my kids nap on this post.

dude.....I wish there was an effing hotel in rockaway! I'd like my parents to have somewhere to stay that didn't have condom machines in the room or zombies on the stoop.....

and wouldn't that be great for the local merchants + tourism. Also, potential new restaurants. Clothing boutiques. Eventual increase in apt/house rentals. Rental prices increase? Home values? More calls for beautification projects. Increase in safety?
Gentrification is not a four letter word. Neither is tourism. Home owners should dig this.

Thankyou that was a nice,thought out and  honest response. I should have said "could/might possibly dig this" rather than "should" as its not my place to tell others what they should do, so my apologies for coming across as that way.  I have a better understanding of the sentiments against this hotelier but will still have a boner for what I believe to be a positive opportunity for the community while upholding my lust for capitalism and urban infrastructure.

Lone Surfer- I don't think there is enough room for construction in rock to hold this when you consider that a potential storm or hurricane brings the water to the boardwalk. They have literally constructed a surf village between the "super block" and National. I don't know how they would maneuver the bmx course, skate park, merch building (its that large it can be called building imo), surfer building, catering, judge scaffolding, stage, beer garden, gigantic sculpture of black trailers (cameras?) and room to guarantee space for 20,000 people.

[Badfish]

The one thing I do look forward to happening with the possible gentrification: a nice cafe/coffeehouse sort of spot near the NSSS for a nice pot after a cold winter surf.

[waterboy]

you may get a hotel like we did in LB...that nobody can afford.  so really, we still have no hotel.

[Northstreet]

I'll take some "gentrification" but I say No to "Douche-ification".....can they really be separate?