Here's a snapshot of the aftermath of a major fire in my neighborhood (Greenpoint, Brooklyn) this week, you can read more about it here. The picture doesn't really do it justice -- the blaze swallowed several buildings (thankfully empty), and you can still smell the smoke for miles. According to some, had the wind been blowing in the opposite direction that night, it would have killed many. Although it will be awhile for a full investigation, police already have reason to believe it was arson. Apparently, ignition fluid residue was found (yeah, that's not obvious) all over the scene. Some are pointing the blame at a property developer, who was hoping to expedite the demolition of some derelict warehouses so that new waterfront condos could be built. These warehouses had been abandoned for some time, and surely the red-tape in getting approval from various board was taking years. Not to mention, there's a claque of preservationists here who want to keep every abandoned building, truckyard, and empty factory as some sort of memorial to the past. That fight can be saved for a separate time, but suffice to say, I don't think they have much of a claim. I will say this though, if the community wants to prevent development of a historical site, the opportunity costs should be borne by the community as a whole, not just be the property owner left holding the bag.
The real lesson, though, is in the title of this entry. It's notoriously difficult to get new developments off the ground, and in these situations alleged jerks who will commit arson or grease the palms of government officials will thrive. If it's true that a businessman was the arsonist (realistically, he would have probably paid someone else to do it), imagine the cost-benefit analysis he went through. He decided (allegedly) to risk everything so that he could expedite the development process. Granted, most people would never do this, but one of the nice thing about capitalism is that gives people who have criminal tendencies superior outlets than to break the law. One of the problem with creating too many laws is that it creates jobs for people who are skilled in criminal activities. That's the main problem with the drug war -- it's not, as people say, that it makes selling drugs more lucrative. It doesn't; the costs are huge. The problem is that people who are skilled in things like murder and intimidation now have an outlet for their skills. It would be unfortunate if the real estate development game continued to go down this path, and the top players in it were people who had to break the law in order to get ahead.
Or perhaps these fires/destruction could be investigated and *gasp* someone could be prosecuted. Then the developers who are doing things illegally would be in jail, not making record profits off taxpayers backs.
Oh, nevermind. You're right. Just hand over every piece of property to the well-connected so we don't have to worry about them burning us out of our homes. See, if you just hand over everything real nice and slow no one will get hurt...
Posted by: Brooklyn is Burning | May 09, 2006 at 11:49 AM
Well, you said it right. It seem property building is soon to get outlawed and people are going to find it hard to get a nice litle house for them
Posted by: Estate Agents Finder | January 21, 2008 at 07:43 AM
Can share the pain of others, is a human; to share the happiness of others, is God.
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