Sell-Out Crowd Considers Whether City Is Losing Its Soul

A panel moderated by Clyde Haberman of the New York Times including Alison Tocci of Time Out New York, Darren Walker of the Rockefeller Foundation, Rocco Landesman of Jujamcyn Theaters and novelist Tama Janowitz tackled the multi-faceted issue of whether, in light of all the current development, the city is losing its soul. Addressing the question from very different perspectives the panelists agreed that the city has changed and is continuing to do so, but were divided over whether this was a good or a bad thing.

Mr. Haberman suggested that the city's soul is in fact its economic vibrancy, and that those who might favor small business over large corporations were perhaps wilfully ignoring New York's long history of mercantilism, from its very beginnings as a port under the control of the Dutch East India Company, to its current position as the world's principal financial hub. He invited the panel to give their opinion on this, saying that the recent advent of national chain stores and banks was just the latest incarnation of this economic tradition.

Alison Tocci said that, to her, the soul of the city was represented by artists and small businesses and stressed affordability as a major cause of their worsening plight in many neighborhoods.

Darren Fletcher responded that while the loss of small business is not the fault of either big corporations or landlords, there is a growing inequality in the city both in terms of the ability of small business to afford commercial rental prices, and the ability of low and moderate income families to afford residential rents.

Tama Janowitz mourned the gentrification of her Brooklyn neighborhood, humorously recalling that at the time when she and her husband moved in, there were no restaurants, but that marijuana could be delivered to your door.

Rocco Landesman also bemoaned the "delibidinization" of the city, especially the area around the theater district, but added that few people would agree that things had not improved there since the crime and vice-ridden, bad old days of the late 1970s and '80s.

Questions from the floor included "What would Jane Jacobs do?" to which Mr. Walker responded, "she would ask you." So, in true Jacobsean fashion, we are asking you. What do you think? Is New York losing its soul? Indeed, what is the soul of the city? And, if it is losing its soul, what can and should be done about it?

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