Anti-Growth in the Big Apple: Taking a Bite out of "The American Dream”

• In Event: 563 - Section on Community and Urban Sociology Roundtable Session (one-hour).
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 10. Urban Development and Public Policy

Abstract

The paper critically examines the growth machine thesis using an historical case study of condominium conversion in a moderate-income rental complex in New York City. Despite research suggesting that tenants desire homeownership, residents of Park West Village (PWV) waged a five-year battle against management (1982-1987) and remained tenants in overwhelming numbers, forgoing an opportunity to become homeowners when two of the seven buildings in the complex converted in 1987. Using historical documents, I examine why tenants fought against local growth and rejected the opportunity to accumulate personal capital through homeownership. I posit that tenants engaged in three economically driven frames that argued against conversation at the individual, communal, and state level. The Park West Village Tenants’ Association (PWVTA) garnered considerable support by questioning who has the authority to privatize public land, challenging the desirability of homeownership, and arguing that affordable rental housing could promote social justice. Ultimately, while residents were unable to prevent the conversion, they were able to considerably slow the growth process and ensure management offered a non-eviction conversion plan.

Author

• Alexis A. Merdjanoff, State University of New Jersey-Rutgers