By Ian Carlino:
A feature in the New York Times Magazine profiled a mansion in the city that houses numerous "freegans." They try to live detached from the system, dumpster-diving for food and avoiding money whenever possible.
The feature discusses the freegans' impact on their neighborhood, and how, despite their unkempt appearance, they have positively impacted their area just as well as any community organizer could have.
Looks like schooling, connections and degrees really aren't necessary to create a base for community growth.
Also, see this BRO post on The Bird House.
Check out the New York Times Magazine article.
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A feature in the New York Times Magazine profiled a mansion in the city that houses numerous "freegans." They try to live detached from the system, dumpster-diving for food and avoiding money whenever possible.
The feature discusses the freegans' impact on their neighborhood, and how, despite their unkempt appearance, they have positively impacted their area just as well as any community organizer could have.
Looks like schooling, connections and degrees really aren't necessary to create a base for community growth.
Also, see this BRO post on The Bird House.
Check out the New York Times Magazine article.
Great article in the Times Magazine. I think it reflects positively on the City.
Positively? Really?
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2010/06/01/magazine/20100606-squatters-3.html
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2010/06/01/magazine/20100606-squatters-9.html
I don't think it will make a big negative difference either in what most NY Times readers think of Buffalo, but how are those images positive?
Abandoned and derelict mansions that become homes to prostitutes, drug dealers, and squatters. That isn't a very positive image of Buffalo.
True, but most NY Times readers probably already think Buffalo is great because of previous upbeat reporting about our architecture and arts. /sarcasm
Kidding aside, I'll bet most downstate elites think of Upstate as a whole the way Spitzer did during his gov campaign when he compared us to Appalachia. Those pictures won't improve the image, but there's many parts of NYC where this same stuff goes on.
In an interview last month, Patti Smith told an audience at the Cooper Union "New York has closed itself off to the young and the struggling. But there are other cities. Detroit. Poughkeepsie... New York City has been taken away from you... So my advice is: Find a new city."
Patti Smith isn't the only one saying this kind of thing. In this context, the article is a positive thing for Buffalo. It show signs of life that New Yorkers recognize as a kind of harbinger of new culture. These images might recall memories of another time in the History of New York.
of course i'm not saying that this in any way guarantees that Buffalo or Detroit is the next East Village. Its just one way that this article can be seen as positive.
davvid - true, but can't freegans also do their thing in many neighborhoods of very big cities like NY too? It sounds like your quote from Patti might have been her suggesting smaller cities to more creative-ambitious types looking for low rent rather than no-rent.
Anyhow, I'm not sure many readers of NY Times Mag are potential squatters deciding what city to move to. I've no idea what makes some places better than others for freegans and squatters. Lol, maybe we'll find out if Forbes makes that their next list!