Some say George H.W. Bush lost the presidency to Bill Clinton because he disdained 'the vision thing'.
Plainfield should only be so lucky.
I am very conflicted about the turn development seems to be taking in Plainfield, and it is exactly over 'the vision thing' and the fact that a lack of it doesn't seem to be slowing anything down.
No one wants to be against development, but I would wager no one really wants 'dumb' development either -- projects that erupt haphazardly, without an overarching vision or goal. Projects that doom Plainfield to the future consequences of thoughtless actions in the present.
The image that comes to mind in the present situation is those annoying 'earlybirds' who show up at house sales, running through the house, tagging everything they want 'sold' and essentially creaming the best stuff for themselves.
Plainfield's development, as it is now unfolding, is developer-driven, and it is beginning to resemble those house sale earlybirds.
It's no secret that I don't think much of giving the Dornoch crew the land on East Front Street for $1.
Or of the jerry-built 'redevelopment' area in the block at East Third and Richmond that the PMUA has targeted for its headquarters complex.
Now we have an incipient flap over condos and parking at West Second Street and Madison Avenue, and worries about the fate of the historic United National Bank building at Second and Park.
But these issues are NOT the problem, they are SYMPTOMS of the problem -- and that problem is partly that, under this Administration, we have not engaged in a REAL community-wide discussion about what kind of vision Plainfielders have of our future and how we want to proceed.
It is also that the officials of two of the three legs of the development 'stool' who are charged with guarding the community's best long-term interests -- the Council and the Planning Board -- are defenceless, with the Administration having abdicated its responsibility to govern in the larger, long-term interest of the community.
Under the banner of 'Unity in the Community', the Administration has handed off essential decision-making to others, especially the Union County Improvement Authority (UCIA).
One immediate consequence?
When the Council wanted to hire Joe Mariziti, without doubt New Jersey's most respected planning and development expert, to give them the benefit of his hard-won experience and insights, the matter was quashed. Word is that the order to kill Mariziti's nomination came from King Street.
Instead, we are left with only the current consultant, whom more and more are finding disappointing to say the least.
WHAT IS TO BE DONE?
Witold Rybczynski, the architect and observer of community development, was recently interviewed on WNYC. He said there is good development and bad development, and that good development is dependent on the well-informed decisions of local policy makers -- meaning planning boards, councils, and administrations. (You can listen to the interview here.)
So, one thing to do is to equip the decision makers -- at least the City Council and the Planning Board -- with knowledge about how developers work, how and why they might be less than candid with decision makers (for instance, about the mystery of their profit margins), and how to deal with them effectively. Bringing the Administration along may have to wait until there is a new mayor, one not hobbled by enormous pay-to-play obligations.
Another thing to do is to mobilize the citizenry. A broad-based, non-partisan alliance of residents' organizations and community activists could spearhead a true grassroots drive to watch out for Plainfield's future.
I cut my teeth on Jane Jacobs' The Death and Life of Great American Cities. Though one can take issue with some of her extreme positions, her emphasis on community input, the concept of 'livable districts', and the need for a creative blending of architecture, diversity and a lively street life are at the heart of successful development in cities large and small across the country.
Why not Plainfield?
WNYC: Interview with Witold Rybczynski: "Development and Construction"
Amazon: Jane Jacobs: "The Death and Life of Great American Cities"
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