One of the downsides of
trying to preserve historic buildings is that much of your time is spent
fighting development (and developers). Over the past years (decades actually)
this has brought me closer to a cast of Trump-ian characters than I ever
dreamed of knowing. The good part is that over the years they provided fodder
for a lot of strong, satirical artwork, although recent events have far
surpassed anything I could have invented. LIFE has now completely overwhelmed
ART. Nothing I might create would ever
come close to what is going on today: the politicians, the shyster lawyers, the
bimbos, their surgically enhanced wives, the Mussolini grimace our current
leader thinks makes him look like Churchill.
I could probably name at
least a dozen big time real estate developers I have locked horns with – their
names will sound familiar. They range from pure, unabashed Mafiosos to pseudo
‘aristocrats’ with Princeton degrees and Saville Row suits. The relationship
between them came to me one evening many years ago at a Planning Board hearing
I went to with my late husband, a Clinical Psychologist. While we were
listening to the proceedings, the next “item” on the agenda walked in: MR.
BIGSHOT and his entourage. “Who are they? My husband whispered. “They look like
gangsters.” “Oh, no!” I replied. “That’s ----------. He’s one of the most
important developers in the country. He’s a well-known art collector. That’s
his lawyer, his sons, their wives, the architect etc.etc. They’re here to
present their next project.” - which of course required the demolition of a
block of historic buildings in the downtown. Higher and Best Use, you
understand.
I thought about the
incident afterwards and how my husband, with his professional training, had
intuited something about the expensively-dressed applicants, their attempts to
look like gentry that only hid what they actually were: gangsters. I
immediately began to draw (I never go to zoning hearings without pencil and
pad.) Where else could I get such great subject matter – for free?
Recently, however, I find I
can no longer be a satirist. Reality has gone beyond my gentle spoofs: too
grim. It’s almost the way satire vanished in the Weimar Republic (George Grosz
et al) once Hitler came to power. The brilliant social satirists of Germany in
the 20s and early 30s left the country or hid away, hoping not to end up in a
death camp.
There is however, a
difference between Developers and Builders. Some of my best friends are
builders. Most of them are small town guys who grew up and plan to stay here.
They are essentially craftsmen and will save and restore historic buildings if
given half a chance… and they don’t leave town with the profits as soon as the
job is over. I’m friendly with at least half a dozen. They respect me and try
to “do the right thing” both for the community and themselves. They do quality
work and take pride in the finished buildings. Many years ago, a local planner
and I got together and came up with an innovative zoning regulation that would
allow builders to squeeze in a couple of extra units in return for preserving
an existing historic building: Section 7.3 Historic Density Bonus. It was the
first of its kind in the country. By using its bonus provisions, we’ve managed
to save dozens of historic houses. In fact, it’s the only thing that has ever
worked.
Of course, big-time
developers are hardly ever interested in preservation; their plans are much too
grand to waste time and energy saving old buildings. And what if they do tear
down a local monument or affordable housing in the process? They don’t live
here; it’s not their home. One of them
actually had the nerve to tell me that was why he didn’t live in Stamford: the
City’s zoning regulations weren’t strict enough!
Renee Kahn
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