Volume 17 • Issue 36 • Jan. 28 — February 3, 2005

Letters to the Editor

To The Editor:
Amanda Kludt’s article, “Closings & change for Li’l Italy vets” (news article, Jan. 21- 27), puts a human face on the escalating commercial rents. This has been going on for decades and across the city. I recall a desperate storeowner on Grand St., near Jackson St., placed a pleading placard in his window stating: “My rent was $1,200. Now the landlord is demanding $6,000. Please help me. Contact Mayor Koch.” He vacated shortly afterwards.

Readers may be interested to understand that the decisions and attitudes of the landlords and real estate leaders are, to a very large degree, determined by the consciousness of the masses. The hardened materialism (“whatever the market will bear”), greed, selfishness, callous indifference, cruelty, etc., are a mirror reflection of the values, attitudes and priorities of the masses.
Michael Gottlieb

Home

Downtown Express is published by
Community Media LLC.
Downtown Express | 487 Greenwich St., Suite 6A | New York, NY 10013

Phone: 212.242.6162 | Fax: 212.229.2970
Email: news@downtownexpress.com

Written permission of the publisher must be obtainedbefore any of the contents of this newspaper, in whole or in part, can be reproduced or redistributed.