Kelly Anderson's documentary My Brooklyn tells the story of gentrification through the lens of corporate interests in urban planning.
Kelly Anderson's documentary My Brooklyn focuses on the effects of rezoning on gentrification.
A Brooklyn resident for 25 years, Anderson collaborated with race historian Craig Wilder to reveal that gentrification is not just about people moving in and out of neighborhoods. She "decided not to dig into the well-worn territory" of the gentrification story, which highlights the displacement of black and Latino groups by white residents, but focused her narrative on the effort of corporations to "revitalize" Downtown Brooklyn and Fulton Mall by lifting building height restrictions, building luxury condos, offering property tax incentives to prospective buyers and undercutting small businesses like pizza parlors, barbershops and bookstores.
The documentary features failed efforts by the Downtown Brooklyn community and its representatives like Families United For Racial and Economic Equality (FUREE) to present their case to the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCED), and includes interviews with prominent locally bred musicians, shoppers and business owners who feel like they are fighting a losing battle.
The film is playing through Feb. 3 at reRun Theatre in DUMBO.
FULL STORY: The Real Story Behind the Gentrification of Brooklyn

Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?

In Both Crashes and Crime, Public Transportation is Far Safer than Driving
Contrary to popular assumptions, public transportation has far lower crash and crime rates than automobile travel. For safer communities, improve and encourage transit travel.

Report: Zoning Reforms Should Complement Nashville’s Ambitious Transit Plan
Without reform, restrictive zoning codes will limit the impact of the city’s planned transit expansion and could exclude some of the residents who depend on transit the most.

Judge Orders Release of Frozen IRA, IIJA Funding
The decision is a victory for environmental groups who charged that freezing funds for critical infrastructure and disaster response programs caused “real and irreparable harm” to communities.
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