The UN in Brooklyn!? No thanks!
Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz has been active in lobbying the United Nations to temporarily stay in Brooklyn.
So far, the United Nations, which will need a temporary home while the current UN headquarters overlooking the East River in Manhattan undergoes a planned renovation, has mostly looked at locations in Manhattan. The only possibility that was on the table was in Long Island City, Queens, for a temporary site of the Dag Hammarskjold Library.
Will this be coming to Brooklyn? Not likely!
Although all attempts by Markowitz to bring the UN to Downtown Brooklyn have been ignored, he still isn't giving up:
Leaders in Brooklyn, however, after initial disappointment, are reacting with a version of the borough's traditional refrain: Wait till next year. "We don't take no for an answer very easily - not Brooklynites," Mr. Markowitz said, adding that his true hope was for the United Nations to move some offices to the borough permanently, to remain after the renovation. Nothing as glamorous as the General Assembly, of course, but administrative and support staff would be welcome.
The UN should not be put in Downtown Brooklyn. For instance, all the security that is needed daily, around the compound, could interrupt whatever usual business is conducted in Downtown Brooklyn. Then there is all the security that surrounds the United Nations when it comes time for the world's leaders and dictators and diplomats to make their pilgrimages to the UN. It is easy for Manhattan to handle. After all, if First Avenue is shut down, then you could always get uptown by using another avenue. It's not quite that simple in Downtown Brooklyn, especially when the major office buildings are concentrated in that area. Plus those VIPs would likely still be staying at fancy hotels and residences in Manhattan. Would anyone want to sacrifice any of the East River crossings to accomodate those people travelling to and from these places?
If the UN doesn't move here, even if temporarily, Markowitz would still like support offices in Downtown Brooklyn:
"The people that we met with raised that to us, that they need additional space, and there's no economic justification for maintaining their office space necessarily in Manhattan," Mr. Markowitz said.
Or, as Kenneth Adams, the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce president, put it: "The U.N. is not going to move to Downtown Brooklyn. But part of it could."
This is all well and good. These offices won't need the expansive security detail that it would need if the entire UN were in Downtown Brooklyn. Furthermore, if the UN pays a reasonable price to house these offices there, then why not? Perhaps it could even hire some local talent to fill any job vacancies that might be availiable. Best of all, it would not interfere with the usual business of the area.
The area that houses the UN complex now was built for it. Downtown Brooklyn is not. The UN does not fit here, even if temporarily. Markowitz should concentrate on getting those supporting offices here instead.
So far, the United Nations, which will need a temporary home while the current UN headquarters overlooking the East River in Manhattan undergoes a planned renovation, has mostly looked at locations in Manhattan. The only possibility that was on the table was in Long Island City, Queens, for a temporary site of the Dag Hammarskjold Library.
Will this be coming to Brooklyn? Not likely!
Although all attempts by Markowitz to bring the UN to Downtown Brooklyn have been ignored, he still isn't giving up:
Leaders in Brooklyn, however, after initial disappointment, are reacting with a version of the borough's traditional refrain: Wait till next year. "We don't take no for an answer very easily - not Brooklynites," Mr. Markowitz said, adding that his true hope was for the United Nations to move some offices to the borough permanently, to remain after the renovation. Nothing as glamorous as the General Assembly, of course, but administrative and support staff would be welcome.
The UN should not be put in Downtown Brooklyn. For instance, all the security that is needed daily, around the compound, could interrupt whatever usual business is conducted in Downtown Brooklyn. Then there is all the security that surrounds the United Nations when it comes time for the world's leaders and dictators and diplomats to make their pilgrimages to the UN. It is easy for Manhattan to handle. After all, if First Avenue is shut down, then you could always get uptown by using another avenue. It's not quite that simple in Downtown Brooklyn, especially when the major office buildings are concentrated in that area. Plus those VIPs would likely still be staying at fancy hotels and residences in Manhattan. Would anyone want to sacrifice any of the East River crossings to accomodate those people travelling to and from these places?
If the UN doesn't move here, even if temporarily, Markowitz would still like support offices in Downtown Brooklyn:
"The people that we met with raised that to us, that they need additional space, and there's no economic justification for maintaining their office space necessarily in Manhattan," Mr. Markowitz said.
Or, as Kenneth Adams, the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce president, put it: "The U.N. is not going to move to Downtown Brooklyn. But part of it could."
This is all well and good. These offices won't need the expansive security detail that it would need if the entire UN were in Downtown Brooklyn. Furthermore, if the UN pays a reasonable price to house these offices there, then why not? Perhaps it could even hire some local talent to fill any job vacancies that might be availiable. Best of all, it would not interfere with the usual business of the area.
The area that houses the UN complex now was built for it. Downtown Brooklyn is not. The UN does not fit here, even if temporarily. Markowitz should concentrate on getting those supporting offices here instead.
posted by Will at 1:39 AM
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