The New York Times, June 1, 2018: Gentrification’s empty victory
The property at 605 East Ninth St. was his for $3.15 million. He considered it a steal, as he had budgeted for $12 million — assuming the somewhat biblical disruption was not an actual bad omen but just part of what he considered nonsense that would soon quiet down. Protesters clamored outside the building, but he was escorted by police through a basement exit. With the property under his name, he expected to evict the existing tenants, clearing his path for renovation on the ramshackle structure.
Chino Garcia, a founding member of the Charas center who was there that day, recalled watching as one of Mr. Singer’s competitors bowed out of the bidding, intimidated by the spectacle.
“One guy said: ‘You know something? I ain’t going to bid on this building,’” Mr. Garcia, 71, recalled recently. “‘Because you see all these young people yelling here and outside? They’re going to be around for a long time.’”
And they were. For the next two decades, and as recently as last year, protesters have held rallies, written letters and remained organized, eventually gaining powerful allies, whose influence, Mr. Singer now claims, has led the city to stymie his redevelopment efforts.
