[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 72 (Tuesday, May 18, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H3218]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         KUDOS FOR BETTE MIDLER

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 19, 1999, the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer) is 
recognized during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, my goal in Congress is to help the 
Federal Government be a better partner with State and local 
governments, with business and private citizens, to do everything it 
can in promoting livable communities, because what our families really 
care about is that their children are safe when they go out the door to 
school in the morning, that families are economically secure and 
healthy.
  There is a vital component to this livability movement that goes well 
beyond the crafting of Federal legislation. The most powerful 
livability champions out there make the message real. They are the 
folks who take the rhetoric one step farther and actually walk the 
talk. For the last 3 months I have been especially intrigued by one 
such person, Bette Midler, who first got my attention when she took to 
national syndicated television a few months back and confessed that if 
she had not gone into entertainment she probably would have pursued a 
career as an urban planner, and she certainly has moved to the 
forefront in promoting livability with her personal advocacy and 
investment.
  This was most apparent last week when she spearheaded the rescue of 
112 pocket parks and community gardens in New York City from being sold 
for redevelopment. Had Miss Midler not stepped in, along with the Trust 
for Public Land and a group that she founded in 1994, the New York 
Restoration Project, a great number of New Yorkers would have lost the 
joy they have received from these gardens.
  Over a third of a century ago, author Jane Jacobs captured in her 
book, The Life and Death of Great American Cities, the importance of 
places for people to congregate over sterile formal parks, planned with 
even the best of intentions, in ways that do not speak to people's 
needs for diversity and connection.
  In threatening to auction these small gardens to the highest bidder, 
Mayor Giuliani not only added to the evidence that he does not get the 
revitalization taking place in New York City, that it needs to be about 
more than simply adding police officers on the corner, talking tough 
and bribing the New York Yankees to stay in New York City.
  Revitalization is most effective when it brings people together. When 
people invest in their communities, they feel that they have ownership 
in the neighborhood, and this feeling of ownership is undoubtedly the 
most effective deterrent to crime and deterioration.
  Community gardens take little enclaves that otherwise might be 
garbage dumps or staging areas for crime and turns them not just into 
green oasis but a place where people want to go. They define community 
pride, engagement and involvement.
  Under the guise of providing money and housing opportunities, 
Giuliani proposed selling off for a couple million dollars these little 
neighborhood gems. Put aside for a moment that the amount of money is 
minuscule compared to the hundreds of millions of dollars Giuliani has 
talked about subsidizing for a few selected businesses. Also ignore for 
a moment that there are thousands of run-down, dilapidated buildings 
and vacant lots that would be prime candidates for redevelopment in New 
York City.
  This case illustrates the strengths of partnership and why I for one 
do not trust any one single level of government on its own because 
there is clearly enough insensitivity and ineptitude to go around.
  The public which has fought so hard to establish these toeholds 
fortunately pushed back, and luckily the partners existed in New York 
City that make livable communities strong and vital. They provided not 
just money and interest but the spark that brought those pieces 
together.
  Today the community gardens are safe, New York City is richer and 
hopefully politicians like Giuliani have learned a lesson. Sometimes 
that just means listening to the people about what makes communities 
and neighborhoods work.
  Congress can certainly do its part by enacting legislation to make 
contributions to the public easier for things like scenic and 
conservation easement, agriculture and timberlands and wetland 
conservation. The public has learned, with the help of Miss Midler and 
others, that it can challenge city hall and win, which may be the most 
important lesson of all for livable communities.

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