[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 47 (Wednesday, April 26, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E612-E613]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO JANE JACOBS

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. ANTHONY D. WEINER

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 26, 2006

  Mr. WEINER. Mr. Speaker, yesterday we lost one of New York City's 
greatest champions and a pioneer in the world of urban planning when 
Jane Jacobs died at the age of 89.
  Millions of people visit New York every year, and many are 
overwhelmed by its sheer size. The hulking skyscrapers. The bustling 
crowds. The bright lights.
  But the dynamism of Manhattan during rush hour is just a piece of the 
story.
  A more complete picture of the Big Apple is colored by the scores of 
local communities that are defined not by big business of the world's 
economic capital, but rather by the rhythm of parents walking kids to a 
local elementary school, families attending religious services at a 
local church or synagogue, and mothers and fathers shopping along the 
neighborhood shopping strip.
  While the Manhattan skyline may spring to mind when someone mentions 
New York, the DNA of the City's everyday life is defined much more by 
each local neighborhood. Forest Hills in Queens. Sheepshead Bay in 
Brooklyn. Throgs Neck in the Bronx. Stapleton on Staten Island. Jacobs' 
beloved West Village in Manhattan. There are so many others.
  It was Jacobs' masterpiece--``The Death and Life of Great American 
Cities''--that argued that the health of the City as a whole depended 
on the vibrancy of its urban neighborhoods. At a time when grand 
visions of urban renewal were spurring planners to pave over entire 
communities, Jacobs stood at the forefront of a movement to preserve 
the City's most fundamental building blocks.
  And today, as a result in part of Jacobs' efforts to preserve New 
York's neighborhoods, New York City is as vibrant as ever. We are a 
magnet for what Richard Florida has termed the ``Creative Class''--the 
highly-educated, highly-motivated young people who are key to economic 
growth.
  And while scholars like Robert Putnam worry about the deterioration 
of social capital--afraid that Americans are interacting less and more 
likely to ``bowl alone''--the neighborhoods of New York City continue 
to have dynamic communities that interact on the street with a swirl of 
new and old faces.
  In fact, today, Jacobs' successes have left New Yorkers with a new 
set of challenges. Because so many people want to live in New York, 
property values have skyrocketed, and tax bills along with them. 
Because so many people are using our public transportation systems to 
get to work, we're forced to invest in

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building new infrastructure. Because so many young people want to raise 
families in the five boroughs, we are forced to foot the bill for 
building more schools.
  Our new burden in New York is to manage the success of Jane Jacobs' 
vision of a vibrant, dense, growing, exciting city.
  And for that, we owe Jane Jacobs a debt of gratitude.

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