Submitted by Jim, May 31, 2007 13:28

I live in this area that Columbia is intending to expand into and I personally welcome them. I still find it very difficult to wrap my mind around why some people (certainly not the majority) do not want Columbia to come into an area of warehouses and garages and contribute to the vitality of the area. The current residents or stewards of the area dropped the ball over the last 20 years and now Columbia is going to help catapult things forward, which I strongly endorse. Currently, the area has a lot of takers, not givers. Columbia represents competition for housing and resources, but isn't that the New York way? Perhaps some of the people who complain can't consider that having an Ivy League school in their neighborhood is a positive thing. Well, in a neighborhood that presently has people getting out of Cadillac Escolades to walk into a store to use food stamps, competition is seen as deadly. I don't blame them, I would be scared too if I were them. Columbia represents progress and Manhattan is a symbol of progress to the world. People in the surrounding area should either get ready to compete or get out of Manhattan. Manhattan is a privilege, not a right. Step up to the line and compete or get out of the way.

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