Ikea's Promise

The Swedish furniture giant Ikea hopes to break ground on a new Red Hook location, its first in New York City, in November, provided the City Planning Commission and then the City Council vote to approve the project. Ikea expects to hire between 500 and 600 employees, many from Red Hook housing projects, where the unemployment rate is about 20%, double the city average. All employees who work at least 20 hours a week will be eligible for benefits. As part of its proposed 22-acre development, the retailer also plans to develop a 6-acre section of the Red Hook waterfront, building an esplanade that would offer pedestrians views of lower Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty.

It should be a an easy decision. But a vocal minority of well-heeled Red Hook residents has been doing everything it can to stop the retailer from setting up its business there. Ikea, it seems, does not fit into this minority's vision of the neighborhood's future. It's a legitimate aesthetic preference, but it is wrong to impose it on an unwilling majority.

On Wednesday at the Department of City Planning, these opponents clashed with long-time residents who support Ikea. The president of the Red Hook East Tenants Association, Dorothy Shields, who has lived there for 53 years, told The New York Sun that "homeowners who have moved to Red Hook in the last one, two, and three years don't think we need jobs, but we do."

Opponents generally raise concerns about the traffic Ikea will bring to the neighborhood. They say they are scared for the safety of their children. Red Hook old-timers can appreciate those concerns. Not so long ago they were frightened about the safety of their children, too. That was when the neighborhood was ravaged by crime. In 1992, a school principal named Patrick Daly was killed by a stray bullet from a gunfight between two drug gangs. But since then, crime has plummeted. In 1995, there were 12 murders in the area. Last year, none. Now that the neighborhood is safe, a band of newcomers wants to wrest control of it from the people who lived through the worst of times.

Traffic is a fair concern, but Ikea has been more than reasonable in its willingness to minimize disruption to the neighborhood. It will offer a free shuttle from downtown Brooklyn and low-cost home delivery to encourage customers to use public transportation to get to the store. Opponents of Ikea may have more political clout than the low-income residents who support economic development and jobs, but city officials would be mistaken to kill a project that would benefit many to cater to the tastes of the few.