Category: United States

If one sets up a structure that is not democratic, it will result in community abuse and destruction, for that it is what it was set up to do. In this case, the sample I am studying is the destruction of the East River Park (also called the John V. Lindsay East River Park). This text follows on a previous text called The Family , which dealt with a lack of transparency and accountability in both the way The City of New York is advised on major real estate development and in the process through which it appoints officials in real state matters. This paper examines the threat inherent in the link between a systemic “set up” and its consequences in the everyday lives of people—in the air we breathe and in the disappearance of public space. Furthermore, this paper tackles a very common phenomena: the empty affirmation, which, in short, says the absolute opposite of what will be done. The “cynical discourse” in this case is the claim of resilient recovery for a beloved park that is being demolished before our eyes.