Blogging For Change In Carroll Gardens

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Take a look at an article in Crain's written by Andrew Buck. I had a nice conversation with him about two weeks ago. Here now his article on bloggers and their role in spreading local news...

From Crain's, Feb. 24

 B'klyn finds it takes an online village

Carroll Gardens activists raise ruckus via blogs; builders, politicians take
note
February 23. 2008 11:40AM

By: Andrew Buck

It didn't seem like a big deal when Bob Guskind posted a rendering of a
building for a site on Smith Street in Carroll Gardens several months ago.
But within days, other bloggers in the Brooklyn neighborhood had zeroed in
on the property. They uncovered fresh details, including the developer's
name and the luxury residential project's height, 70 feet, which would dwarf
the surrounding brownstones.

Dubbed “the heavy metal building” by Carroll Gardens bloggers, the
development quickly became a magnet for local groups and officials
determined to preserve the neighborhood's low-rise charm. In response to the
opposition, developer Bill Stein has replaced the original architect and
modified the design.

“It is amazing how a small community was galvanized after reading one post,”
says Mr. Guskind, whose blog, The Gowanus Lounge, was the first to carry an
image of the building. “Three years ago, this wouldn't have happened.”

It's a new day for online community activism. According to Katia Kelly, a
longtime Carroll Gardens resident and the sole blogger on Pardon Me for
Asking, the movement's strength lies in networking. Cross-linking posts lets
one person's message spread almost instantly. Blogs are also gaining power
as their content makes it into mainstream media.

“We used to have to beg papers for coverage on local issues, and if we
published anything ourselves it would be waved off as a rumor,” says Lumi
Michelle Rolley, founder of No Land Grab, a four-year-old, Atlantic
Yards-centric blog. “Blogs are now a natural fit for activists.”

Politicians are also in listening mode. Democratic Councilman Bill de
Blasio, who represents Carroll Gardens, recently began holding monthly
“teas” to meet with bloggers and other locals. Late last month, he proposed
an immediate study to possibly downzone the area.

That was good news for Triada Samaras. Within days of seeing the picture of
the development at 360 Smith St., she and half a dozen other fiftysomething
neighbors formed the Carroll Gardens Coalition to Respectfully Develop.
Among the details the group has uncovered is that the project will benefit
from a zoning rule quirk that allows it to be larger than normal.

CORD has gathered more than 3,000 signatures online calling for city
officials to recognize that a sizable number of residents want a moratorium
on construction in the neighborhood.

“The land-use and development process has not been transparent,” Mr. Guskind
says. “Blogging has changed that.”

B'klyn finds it takes an online village

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