Talk:New Brunswick, New Jersey
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[edit] Downtown blight due to white flight
The development of shopping malls in suburbia contributed substantially to the decline of downtown New Brunswick. There was simply no reason for suburbanites to travel to downtown New Brunswick and shop at mom-and-pop stores anymore (e.g., impact of WalMart on small towns).--Buzava 06:37, 19 November 2006 (UTC)
I reversed to an earlier version. --Buzava 22:03, 19 November 2006 (UTC)
- New Brunswick's downtown decline isn't particularly unique... many, if not most, old urban commercial cores in the Northeast and Midwest went through the same process of retail disinvestment, flight of capital to suburbs, population decline, white flight.
- Perhaps a better way to talk about this would be to not imply a causal link at all, because while these phenomena all occured, it is controversial which one "caused" the decline. We know that white flight from NB did occur (as evidenced by the fact that the % of white, non-Hispanic residents decreased while the populations of surrounding suburbs mushroomed), but was it a symptom of disinvestment, a cause of disinvestment, simply a byproduct? The article for NB doesn't need to "take a stance" on this. That's a discussion better left to the actual articles on white flight, urban blight etc since, as I said before, it's not clear that NB is a unique case. Passdoubt | Talk 00:04, 20 November 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Error on Page
The caption identifying the corner of Bayard and George St is innaccurate, its actually the southeast corner of Patterson and George. Just throwing it out there.Davepetr 02:35, 16 November 2006 (UTC)
[edit] NPOV
This article fails to state the undeniable positive effects of urban renewal (i.e. job creation and better quality of life). Furthermore, it fails to mention New Brunswick's commitment to lower income housing. Even luxury buildings such as Sklyine Tower have both market rate and affordable housing. Once the article mentions the positive effects of redevelopment along with the "controversy" the tag should be taken down.
- I think the increase in New Brunswick's homelessness problem, the increased demands on local food banks and food kitchens, and other signs of poverty negate any claims of "better quality of life." For many, and there are many lower-class people in New Brunswick, housing prices are far from affordable. They're practically unattainable. You don't happen to work for the city, or DevCo, do you? Only they look through such rose-tinted eyeglasses. —ExplorerCDT 15:30, 30 October 2006 (UTC)
- When the tax base is higher, more revenue is available for social services. The new housing may increase the disparity between the richest and poorest residing in New Brunswick, but when the pie gets bigger, your slice has the potential to get bigger. --Richard Arthur Norton (1958- ) 16:13, 30 October 2006 (UTC)
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- Potential. Not reality. The city's tax base...because the city council gave DevCo a free ride practically on property taxes for the next 30 years...will never go higher. The revenues from these ratables will likely not be realized in our lifetimes. The properties DevCo develops are given tax levies of cents on the dollar. And like most New Brunswick political legacies, the money won't go for social services...it'll buy Jim Cahill (or his successor) a boat, fix up his house, and line other party bosses' pockets. And the end result...New Brunswick's problems never get fixed, only worsen but to accentuate the positive all the pretty buildings mean that the undesirables (blacks, hispanics, poor people) get pushed out of downtown...but right onto the sidewalk. —ExplorerCDT 16:33, 30 October 2006 (UTC)
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- Okay, can of worms here… to respond to the DevCo employee:
- 1. Cite a source or a specific number on job creation and add it to the article. Say something like “Between 1970 and 2000, New Brunswick has added ____ jobs” or “the unemployment rate has dropped from ___ % to ___ %.” Those are facts that could balance out the links to the negative Targum articles. That urban renewal (either as a process in general or how it plays out in NB) is “undeniably positive” is not NPOV though.
- 2. “Quality of life” is a meaningless buzzword. It is, as somebody pointed out below, more appropriate for a promotional advertisement than an encyclopedia article. Instead, cite a specific fact, e.g. “crime reduced from a rate of ___ to a rate of ___” or “school scores improved from ___ to ___.”
- 3. Again, you can add a note that some of the new projects include subsidized units, but don’t pepper it with inappropriate language you were using before like “this is a shining example of urban renewal.”
- 4. The redevelopment process IS controversial. I don’t think the article should convey that DevCo or NB's redevelopment is “good” or “bad,” but it should convey that DevCo and the redevelopment process have been politically contested by a number of groups. Passdoubt | Talk 11:34, 31 October 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Hello, NPOV?
This is a wikipedia article, not a tourism/investment brochure.128.6.168.245 01:27, 10 June 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Famous Residents
I believe Cornelius Vanderbilt once lived in New Brunswick and his son, William Henry, was born there.--Buzava 21:32, 14 February 2006 (UTC)
After Risky Business came out in 1983, I heard that Curtis Armstrong, who played Miles, had been working at Greasy Tony's in New Brunswick. I thought he was a Rutgers student then. Alas, however, I am not able to find anything to substantiate. Anyone know whether he was actually a resident?--Dalmatian Mommy 04:23, 2 March 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Edits esp. regarding history
Started writing out the history stuff, will add more. Sectstubs indicating where. Revitalization should also include (1) Rutgers College Avenue Campus greening project, (2) Hurricane Floyd flooding (3) Route 18 redevelopments. Also discussion about Washington and Hamilton's retreat, General Howe in the Revolution, perhaps some on the Dutch Reformed folks in NB and their impact on the Great Awakening movement. Also, railroads (Vanderbilt, etc.) —ExplorerCDT 00:53, 27 November 2006 (UTC)
- P.S. Also we should add some comments regarding the perception/reality of the Democratic party political machine and corruption (John Lynch/Jim Cahill) in NB and Middlesex County, also the difficulty of people trying to battle against it politically from the outside in elections, drives etc. (last 50 years of NB's political history). —ExplorerCDT 01:05, 27 November 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Where does the name come from?
I always thought that New Brunswick (both in the US as well as in Canada) is derived from a Dutch man called 'Van Bruynswijck'. That would make a lot of sence, since the Dutch were one of the first Europeans who claimed land in the US-states we now know as New York and New Jersey, together with the Swedes. So no Germans. Other examples of words derived from Dutch people, cities or other typical Ducth things are Harlem (named after Haarlem, a city in the Netherlands), Brooklyn (named after Breukelen, both a place and a last name in the Netherlands) and Staten Island (named after the Dutch 'Staten Generaal', the Dutch parliament). So what is the truth involving the name Brunswick? --84.104.123.100 12:29, 20 April 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Bicycle community?
Is it really noteworthy? Sounds like someone with a bike agenda stuck that in a random place in the article. 24.185.31.111 21:38, 8 October 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Fair use rationale for Image:New Brunswick, New Jersey - City Seal.jpg
Image:New Brunswick, New Jersey - City Seal.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.
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BetacommandBot (talk) 21:13, 2 January 2008 (UTC)
