The POOR DOOR.......

It has long been my as assertion that racism which is still unmistakabley alive in America, has been used as a smoke screen. A tool utilized by rich industrialist's and politicians, who are often one in the same. A devisive method used for polarization. The reason for this all too common distraction is classism. Descrimination due to economic status. Often times race has little if anything to with it and is incidental. The latest and perhaps most blatant example of classism is happening in New York City.

Very soon, the imaginary line between the rich and the poor could be separated by an actual door. New York City officials have approved a shocking "back door" proposal, which will allow a high-rise condo building to create separate entrances for those living in the affordable-housing or the "poor" section of the building.

In case you thought you read this wrong, let me be crystal clear. Tenants who can afford to live in the swankier apartments in the unit can use the glitzy front entrance, while those who are in less-wealthy accommodations will use the back-alley entrance. Swap the "colored only", "whites only" sign's for "rich people" and "poor people" and it's almost like Jim Crow all over again.

The "poor door," as it has come to be known, became the center of controversy last year when developers Extell introduced the idea regarding a 33-story luxury condo in Manhattan's Upper West Side. The condo would include affordable-housing tenants, who would have to enter the building through a separate entrance.

A spokesman for the city's Department of Housing Preservation and Development told the New York Post that Extell’s application for the Inclusionary Housing Program had been approved—complete with the "poor door."

Local developers are allowed to build large properties as long as they include affordable housing. This new development "will have 219 units overlooking the waterfront and 55 affordable units in a building segment facing the street".

Gale Brewer, Manhattan's borough president, said that city officials will reject future developments with separate entrances. 

Because they got caught!

PR