Would like to know more from engineering, political, economics, and urban development perspectives.
Currently reading about Ja Rule building “world class” schools in Ghana and the main response from a lot of people besides praise is, why didn’t he do that in Queens (NYC)? I know LeBron James and a few others had success. Is it more difficult to start and maintain basic resources every community needs in the U.S. compared to other countries?
In: Other
There are many reasons.
In someplace like Queens, NYC there is no vacant or unowned land. The land needs to be purchased or legally acquired before anything can be done. That can take quite a while.
Old structures may need to be removed, and they may need to be handled carefully because of environmental concerns. In some NYC neighborhoods you can’t bring in cranes or bulldozers either. A lot of the demolition and carting work may need to be done by men with hand carried tools or small skid-steers.
There are limits on noise hours, traffic and blocking streets, and limits on how much debris can be carted off per day. When building there also might be limits on how much equipment and materials can be brought in at any given time.
If a developer has a plan, then the developer makes their proposals – acquiring property, plans to clear it, and what they plan for development. They present those to the city.
The city will present those to the community and request input. They go back to the developer with updates and wait for the developer to comply or counter.
Or, the city might start by soliciting information from the community, then putting out bids for developers to meet those specifications.
The land in NYC is not uniform. Some land is fill (like around the WTC) and needs special handling for deep foundations. Some land has underground rivers (like under the Empire State) and building plans need to address that. Some land has shallow bedrock where foundations can be easily anchored *but* water and utilities may not be deep enough below the frost line. The site needs to be surveyed for the planned structure(s).
NYC has a lot of safety rules that might not be required in Ghana. Every building of 80 feet or higher must have an elevated water tank to meet fire code. They need fire escapes – sometimes external, but more likely internal, fireproof and an independent structure.
There is a lot of infrastructure underground that cannot be interrupted by demolition, construction, or any access blocked. In addition to the subways, there’s gas, electricity, water, sewer, steam, and the aqueducts bringing water to the city from upstate.
Along the way, the city (and possibly the lenders, banks, insurers or others involved) will want inspections done. Progress needs to stop while they contact the inspectors and wait for them to sign off. Ideally, the inspector is available in the next day or two, and all things are good. Sometimes that doesn’t work out. Inspectors get sick or married and aren’t in the office. Builders and engineers have communications breakdowns. Materials might be substandard. If the inspector fails something, that might mean materials need to be ripped out, new parts ordered, and new things installed.
A local NYC TV news program asked why it takes so long to build housing. [They gave a short list of steps why it can take 5-7 years](https://pix11.com/news/local-news/why-does-it-take-so-long-to-build-new-affordable-housing-in-nyc/) to build affordable housing projects.
In general, to build a school, one would have to apply to be a charter school. Every state and school district has different rules, requirements, qualifications, quotas, and availability regarding charter schools. It’s not insurmountable, lots of companies do it, but it’s not guaranteed that it would provide better opportunities than NY public schools already has.
In areas of Africa where no formal education facilities exist, though, a carbon copy of the worst public school in Queens would still provide untold opportunity for not only the children, but for the surrounding villages, who will now benefit from an educated populace. The impact in Queens would be substantially less.
Latest Answers