You will not see this in most of the Caribbean except Haiti. For us 80 degrees is closer to cool than warm. We do not go out and celebrate in the street because the climate is warm or hot, this is normal. They probably did have shirts, but they take very good care of the shirt they have. They take it off not to sweat it and deteriorate it because they will be difficult to replace. In other most other places this does not happen.

"When I go to Central Park and see that it's full of people having fun, does that mean that it's a slum too, that the whole Upper East Side is a slum?"

These people are not in a park, they are living their normal life in the middle of the street. This video points out something peculiar. This is not happening in a park in the city where people go, it happens everywhere. This is why it is different.

"...there's every reason to believe that Cubans would very gladly leave their "street life" behind for SUVs and Wal-Marts."

Sadly that is true. I would like to be able to help avoid this from happening. Education is needed. Cuban urban development in the begining of the 20th century was very advanced. It produced a living city model that expanded without need for suburbia. The lousy suburban american model was starting to creep by 1960, but it stopped as most capital investment froze in the urban centers. Resources were focused in non-urban centers with poor results.

Evidence: Go to any American bordertown and see the Wal-Mart lot jammed at all hours with Mexican license plates. These people do not *have* to go to Wal-Mart; instead they *choose* to go to Wal-Mart because poor people *like low prices*.

The egocentric arrogance of rich urban Americans is astounding in that they continuously project *their* values onto others. Perhaps it feels good to posture as the patron of the "other" as they play in the streets because there is no TV, no newspaper, no books, no phone and no decent plumbing in their homes. Or maybe it is because there is basically nowhere to go nor anything to do in a drab Communist state?

Rich white boy can feel *gooood* when praising the consequences of state-enforced poverty. Here's a fact: Cubans are no better nor worse than anyone else, and I doubt that they need the condescending praise from up above. What they do need is their independence so they can pursue what they choose, instead of what is chosen for them by the Castro Brothers, rich white boys, or anyone else.

Not that the Cubans know about white-boy, as communication with the outside world is prohibited. Small detail, there.

Yes, did you see how many lacked shirts?

Oh, come on. How do you tell the difference between "lacking" a shirt and leaving one at home because it's eighty degrees out! Why would those kids have nice, new-looking shorts but no shirts? Even the poorest parts of Africa are flooded with old shirts.

The ocurrence of people living outside homes and offices, in the streets, in an excessive non-typical way is similar to what happens in slums. It is a psychological effect as much as an economic one. It happens when people do not have something to do, some place to work or entertain.

That's funny, I thought it was a psychological effect of warm weather. Does this happen in parks, too? When I go to Central Park and see that it's full of people having fun, does that mean that it's a slum too, that the whole Upper East Side is a slum? How do you define "an excessive non-typical way" in a manner that would ever allow us to increase our amount of enjoyment or free time without being pathologized?

The suffering of the Cuban people under the repressive dictatorship of Castro and his associates is real. No one is making fun of that. Blinky the Dog is a way of making fun of the culture of political correctness that says that it's impossible for anything good to happen in a country where a Bad Man is in power, and that any discussion of life in an unapproved country must focus on the abuses of said Bad Man.

Who ever tries to hide the full story of what these cubans go through. Why did you not mention the internet ban? What about the overall feeling of incapability to do anything at all to improve conditions? Do you consider these real or laughable?

Oh, real! Castro is a very bad man indeed!

Yes, did you see how many lacked shirts?

...slums or squalor.. missing...

These are not slums, these are magnificent spanish structures with incredible resiliency, now being left to decay. The ocurrence of people living outside homes and offices, in the streets, in an excessive non-typical way is similar to what happens in slums. It is a psychological effect as much as an economic one. It happens when people do not have something to do, some place to work or entertain.

Per capita income in Cuba was comparable to European countries, misery is relative. There is a lot of misery in our world, but Cuba never compared to the worse in economic nor human terms. Cuba was a country that closed the borders to those whom wanted to live there, not one that closes borders to those who want to leave.

I saw a bunch of people who all looked well-fed and well-nourished (and no obesity, actually), and lots of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Did you see any of the kids with fruit or eating fruit? In fact did you see any non-tourist with fruit?

It's possible that Ethan was "handled" and deliberately shown an unrepresentative group of healthy, well-fed Cubans who were just pretending to be happy...

He was not, Cubans are spectacular wonderful people capable of adapting to substandard conditions and stagnation. They can make do as you can see in the photos with an old stick and a used ball to have fun, lift spirits and go on living.

And who's making fun?

Who ever tries to hide the full story of what these cubans go through. Why did you not mention the internet ban? What about the overall feeling of incapability to do anything at all to improve conditions? Do you consider these real or laughable?

I know recognized scholars who avoid political discussions and keep their themes technical, but still have a very difficult time to get basic library access and internet access for example.

Adam - As the Captain indicated the hospitals are not for general residenmt use and each does have its own parking lots. At this point the traffic the staff adds to Main Street is what it is. We still generally have lower congestion than any other neighborhood in the City. If we were now to require the hospital staffs to park at Motorgate the lot would fill up too fast. As for on street parking there are 55 metered spots for a resident population of closer to 10,000 or 11,000. Most of them are fill every day and many with cars that never seem to move. Read the NYDN article linked.

- Eric

http://rooseveltisland360.blogspot.com/search?q=parking

http://rooseveltislander.blogspot.com/2008/01/is-there-parking-nepotism-in-small.html

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/queens/2008/01/15/2008-01-15_mission_to_stop_illegally_parked_cars-2.html

squalid cities ... miserable poverty ... extreme poverty ... slums ... they depend on their neighbors for basic survival ... run down ... misery

Did you actually watch the video? I watched it a second time to see if there was any misery, slums or squalor I was missing. I saw a bunch of people who all looked well-fed and well-nourished (and no obesity, actually), and lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. The buildings maybe could have used a paint job, but they didn't seem to be falling down. They were solid, pre-war buildings, not leaky tin shacks, Soviet-style apartment blocks or crappy McMansions. There were no pictures of anyone begging or looking particularly unhappy.

It's possible that Ethan was "handled" and deliberately shown an unrepresentative group of healthy, well-fed Cubans who were just pretending to be happy, and it wouldn't be the first time such a thing has happened. But taking the photos at face value, I don't see any evidence for the misery you refer to. I've been to third world countries where people were malnourished, and I didn't see anything to suggest that here.

To decide it is good just because it happens, without understanding why, may be a mistake.

It is good because it's good not to live in fear of cars. This aspect of the situation is good, but Ethan said that he wanted to focus on this aspect of their situation, not their lives as a whole.

Finally, what's empty about the spaces we saw? How can a space be "empty" and "tight" at the same time? There seemed to be plenty of interesting things in those public spaces. And who's making fun?

h. The street space feels a lot more comfortable when you live in an empty, run down, tight space shared by others.

To decide it is good just because it happens, without understanding why, may be a mistake. I would love this to happen if people really had the option to decide this is what they wanted, not the only choice they had.

a. Life in places of extreme poverty such as slums is a lot more communal than elsewhere as a survival mechanism. People tend to live more out in the street. Many times they depend on their neighbors for basic survival.

b. They do not have a choice to travel. Either by car or functional public transportation. Public transportation in Cuba is a very difficult process.

c. They do not have a choice of entertainment such as visiting non-close friends and relatives, doing the internet thing, watching a variety of TV channels or going to the movies.

d. There is no paying job.

e. There is no school. Why are so many kids in the street? I am told this happens at various hours of the day during the week. Check out some in uniform, check out the bright light of day in many photos with children.

f. There are no cars because no normal people can make enough money in their lifetime to buy one.

g. There is just nowhere else to go and nothing else to do.

Peñalosa is great, this video would have something to teach if it had been filmed in the Colombian environment.

Thanks for letting me know that non-white people can't be named "Nelson".

I didn't say that.

But don't be surprised if someday they might actually prefer Wal-Marts and warehouse stores -- which, given their poverty, would be much more plausible than fretting over "urban spaces" and "livable streets" and other such indulgences that only rich people can afford to worry over.

I don't believe that "ony rich people can afford to worry over" liveable streets, but to the extent that that's the case, it's because the rich people who write zoning regulations and the rich Waltons who can price small retailers out of the market have presented them with this false dichotomy.

I would honestly be surprised if the Cubans prefer Walmarts and warehouse stores that they would have to drive to and build big dangerous roads for - if they're also presented with the option of a fully stocked supermarket within walking distance, and if they're not brainwashed by images of "the American Dream" that somehow fail to include car crashes, foreclosures, traffic jams, childhood obesity and the loss of street playspace.

Would you say the same thing about Nazis?

Actually, I would, and I bet my holocaust survivor cousins would to. Would you like me to ask them, Mr. Godwin?

Yes, Bill, Fidel Castro is a Bad Man. A very, very Bad Man. A very, very, very Bad Man. Cubans are oppressed. Very, very oppressed. Now, despite the fact that the Cubans are oppressed by a very, very, very Bad Man, occasionally some good things happen. Castro is not the Devil incarnate; he is incapable of preventing all good things from happening. We will not give him credit for this good thing Ethan saw, but it is there. Satisfied?

It seems like your trying to say that the American government (or perhaps the municipal government of New York City) is a much bigger offender of human rights than Fidel Castro ever was.

This, I take it, is because you have some sort of belief that the American/NYC government confiscated 80% of the land (from whom?) and gave it to 20% of the people, who then make "vast numbers of children" incurably sick because they drive cars.

Are you in academia by any chance? If not, I see a professorship in your future.

Incidentally, are you aware of any Americans who, seeking improved human rights, have actually tried to move to Cuba?

Now, are you aware that many Cubans have decided to forfeit their Cuban Human Rights (and sometimes their lives) by trying to move to America? Do you know what the Cuban government does to Cubans who even *try* to make such a move?

Why do you suppose the migration demand is from Cuba to the USA? Funny, you would expect the reverse, wouldn't you -- given their wonderful architecture, livable streets, legendary health care, etc.

Eric may know differently, but I seriously doubt that the neighborhood residents would be upset if hospital staff were required to park in the Motorgate and take the bus. Except for the island residents who work in the hospital.

To the extent that Roosevelt Island is a neighborhood, the hospitals and parks are far enough outside that neighborhood, and oriented enough towards the city as a whole, that I don't think the residents should have veto power over what goes on there.

And if the embargo is ever lifted, do you really think that "Cubans" (as opposed to a few influential Cubans in Havana and Miami) will have much more say about what happens on their island than they do now?

"Hm, Bill Nelson sounds like a rich white boy name."

Thanks for letting me know that non-white people can't be named "Nelson".

"What say we not have an argument among rich white boys about what's best for the poor dark Cubans?"

Er...you're missing the point, my friend. I have absolutely no desire to impose anything on Cubans, or anyone else. The larger point is that it is arrogant for rich Americans to impose *their* esthetics on other people. If Cubans want to retain Havana the way it is, that's fine by me. But don't be surprised if someday they might actually prefer Wal-Marts and warehouse stores -- which, given their poverty, would be much more plausible than fretting over "urban spaces" and "livable streets" and other such indulgences that only rich people can afford to worry over.

"It's important to point out Cuba's shameful human rights record. But just because some things are bad doesn't mean that they haven't done other things better than us."

Would you say the same thing about Nazis? Sure they have a shameful human rights record, but they did some things better than us. Hitler was a real enthusiast about preserving the countryside.

Cap'n Transit: "Well, I'm not too happy when I visit the island and have to deal with the hosiptal staff cars. What's with these people and their entitlement?" Don't you think it's a bit entitled of you, as a "visitor" to the island, to complain about having to "deal" with the hospital workers' parked cars during your visit? While I agree with your perspective re: car-free places, I don't think any neighborhood really wants "outsiders" coming in and telling them how their hospital workers should get to work.

Just some thoughts.

Human rights ?

What would you say of an island I know where the governement gives 80% of the public space to 20% of the population for private transportation and where vast numbers of children get sick ( without health care ) because of the transportation habits of the top 20%?

So do you mean human rights ? or you mean the human rights of the few to take away from the many what rightfully belongs to them , like public space ?

Cuban people are fabulous: so educated, helpful.
If all these kids had a WII do you think they would be playing in the streets..

AS Enrique Penalosa says , we have civilization choices to make here and our streets discussions are running very deep..

AhHHH I feel better !