Jingle Jangle

"DestiNY USA is a place where...you can voice your own opinion...create your own destiny..."
That is from the intro portion of the DestiNY website. It got me thinkin' about Naomi Klien and the idea of privatized space. She was criticizing the malls because they try to create that "town square" enviroment, but different rules apply when you are in a privately owned gallery than a city square. SO, if DestiNY is supposed to be a retail city, but it's a mall...where are the people's rights going to go? Okay well the DestiNY website says that "it is the first destination in America where the best brands and experiences will combine with a single owner to deliver unparalleled convienience..." and blah blah blah. Bob Congel is that single owner, so does that make him governor of the retail city? I mean at carousel mall, if you are a minor you are not allowed in the mall past four 'o clock on fridays and saturdays. They are a private building and can make such rules. There is already controversy about the rule because we are displacing teenagers when there no other cool "chill spot". And the reason they made the rule? Adults did not ike going shopping when the mall was full of teenagers, so they made the rule so adults ($$$$) could shop comfortably. So, if this retail city is serving upscale tourists I'm getting kind of worried about the young working people of Syracuse. Do you think Bob Congel will listen to them. I mean think about it, Gap Inc. has tons of sweatshops and good old Bob gets to exclusively pick who is represented in this retail city. Imagine they create this huge two-floor Gap store...and in this "Green City" Gap is still externalizing costs by child labor. If the city wants to protest that store, too bad! Standing outside with picket signs? No Way! Goodbye , democracy! Gone!

Let me know what you think...I want to hear some fresh ideas about it. Thanks!

Will DestiNY even happen?

A 2007 article published on a website called the Architectual Record (run by MCgraw-Hill) states that the first phase of building DestiNY will be completed at the end of 2008. Author Jenna Mcknight says that Pyramids legal troubles are "largely resolved", and Congel has secured $540 million including $228 million in government funds for the green facility. This article written last year paints a bright picture for DestiNY. I mean c'mon, the website is owned by the company who made our high school text books. They must be right, right? Well, a blog posted last month on March 3rd by Rick Moriarty of the Post Standard says something alot different. The headline reads "DestiNY USA Lays Off 45 Workers". How many workers are left? Just 40. He adds that "virtually all construction lending has ceased". Although the financial delay is not supposed to effect the building of Phase 1 (which will double the malls size), I often drive past the mall only to see steel beams stuck in the ground. It is fairly obvious that Phase 1 will not be finished by the end of 2008. Since we dont really know when phase one will be done, it is hard to say when phase 2 will start. Moriarty says that Bob Congel has until August 1st 2009 to start phase 2. Over the last year, DestiNY seems to have dwindled into a small project to expand the sufficient Carousel Mall. It is unclear why things have changed so much in the past year. I personally think it might be because of the steady decline in value of the U.S. Dollar, and the recession we are looking at. What do you think?

Here are some comments made on Moriarty's blog:

Posted by NYRacer on 03/03/08 at 1:23PM

"I think Destiny should be laid off. Heres a multi year promise for nothing How long will it take people to wake up to the baloney?"

Posted by kathwoodsuks on 03/03/08 at 2:25PM

"This is not a good sign.. "virtually all construction lending has ceased". One step forward.. 4 steps back. Congel seen this coming and just plain ignored it (careless). How can he believe he can risk proceeding ahead with the lending markets the way they are? Time to go back to the drawing board. $450 million for a frigin hotel!! Why not just DOWNSIZE this hotel, scrap the plans and loose the "Land of OZ" dream! Adjust with our deflating economy and make this Destiny USA-- the eco-friendly place it's pumped up to be."

Posted by soupy264 on 03/03/08 at 4:00PM

"Isn't it a wonderful thing to be able to blame Everything on someone else. The State, the county,the city, the fed's the Mayor, the County Exec, all to blame when the whole plan implodes.
The main players won't lose a cent. Just like the 60+ small business owners who supplied equipment and labor for the original mall who never got paid. They went bankrupt, and the mall opened,making millions for it's owner.
Wish I could have gotten so much financial help when I had businesss.
Yes this could generate thousands of jobs,and every employee will require 3 to live."

DestiNY of Syracuse?

Some people might be wondering what DestiNY USA actually is. Ever hear of the Mall of America? Well, DestiNY is supposed to blow it out of the water in the aspect of size. Even better, DestiNY is supposed to be a completely green establishment. That is, it will not use fossil feuls for operation. That sounds amazing especially when considering the proposed contents of the mega-mall.

• 75 million square foot
• 1,000 shops and restaurants
• 80,000 hotel rooms
• 40,000 seat arena
• water park
• aquarium
• technology park

Estimated cost? $20 BILLION

Greenwashing?

If you dont know what greenwashing is, this pretty much explains it! Greenwashing is when a company thries to play up the enviromental benefits of a product, but most of the time they are misleading. Especially now, companies are in a race to go green, but many of them just put on a green facade.

Wow! Obviously, DestiNY is not shy about playing into the fear of Americans. Currently, DestiNY is busy "greenwashing", by telling Syracuse that we will feature the largest shopping mall that is also energy efficient. Walk into the mall and you will see thier posters EVERYWHERE! Interesting, is that DestiNY spouted thier plans to be green in this commercial, but instead of highlighting enviromental benefits, they got clever. This woman is telling us that DestiNY will save us from TERRORISM. Not once did she address the concept of global warming or diminishing oil wells, instead she illudes that DestiNY will save our children from the face of evil. I honestly laughed at this commercial, because it is completely askew. The use of Bin Laden's face is puzzling because the U.S. government has abandoned thier search for him long ago. Also, our current war has nothing to do with Bin Laden, and our soldiers deaths are a result of the invasion of an entirely different country. It is an interesting way to promote the project while avoiding discussing the actual project.