Terms of Use
Oral histories are intimate conversations between and among people who have generously agreed to share these recordings with BHS’s archives and researchers. Please listen in the spirit with which these were shared. BHS abides by the General Principles & Best Practices for Oral History as agreed upon by the Oral History Association and expects that use of this material will be done with respect for these professional ethics.
Every oral history relies on the memories, views, and opinions of the narrator. Because of the personal nature of oral history, listeners may find some viewpoints or language of the recorded participants to be objectionable. In keeping with its mission of preservation and unfettered access whenever possible, BHS presents these views as recorded.
The audio recording should be considered the primary source for each interview. Where provided, transcripts created prior to 2008 or commissioned by a third party other than BHS, serve as a guide to the interview and are not considered verbatim. More recent transcripts commissioned by BHS are nearly verbatim copies of the recorded interview, and as such may contain the natural false starts, verbal stumbles, misspeaks, and repetitions that are common in conversation. The decision for their inclusion was made because BHS gives primacy to the audible voice and also because some researchers do find useful information in these verbal patterns. Unless these verbal patterns are germane to your scholarly work, when quoting from this material researchers are encouraged to correct the grammar and make other modifications maintaining the flavor of the narrator’s speech while editing the material for the standards of print.
All citations must be attributed to Brooklyn Historical Society:
[Last name, First name], Oral history interview conducted by [Interviewer’s First name Last name], [Month DD, YYYY], [Title of Collection], [Call #]; Brooklyn Historical Society.
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David Danois
Oral history interview conducted by Sady Sullivan
May 05, 2008
Call number: 2008.030.11
0:16 - Introductions, bio; connection to the Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation (BSRC)
2:59 - Tenure as vice president of BSRC's property rehabilitation program
6:01 - Move to Bedford-Stuyvesant; rehabilitating his own home through BSRC's home program
10:12 - Upswing in Bed-Stuy & Harlem property values
12:07 - BSRC's role in engendering Bed-Stuy-area gentrification
13:31 - His private practice in affordable housing
Interview Description
Oral History Interview with David Danois
Born in a Jewish hospital in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn in 1945, David Danois' early life was spent in Bedford-Stuyvesant and Queens. He returned permanently to Brooklyn to attend Pratt Institute's Martin Luther King Fellowship Program. Hired by Restoration while still attending Pratt, Danois worked as the staff architect and later became the vice president of Restoration's large housing rehabilitation program. At the time of the 2008 interview, Danois owned his own architecture firm, Danois Architects, which specialized in design for affordable housing.
In this interview, David Danois describes his early involvement with Restoration as a staff architect. Danois discusses the workaday life at Restoration, challenges to affordable housing in Bedford-Stuyvesant and greater Brooklyn, and recent rapid increases in property values. He expresses his respect for the neighborhood's vibrancy and expresses optimism for its future. At the interview's end, Danois describes his current occupation as the owner of a small architecture firm which specializes in the development of affordable housing and condominiums in Brooklyn. Interview conducted by Sady Sullivan.
Brooklyn Historical Society (BHS) and Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation (Restoration) partnered on the Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation oral history project in 2007-2008 to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of Restoration's founding as the first community development corporation (CDC) in the United States. Nearly sixty interviews were conducted with founding Board members, supporters, activists, artists, tenants, and other community members. Audio clips from these oral history interviews were included in the exhibit "Reflections on Community Development: Stories from Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation" (BHS 2008, Restoration 2009).
Citation
Danois, David, Oral history interview conducted by Sady Sullivan, May 05, 2008, Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation oral histories, 2008.030.11; Brooklyn Historical Society.People
- Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation
- Danois, David
- Patterson, George
- Pratt Institute
- Thomas, Franklin A.
Topics
- Community development corporations
- Economic development
- Gentrification
- Housing
Places
- Bedford-Stuyvesant (New York, N.Y.)
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
- New York (N.Y.)
Finding Aid
Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation oral histories