Turning the Page

Leroy, is everything ready to go? I want this thing ready to blow right at the end of my interview”

Dan released the button on the radio and turned to this publicist. 

“A building implosion would make great television, would it not?”

“I think it would make amazing television Mr. Irons”, his publicist said as she returned a text on her phone. 

“For the last time, call me Dan.” 

The radio beeped and buzzed. 

“We’re ready to go as soon as you give the order Dan,” A voice said from the radio.

“Thank you Leroy.” Dan turned to the other members of his team there at the demolition site. “Alright people! I want to see hard hats at all times. Safety first!  

​Dan looked out onto the scene before him. He closed his eyes and smelled what he could only describe as ‘construction.’ He loved days like today. He insisted on being there for each of his demolition days, whether it was for a small triplex or for a large low income apartment building like this one. Especially this one. The area was clear of most people with the command center set up about a hundred yards away. It was as clear as a semi-urban environment could be. 

​

‘Speaking of the interview, she is ready for you over this way sir’

Dan gave her a look, with an eyebrow raised in just.  

‘Sorry, Mr. Irons. I mean, Dan. 

‘That’s better! Jeez, it only took six months of working for me.’ He smiled. “Let’s head over shall we?’

Dan looked onto the set, makeshift as it was. Clearly hastily put together but no less professional. The chairs were at an angle facing each other. A camera for the two of them, a camera just for Kimberly Notaras, a camera for Dan. What was unusual was the fourth camera. The publicist noticed it too. 

“Dan, there is something you should be aware of. Ms. Kelly is known for her gotcha moments and exhaustive investigative research. I am not sure that she is the person we want for this live interview,” the publicist said. 

““Oh, I am well-aware. I did my homework, but she was the only one who agreed and who had the platform to do it live at the demo site. We have been fielding information requests, and people have been reaching out to the office all month. We are pretty sure it's her team since it started about 30 seconds after we set up the interview.”

“So, as your publicist, I feel like I should ask if there is anything I should know before it comes up on live TV?”

“Nope. Everything is above board at the company.” 

​It was the publicist’s turn to raise an eyebrow, albeit an internal one. Her boss was a stickler for details and always chose his words carefully. She wondered why he added the qualifier. Her instincts were screaming at her that something was off. Despite this, she trusted him. He had earned it. 

“Mr. Irons, they are ready for you on set,” a production assistant told them. 

“Excellent. Onward and upward! It is time for this company to help the community turn the page to the next chapter of its development.” 

“Welcome to CityEye Live with Kimberly Notaras. We are here, live, with real estate developer, Daniel Irons, at the site of the Archimedes, an apartment building that was home to 265 residents, but is now set to be demolished any second now. Good morning, Daniel, thank you for having us here.” 

“Please call me Dan, and it is truly my pleasure. I’m a big fan of your work.”

“Oh really? And you still agreed to have me interview you on such an important day?” Kimberly said, genuinely surprised. 

“Of course! It’s important that we have as many of the people possible to witness such an historic day where we turn the page on this new chapter for the community.”

“Tell me, just as a quick curious indulgence, which of my previous pieces was your favourite?”

“Well, off the top of my head, I’d say your coverage of the 2016 municipal elections was quite good, as was your work on school food safety. Personally though, I thought you deserved the win and not just the nomination on your investigative work on nursing home abuse,” Dan said. 

“Wow, you do your homework. It is true what they say, you have a natural charm and a mind for details.”

“Thank you, I always try to be the best for the people around me.” 

“You know, it has become an interestingly common trend among development corporations to manage their image with the public. Especially in the growing face of protests at sites just like this. But no one has done a better job at managing their image than you. What's your secret?”

Dan laughed, ‘Well, I wouldn’t call it a secret, nor would I say that we are trying to manage anything. What is unique about this company is our, or should I say, my story. I have worked for a lot of developers before I ventured out on my own. And with all due respect to my colleagues in the industry, a lot of these people are cut from the same cloth: MBA’s from the right schools with some seed money and contacts from a pre-established network inherited from their families.”

“But not you.” 

“Absolutely not me. I had to start from the bottom, putting my own way through modest schools with modest reputations. I worked hard for a lot of these same people that are now my peers. I grinded and moved up through the corporate lattice, sometimes working 14-16 hours a day. Time spent between bettering myself and excelling at my day job. At some points, it was jobs, plural.”

“And you think that story makes you unique and has brought you success?”

“I really do, Kimberly. I had no one growing up. No penthouses or movers. I know the experiences of having to lug things up to the apartment from IKEA or from the curb of someone’s house up a dozen flights of stairs. I’ve experienced what it’s like to have to wait for an elevator for nine minutes when you’re already late for work. I tend to hire people who have had the same experience too, and we know how important safety, lighting, and security is for hard working people in not so savoury places. These are all things we consider when we design, plan, and build our residences. We know that 500 sq feet per person, the industry standard, is sometimes just not enough. We know it because we’ve lived it.”

“Wow, that is quite the speech and the story. So polished. You’re a man of the people. A real rags to riches story. It has some people cheering you on. But on theother side, some would be quick to point, criticize and protest. They accuse you of being an agent of gentrification. Forcing people from their homes. How do you respond to that charge?”

​

“It’s a common accusation. Not solely against us, but against the whole development industry. Residents ask for better services from the city, as you yourself covered a few years ago, and when the city finally commits, the property values increase, making the area more desirable. The same people who requested the services can no longer afford where they live based on their incomes. It’s an unfortunate process. That’s what makes us unique. We work well in advance with current occupants to find a suitable new residence for them to live. On top of that, attached to each project, we have suitable low-income residences as near as possible to help with the transition process.”

​“But you are still forcing people from their homes.”

​“I would argue that the market is already doing that. What we are doing is easing the transition as easy as possible.”

“The government money for low-income helps as well. It’s not like you’re doing this out of the goodness of your heart.”

​“Well, yes and no. Yes, we are engaging in the activity that lawmakers wanted when they created the low-income housing program and happily taking the money, but I think the results speak for themselves. We have the smallest number of people at these protests you speak of. We also have the highest rate of resident satisfaction as well. I think that's a sign and evidence of our commitment to people.” 

​“You keep track of those things?”

​“Of course. We are committed to people.” 

​

“Oh, we know. It’s everywhere in your marketing and promotional material. As you might know, we secretly reached out to some of your employees to see if this was the case not just for your residents, but your team as well. I am not going to lie, we were shocked at the responses.”

​

Dan sits there, unfazed and confident.

​“Would you like to hear what they had to say, anonymously without fear of reprisal?”

​

“I would love to. We always welcome feedback and want to know if we have come up short in any way in our core values.​

“Well, they are surprisingly and overwhelmingly positive. In fact, a common theme does emerge. I will read them for you”: 

​“Mr. Irons is always dropping by the job site with coffee and donuts. A lot of companies I have worked for talked about family, but this is the first one where I actually believe and feel it.”

​

“Mr. Dan sent my daughter a bike for her 8th birthday a couple of months ago. Not only does he know my name, my daughters name and her birthday, he knew she wanted a bike and got her one! I told him, which I am able to do here, that he is officially a member of the family.”

​“I threw my back out last year helping my father-in-law repair the addition to his house. I wasn’t going to be able to work for a couple weeks. I was worried about getting behind on my rent. Dan gave me the month off, paid and told me to come back to work when I was 100%. He said no one should be punished for helping out family.”

​

​“So, what’s the catch here? Can a development company actually survive like this with a heart of gold?”

​“Well, look. That’s part of the culture that we want to build here. There is a clear extrinsic benefit. If people feel valued and appreciated at work, they will stay, even if it means less pay. We lose less money to turnover and training and disruptions. Every good landlord knows that for every dollar you spend on a gift basket to new tenants, you’ll save nine dollars in repairs and maintenance. But there’s an intrinsic motivation for me. I want to create the family environment that I never had.”

​Kimberly couldn’t help but smile.

​“So, about that. We looked into your company. And, I mean, really looked. Your company is everything your marketing and publicity says that you are. I must say, we at CityEye Live were really impressed, especially in the notoriously sleazy world of real estate development.”

​

“Thank you. It’s not surprising to hear, but we’ve been able to make it work through working harder, working smarter and being better for our …”

​“Which is why we switched gears and started looking into you personally …”

​

For the first time in the interview, Daniel paused and hesitated.

​“You mentioned here, and in numerous other promotional materials,, that you grew up alone. Well, we found your mother and wouldn’t you know it, she lives, or should I say lived, right here at the building you are set to demolish.”

“Mom?”

“Can we bring her out, and please bring her a chair?”

​An elderly woman, about 71, slowly walked up to the chair. She looked about as sympathetic an old lady could be, were it not for the tattoos and mileage on her face. Someone from the CityEye must have tried really hard. 

The extra camera that Dan saw refocused to her location. 

​

“Welcome to CityEye, Ms. Walker,” Kimberly said. 

“Oh, thank you. I am happy to be here.” She turned to her son. “Hello Danny.” 

He sat there, silent and shocked, his face going just a bit redder. He refused to look at her. 

“My notes here from my producer can’t be right Ms.Walker. It says here the two of you haven’t spoken in over 25 years?” Kimberly asked.

“That’s right, Danny … moved away around that time,” Betty said. 

‘

“27. It was 27 years ago,” Dan said

“Wow,” Kelly said, unable to stop her smile from getting bigger. ‘Betty, did you know that it was your own son who was behind the company that was demolishing your home? The home you had lived in for fifty plus years?”

“Why, no. I didn’t. Not until you told me yesterday. I heard about someone named Daniel Irons, but that’s not my son. My son is little Danny Walker.’ She turned to her son again, ”I guess you changed your name along the way Danny.”

. 

“Daniel. My name is Daniel,” he said. 

“I believe he did change his name, a few days after his 18th birthday in fact.”

Daniel’s face turned another shade red. 

“It’s so great to have this reunion on live television. Ms. Walker, is there something you would like to say to your son here on live television?” 

“Oh yes, why Danny? Why are you tearing down our apartment building, our home? We had such great memories there as a family.” 

​

Daniel, for the first time in 27 years, lost his composure.

​“Fond memories? Fond memories? First off mom, I didn’t move away from home, I ran away. And as for these fond memories you speak of, I sure as shit didn’t have any! What I do remember is hiding in the closet hoping dad would forget about my existence when his favourite sports team lost. Sometimes I wasn’t so lucky. I remember my 8th birthday party, when he got so drunk, he literally scared away the few friends who had dared come to our place. I sat there, alone and crying. eating my cake, all by myself, while both of you were passed out from god knowswhat.”

​

​Dan stopped to take a breath. Betty was too stunned to speak. Kimberly, knowing full well the camera was not on her, let out the smile she had been trying to hold back. 

​“After dad died, I remember the parade of …men coming and going from the apartment. Some nicer than others. The nice ones didn’t stay for too long and the not so nice ones stayed a little bit too long. I remember the screaming, the yelling, and the hitting. Those are my memories! I remember going for walks; anything to get out of the apartment. I would look at these buildings here in the city, dreaming of building a home, any home that was better than the one I had.” 

​

He paused, briefly, to compose himself.

​“I do remember this place. But not fondly. I remembered this place every day because I knew, if I failed out here, alone and by myself, just like I was at my party, then I would have to come back here. You have no idea how much that motivated me, pushed me, and drove me. I had to work harder, work smarter and be better than everyone else, because if I didn’t, I would fail … and be right back here. But I didn’t fail mom. I succeeded and I won’t be back here ever again. And for no other reason than because this won’t be here anymore.” 

​

Dan got on the radio.

​

“Leroy, blow this place to hell! It’s time to turn the page.”

​A series of small charges rocked the area as the building collapsed in on itself. For a few seconds, the building seemed to float in midair before it collapsed into a large pile of rubble. The sound crashed, but on the set of the interview, the silence was as heavy as the rubble. 

​“Did you guys get the implosion live?” Kimberly said into her microphone.

​“Which one?” A voice said in her earpiece.

​Kimberly couldn’t help but laugh. 

​‘Now that was great live television,” she said to herself.