Friday, August 01, 2003
Trading Up
I told my neighbor I wouldn't tell anyone how much she's selling her house for, so I won't. But it is a sh*tload of $$. She deserves every single cent of it. She lived in the house for a little under 9 years. She's going to trade in a townhouse with leaky basement and no parking for a house with a yard and a garage in BFE Maryland. All the cool stuff in the city that is attracting people means nothing to her. She has a car and kids. Metro and clubs don't mean squat. Good schools and no shooting and no (as my Daddy would put it) dumbas$ n*ggas hanging out, that is what she wants and needs.
At the price the house is going for apparently only whites can afford it, so the demographics of the block will head in a particular direction. Called ET and told her to score one point for her people. Last month a white couple moved in on one end of the block, changing the trend of houses on the north end changing demographically from black renters to white homeowners and renters, so now the Euro-Americans are coming from both ends.
I am so thankful she did not decide to rent the house out to get Section 8 money. I pray to G-d above that Mr. Mesfin will sell his house too. Last I spoke to him he STILL had not decided if he was going to rent or sell. I hope he sells because I can tell he's cheap and will be a slumlord.
I told my neighbor I wouldn't tell anyone how much she's selling her house for, so I won't. But it is a sh*tload of $$. She deserves every single cent of it. She lived in the house for a little under 9 years. She's going to trade in a townhouse with leaky basement and no parking for a house with a yard and a garage in BFE Maryland. All the cool stuff in the city that is attracting people means nothing to her. She has a car and kids. Metro and clubs don't mean squat. Good schools and no shooting and no (as my Daddy would put it) dumbas$ n*ggas hanging out, that is what she wants and needs.
At the price the house is going for apparently only whites can afford it, so the demographics of the block will head in a particular direction. Called ET and told her to score one point for her people. Last month a white couple moved in on one end of the block, changing the trend of houses on the north end changing demographically from black renters to white homeowners and renters, so now the Euro-Americans are coming from both ends.
I am so thankful she did not decide to rent the house out to get Section 8 money. I pray to G-d above that Mr. Mesfin will sell his house too. Last I spoke to him he STILL had not decided if he was going to rent or sell. I hope he sells because I can tell he's cheap and will be a slumlord.
Tuesday, July 29, 2003
Gentri quote
from http://www.narpac.org/PER.HTM
On PG County....
Furthermore, this issue of declining performance in the public school systems is clearly not one of racial distinctions, but of class distinctions. The last Post article in the series dwells on the divided views of the richest majority-black ZIP Code (20721) in the Washington metro area. Here the average household income of the more than 70% black and minority population has reached $95,700, with 86% home ownership, 75% with two or three vehicles; 45% with college degrees, 61% married and 46% with kids. These upwardly mobile, predominantly young, families are clearly torn between allegiance to their local schools and less fortunate neighbors, and pursuit of the American dream with lower risk to their kids--in private and parochial schools. Many of these are former DC residents, and they are in the main making the same decisions as any other suburbanites faced with the same problems. And the less fortunate class is generally left to fend for itself.
from http://www.narpac.org/PER.HTM
On PG County....
Furthermore, this issue of declining performance in the public school systems is clearly not one of racial distinctions, but of class distinctions. The last Post article in the series dwells on the divided views of the richest majority-black ZIP Code (20721) in the Washington metro area. Here the average household income of the more than 70% black and minority population has reached $95,700, with 86% home ownership, 75% with two or three vehicles; 45% with college degrees, 61% married and 46% with kids. These upwardly mobile, predominantly young, families are clearly torn between allegiance to their local schools and less fortunate neighbors, and pursuit of the American dream with lower risk to their kids--in private and parochial schools. Many of these are former DC residents, and they are in the main making the same decisions as any other suburbanites faced with the same problems. And the less fortunate class is generally left to fend for itself.
What happens when the middle class comes back?
There is a huge and aging population of Cubans in Miami. They want to go back to Cuba. Well not at this very moment, but after Castro dies or is overthrown. Dies is more like it, as the ex-revolutionary has outlived various US Presidents. Should Castro die any time soon (please be my guest) and his aged brother take over, thousands of aged Cubans will wait or, they will come over in a flotilla to take back their Cuba of old. The Cubans already there will be pissed to see them.
What would happen if the black middle class that left DC in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s came back in droves? The ones who stayed would probably, like the above Cubans, be pissed. The returning population may want to retake their houses, remove current renters. They would might want to fix up deserted houses, bringing in an influx of capital that would bump up the housing prices and taxes. They would definately want parking for their 2.5 cars. They would probably want decent schools, NOW! In other words, they'd be a pain, wanting to change things.
There is a huge and aging population of Cubans in Miami. They want to go back to Cuba. Well not at this very moment, but after Castro dies or is overthrown. Dies is more like it, as the ex-revolutionary has outlived various US Presidents. Should Castro die any time soon (please be my guest) and his aged brother take over, thousands of aged Cubans will wait or, they will come over in a flotilla to take back their Cuba of old. The Cubans already there will be pissed to see them.
What would happen if the black middle class that left DC in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s came back in droves? The ones who stayed would probably, like the above Cubans, be pissed. The returning population may want to retake their houses, remove current renters. They would might want to fix up deserted houses, bringing in an influx of capital that would bump up the housing prices and taxes. They would definately want parking for their 2.5 cars. They would probably want decent schools, NOW! In other words, they'd be a pain, wanting to change things.
Monday, July 28, 2003
My Dream of Shaw
Taking an idea from my church's reading group that we are constantly changing the world into what it aught (ms) to be, I began thinking about what I would like Shaw to be in the near future.
I want a diverse neighborhood. Diversity meaning a strange balance between rich and poor; black, white, hispanic and asian; poor, lower income, middle class, upper-middle class, and rich; old and young; gay and straight, all these in numbers where one does not stick out like a sore thumb or overwhelm and dictate the nature of Shaw.
Jesus said the poor shall always be with us. As long as there is public housing in Shaw and Section 8, we will have our poor. Yet, I have been reading that poor can be a temporary situtation. I grew up poor, in a lower class neighborhood. Some of my friends grew up the same, working class, or homeless, but have transcended poverty and wander somewhere in the middle class zone. I hope the same for my neice and nephew who are currently on public assistance, that they too may transcend their current economic standing. In order to transend poverty or at least not have it as a permanent designation for a family, there must be opportunities in the form of education, training and jobs; things lacking in areas of concentrated poverty. In order to de-concentrate you have to bring in the other classes. Bringing in the other classes will result in the displacement of the poor but not all the poor.
To balance the economic groupings of Shaw, the area needs a healthy middle class population to deconcentrate poverty. This middle class should range from contractors, plumbers, teachers, police, civil servants, IT, and retirees who invested well. They should provide the tax base to help fund social services and give to socially minded charities. But realistically, their numbers will displace some, raise prices (rent, real estate taxes), and they will make demands that old timers will find annoying.
In an 2001 Washington City Paper article an author, writing about his U Street neighborhood, mentioned that as soon as the area blacks begin moving into the middle class they move out of DC and into PG County, just over the border. He noted how the houses in his immdediate area were being bought by whites. My point, you can't force black folks to stay, especially when they aren't convinced that the crap they put up with (drug dealing, crime, trash, etc) isn't going to go away soon enough. Why wait 5 years for the area to get better if you can buy in a quieter lower crime area today? If blacks aren't moving in great numbers to replace the ones moving out, and there are whites/hispanics/asians willing to pay top dollar, then logically the racial demographics of the area will change. There are middle class black buying and staying in Shaw, but not in the numbers to maintain an overwelming majority. We come as singles, working married/gay couples, not so much as families with children. We are putting up with the crime, the trash, and all the other reasons of why those who have moved out, moved out, hoping that in a few years it will improve. I hope more black middle class households move to Shaw to make it the gleaming neighborhood it once was before the riots and to maintain the history of the area. But realistically, non-blacks are attracted to the area, and hopefully their numbers ( I'm specifically thinking of the clutch you purse ever time they see a black person population) will not overwhelm making it uncomfortable for blacks.
As far as businesses go, I dream of fewer liquor stores. A few places where I can walk to in 15-20 minutes from the house and grab a pastry, or sit down and eat, or buy a book. U Street has a lot of that with Cake Love (great cakes!!!) the kazillion Ethopian restaurants, the Islander Restaurant, and the other stores along U and 14th Streets. I would live to see some of that along 7th Street and North Capitol. I dream of places where I want to spend my money because they have something I want.
Shaw should be diverse. It should have services and businesses for everyone. It should be low in crime and as clean as a city can be. It should feel like home.
Taking an idea from my church's reading group that we are constantly changing the world into what it aught (ms) to be, I began thinking about what I would like Shaw to be in the near future.
I want a diverse neighborhood. Diversity meaning a strange balance between rich and poor; black, white, hispanic and asian; poor, lower income, middle class, upper-middle class, and rich; old and young; gay and straight, all these in numbers where one does not stick out like a sore thumb or overwhelm and dictate the nature of Shaw.
Jesus said the poor shall always be with us. As long as there is public housing in Shaw and Section 8, we will have our poor. Yet, I have been reading that poor can be a temporary situtation. I grew up poor, in a lower class neighborhood. Some of my friends grew up the same, working class, or homeless, but have transcended poverty and wander somewhere in the middle class zone. I hope the same for my neice and nephew who are currently on public assistance, that they too may transcend their current economic standing. In order to transend poverty or at least not have it as a permanent designation for a family, there must be opportunities in the form of education, training and jobs; things lacking in areas of concentrated poverty. In order to de-concentrate you have to bring in the other classes. Bringing in the other classes will result in the displacement of the poor but not all the poor.
To balance the economic groupings of Shaw, the area needs a healthy middle class population to deconcentrate poverty. This middle class should range from contractors, plumbers, teachers, police, civil servants, IT, and retirees who invested well. They should provide the tax base to help fund social services and give to socially minded charities. But realistically, their numbers will displace some, raise prices (rent, real estate taxes), and they will make demands that old timers will find annoying.
In an 2001 Washington City Paper article an author, writing about his U Street neighborhood, mentioned that as soon as the area blacks begin moving into the middle class they move out of DC and into PG County, just over the border. He noted how the houses in his immdediate area were being bought by whites. My point, you can't force black folks to stay, especially when they aren't convinced that the crap they put up with (drug dealing, crime, trash, etc) isn't going to go away soon enough. Why wait 5 years for the area to get better if you can buy in a quieter lower crime area today? If blacks aren't moving in great numbers to replace the ones moving out, and there are whites/hispanics/asians willing to pay top dollar, then logically the racial demographics of the area will change. There are middle class black buying and staying in Shaw, but not in the numbers to maintain an overwelming majority. We come as singles, working married/gay couples, not so much as families with children. We are putting up with the crime, the trash, and all the other reasons of why those who have moved out, moved out, hoping that in a few years it will improve. I hope more black middle class households move to Shaw to make it the gleaming neighborhood it once was before the riots and to maintain the history of the area. But realistically, non-blacks are attracted to the area, and hopefully their numbers ( I'm specifically thinking of the clutch you purse ever time they see a black person population) will not overwhelm making it uncomfortable for blacks.
As far as businesses go, I dream of fewer liquor stores. A few places where I can walk to in 15-20 minutes from the house and grab a pastry, or sit down and eat, or buy a book. U Street has a lot of that with Cake Love (great cakes!!!) the kazillion Ethopian restaurants, the Islander Restaurant, and the other stores along U and 14th Streets. I would live to see some of that along 7th Street and North Capitol. I dream of places where I want to spend my money because they have something I want.
Shaw should be diverse. It should have services and businesses for everyone. It should be low in crime and as clean as a city can be. It should feel like home.
