happy summertime

Prince writes on snitching, again, and readership frames gentrification as a cleansing process and blogging, perhaps, as its vehicle.

nate Says:
May 20th, 2008 at 9:44 am

A week or so ago, I was checking on my property. As I approached the property, I noticed some young guys shooting dice near my property. I immediately told them to get away from my apartment building or I’d call the police. Next step was to confront the tenants to let them know that the impetus to maintain a safe environment is more on them than me since I don’t live there. Each of the tenants (mostly women with kids and no husband/boyfriend) looked incredulous that I would even suggest that they call 911 or gently suggest the young guys to move along.

I explained to them that dice games usually end up in arguments that usually end up in gunfights. And since gangsters don’t take target practice, stray bullets could kill one of their loved ones. This is a good example of why gentrification does not work until you not only get rid of the bad apples but the people that are conducive to this type of behavior (Emphasis mine). It was if I could not even rationalize why they should take an interest.

I have been a landlord for years. I’ve seen the mothers that let their children throw trash out the window or leave the front door open. These are the same mothers that let their kids throw trash out the window from the Wendy’s on Ga Ave. For Petworth to thrive, you have to get rid of most of these people. Otherwise, people with means will move or never consider Petworth.

D Says:
May 20th, 2008 at 12:07 pm

Thanks to the PoP blog, I have already seen improvements in the neighborhood through community activism. I think Petworth is getting better everyday. Set the example.