http://www.internetforeveryone.org/
will look @ this later.

These sweet chicago developers totally see the gentrification/colonization thang.

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.

Prince of Petworth Watch II

Hi everybody. My IRL is so busy and stressful I have let this proj fall off.

I want to log this on the web because it is another good example of divisiveness in this community broadcasted online where some pretty cruel shit is said.

Prince has interns now. One intern conducts interviews on the streets. What follows is an example and comments inspired by such. I will metacomment very little.

Name: Lucia

Age: 16

Cross-streets: 2nd and Hamilton NW

1. What do you make of all the changes occurring in the neighborhood?
Well, my honest opinion is that it is bull. Most of the people in this neighborhood can’t afford to move into condos, so its pushing people out.

2. Does the neighborhood, as it is, offer you the things you need? What could improve it?
Oh, yeah, there is plenty to do for me and my friends. There are plenty of things for teenagers to do in this neighborhood.

3. What place or thing is your favorite in Petworth?
I don’t have a favorite spot in the neighborhood, really. I grew up here, so its nice to run into people you haven’t seen in ages. It’s a real community.

4. What is special about Petworth, unusual, or un-special about it?
There isn’t anything really special about Petworth. It’s just a neighborhood.

5. How have all the developments in Columbia Heights affected you, or the neighborhood? Any visible signs that you can see of change?
I go to school in Columbia Heights, but I don’t really go for much else. Everything has been getting too expensive.

Nate Says:
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:25 am
Hopefully the neighborhood will keep getting expensive and she can come back and visit one day.

Anonymous Says:
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:47 am
I don’t get the comment about the neigborhood becoming more expensive… please elaborate.

Older & Wiser Says:
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:23 pm

Well, that North Face jacket she’s wearing is pretty pricey. Not much left in her wallet for Target, Best Buy and Starbucks after that, I guess.

Golden Silence Says:
April 22nd, 2008 at 1:02 pm

I’m just not the biggest fan of teenagers. I know not all of them are terrors, but I’ve had too many bad experiences with them. This girl, from the photo, looks like she really didn’t want to be bothered with this interview.

Contrary to what I think, I’m sure there’s some teenager out there who’d have a little more positive things to say about their community.

GOOD/EVIL is my favorite dichotomous over-simplification of struggle:

Anonymous Says:
April 22nd, 2008 at 2:35 pm

Of course the vast majority of the new condos are built on either vacant land, or rehabbed from buildings that had fallen into decrepitude, so those don’t push anyone out, but rather add to the population base. It’s not as if any of the ample Section 8 housing in the area (primarily in CH) has suddenly been converted to high-end condos … I am empathetic to those who are responsible homeowners, but whose property taxes skyrocket to the point they can no longer afford the payments, but beyond that, I’m sorry, this is the way things works … to those who let their gorgeous properties fall into disrepair, or let their homes be used for drugs, or are the ones who graffiti up every commercial establishment in the area, good riddance .. just like I don’t have a right to live in a 2 million dollar condo in Georgetown, even though that would be nice. And hell, they wouldn’t be the first people pushed out of this area … it’s just that the first wave of responsible citizens were pushed out by fear and criminals, as opposed to those trying to improve the neighborhood. Which is more problematic?

TO be fair, here are some reasonable things said:

Anonymous Says:
April 22nd, 2008 at 1:11 pm

I think this is a well-rounded sampling of opinions. I didn’t think everyone interviewed was required to say positive things. The young lady’s comments about the economic realities of revitalization are quite real.
Ah, Nate. Ever the egalitarian.

Anony Says:
April 22nd, 2008 at 1:17 pm
How is the girl not being honest? It is what it is, a neighborhood. Petworth is a great neighborhood, but not any more or less so than many other neighborhoods across the city.

whoops racist

Prince confronts his prejudice:

So I was thinking we are freaking out a bit too much over crime. Yes, it exists. This we can all agree. We need to be aware and we need the MPD to be vigilant. But, thankfully knock wood, it doesn’t really affect our day to day lives (obviously if you have been a victim you may have a different perspective). You know after reading many comments from recent posts, I’ve found myself being a bit paranoid. So I’m walking to Looking Glass Lounge this evening and this big guy with dread locks yells over to me, “Yo!”. And I’m like oh shit. I didn’t think I was going to get mugged or anything I just thought I was going to get hassled. And that is what happens when you are paranoid. So I say hey. And the guy turns out to be the nicest guy in the world. He’s just looking for a friend’s house and we ended up walking together all the way down New Hampshire. And the dude was super cool. His Mom used to live in the neighborhood and he did too as a child. Point is: let’s give the benefit of the doubt when possible. A paranoid life is not a pleasant one. Yes be careful especially in the late hours. But don’t forget to enjoy what makes this neighborhood one of the best in the city - the people!

Prince doesn't say the guy was black. However, he mentions his hair, dreadlocks, and from this readers infer that the "big guy" was a "big black guy" that triggers his paranoia. I think that is an interesting discursive choice. Obviously, hair is a signifier of race & in some societies, such as in the Dominican Republic, hair is the most salient marker of racial identity. I suppose it might sound less racist to say I was afraid of the guy with the dreadlocks as opposed to the black guy, as skin color emerges more significant in U.S. racial constructions for various reasons, including the one drop rule.

Prince's confession inspires some interesting discussion regarding the comments. PoP readers hash out the reasons for violence/crime in the neighborhood, conversation covering the DC gun ban and issues concerning low income housing. One commenter suggests that it is time to reverse white flight, and move others out to the suburbs:

INMHIIYNTYAH Says:
March 20th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
DC doesn’t need anymore low income housing. It needs affordable housing for the middle class. Let the suburbs shoulder some of the responsibility for housing low income residents.

Race and class (gender, sexuality, etc, too) intersect in identity formation. Yet, I think to a certain extent, these people are coding their language to conceal race bias, exclusively talking about class. Prince skipped around it by referencing hair in his confession, the less important marker of race in contemporary U.S. society. Race is never explicitly discussed, yet Obama's recent "race speech" is quoted. DCer co-opts Obama's rhetoric in a response to another commenter that is "ashamed of some of my neighbors responses" that clamor for the removal of low-income housing.

DCer Says:
March 20th, 2008 at 2:39 pm
So we’re supposed to end low-income housing, throw all at risk youth in jail, and esentially tell poor people they can’t have their friends over at their place. This coming from supposedly progressive urbanites? Man it’s rough being on the wrong side of the gentrification tracks!
————
Barack Obama:
“when they’re told that their fears about crime in urban neighborhoods are somehow prejudiced, resentment builds over time.”
So stuff it.

If you don't know Obama's speech inside and out, I'll give you the context where this quote was extracted. The quoted sentence is the last in a paragraph that opens with "In fact, a similar anger exists within segments of the white community. Most working- and middle-class white Americans don't feel that they have been particularly privileged by their race." The paragraph follows Obama's discussion of why some Black Americans harbor resentment for whites -- Obama cites it as generational.

So stuff it. It is okay for whites to be subtly racistand to not be explicit about it, because the violent times of Jim Crow are behind us.

local bloggers engaged by local government

The communications director for Petworth Councilmember Bowser is fact checking Prince in the comments regarding a shooting at a nightclub. She is also arguing the merits of the DC gun ban. She responds to a comment by nate

Why wait for this to happen? It is just more reactive approaches instead of being proactive. It shows me that Bowser can’t see the big picture. She can’t see that guns and this club are not the issue as much as the people are. I bet the profile of the guy shot at Island is almost identical to the guy shot at Truesdell. They were just shot in different places, that’s all....30 years after BANNING guns, we are still blaming guns for the deaths of hundreds of black males per year with no thought or plan of action given to coming up with real world intelligent solutions.

Well, nate, statistically law enforcement is pretty proactive regarding ridding the streets of black males.

Off Seventh includes a council member's name in his lexicon of tags. He often addresses Jack Evans directly on his blog.

Hullo

Telepathic blog reader Miranda Nostradamus has brought an online discussion regarding development in her neighborhood to my attention. A royal Petworth blogger has interviewed a very prolific DC developer, Chris Donatelli.

Prince has invited his domain to opine regarding what sorts of retail would be NICE in Donatelli's new Petworth condo industrial complex. In that internet democracy way where everybody who has a computer has a voice (which is just about everybody these days. lol.), isn't it incredible how DEVELOPERS are interacting with the COMMUNITY (cyber, at least)!

Miranda pointed out how many people engaging the dialog are articulating their preferences in terms of already established entities. For example, some clamor for a WALGREENS, not a DRUGSTORE, a BEN & JERRY'S, not an ICE CREAM SHOPPE.

Everyone thinks that French guy was onto something with his "blah blah blah social class is manifest in that which people consume". So, as Petworth blogosphere denizens voice their preference for outlets such as boutique bakery Firehook, which has the DISTINCTION of belonging to a short list of top five bakers established by a high fashion magazine--80% of whose subscription base has household incomes above $135,840-- one can observe the direction this neighborhood is taking. More relevant to my questions, the preferences voiced reveal the demographic developers like Donatelli are engaging online. My proxy ear to the street, Miranda, has not heard of any other forums (apart from meetings advertised in listservs and on blogs) where developers are addressing the community.