gentrification is a four letter word when you are visually assaulted by a bunch of "tossbags" who look like they shop from the same ironic clown bin and don't really give a hoot about the original character of the neighborhood. if i wanted to live in williamsburg, shop like i live in williamsburg, and drink coffee like i live in williamsburg, then i would live there. repeat sentence and sub in LES or your neighborhood of choice. neighborhoods which, as we all know, began as homes for people who are not people, until people who are people decided they would be better if people lived there. this attitude is the crux of the problem, not the amenities that may come with it.
i am completely behind any neighborhood improvements that improve the quality of life for me and my neighbors of all stripes. improvements in property values are a bonus. i have enjoyed the new concessions very much. i would love a nice hotel, another restaurant, etc. but there is something to be said to moving one's business into a neighborhood in a respectful, even humble way. which is essentially the way many of us moved out to the rock, appreciating the place for its current state, its past (my mother in law danced in the irish music halls on the corner of 108 in her youth), and its future.
i do not like online debate or dispute, it gets ugly quickly, but in this case i feel like i have to speak up. please don't tell me what i "should" like; i don't tell you what should happen in long beach.
alright, i've wasted half my kids nap on this post.
dude.....I wish there was an effing hotel in rockaway! I'd like my parents to have somewhere to stay that didn't have condom machines in the room or zombies on the stoop.....
and wouldn't that be great for the local merchants + tourism. Also, potential new restaurants. Clothing boutiques. Eventual increase in apt/house rentals. Rental prices increase? Home values? More calls for beautification projects. Increase in safety?
Gentrification is not a four letter word. Neither is tourism. Home owners should dig this.