I started this website after being appalled by what was happening to my neighborhood. Lots of young white people with their snot nosed brats moving in and not content with the long time residents they decided to "change things." They started their own website called Ditmas Park Blog where they made a point to portray African-Americans and Latinos as thugs and criminals. They advocated for overpriced restaurants and baby cloth stores. They held "networkkking" events. None of this stuff was to improve the lives of the long-term residents but to force us out. Although some residents have left, many of the long-time residents refused to be pushed out and have taken a firm stand against the gentrifiers known as Ben and Leina.
Over the last year this website that I started has grown by leaps and bounds. My email box is constantly filled with well-wishes and tips. We can and will make a difference and stop those nasty gentrifiers from whitening the neighborhood.
Over the next month we will do updates on some of our most important posts and tell you the readers what you can do to SAVE DITMAS PARK.
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I understand that you don't like that the neighborhood is changing, and that's fine. I moved to the neighborhood about four and a half years ago, and I'm white, so I suppose to you I'm part of the problem (though I don't have any snot nosed brats yet).
ReplyDeleteI moved here because it's a beautiful neighborhood, close to the park, and I could afford it. And in that time, a few new restaurants and coffee shops have opened, and I've patronized them often. (Sure, some of them are overpriced, but all of NYC is overpriced, and the quality of the food and the service is generally excellent.) When some friends of mine were looking for an apartment, I showed them around the neighborhood and they decided to move here too.
Does this make me an evil gentrifier? I really don't think so. This makes me, at worst, a consumer -- and in the USA just about everyone is a consumer. Buying a cup of coffee isn't a political act. (If the coffee is fair trade, which happens to be abundantly available in the neighborhood these days.)
So what have Ben and Liena done? They like the idea of a new restaurant down the street, and they want it to succeed, so they blog about it. That's fine, as long as it's not a whites-only lunch counter. The new businesses on Cortelyou have only improved the lives of the long-term residents -- how are you hurt by having more dining options, a greenmarket with terrific produce, and a higher sale price for your home if and when you decide to sell?
On to the charges of overt and intentional racism. They have posted mugshots and wanted-flyer sketches from the local precinct, and they have been overwhelmingly, and possibly 100%, black and latino. This is murkier territory, but if you look at the 70th precinct website you'll see that the most wanted criminals are also overwhelmingly black and latino. Before you interpret this statement as racist, let me hasten to add that I think that crime is much more of a reflection of class and poverty. There is also the disturbing story of the NYPD's racist stop and frisk policy, which is still unfolding. All that said, race and racism are incredibly complicated issues that everyone in this country struggles with. I'm sure you and I would agree that it doesn't help anyone to have another person of color associated with crime, but there's an issue of public safety to think about as well, and when someone is wanted for a violent crime it's in everyone's interest to raise the alert, regardless of race, and I think that's what the Ditmas Park Blog has been doing. (If you can point out an instance when there was a white suspect for a violent crime that they did not publicize, that would point to a pattern of racism on their part, but I don't think that's the case.) I suppose what I'm trying to say is that it's reductive and a bit absurd to blame the DP Blog for what is clearly a much larger and complicated problem that has existed in this country since the first European settlers arrived.
But more the the point, I really don't see how you can blame the Ditmas Park Blog for the changes in the neighborhood that you see as negative. Gentrification is not a weapon wielded by one person or website, it is a social force that works one transaction at a time. The real issue here is the conflict between classes, not between races.
I would welcome a sincere discussion about class and race in our society and our neighborhood, if you would be willing to engage in one.
Uh, this batshit crazy psycho is not interested in a sincere discussion about anything. Read the comment history throughout the life of this blog and you see that she routinely avoids engaging anyone who has the wherewithal to point out the multitude of fallacies and will just move on to the next nonsensical post. Look at these entries. Where are the sources? I could start a blog and post RACIST ELOISE KEEPS A DIARY ENTITLED "KILL WHITEY" but typing it out and posting doesn't make it true. I have yet to see her provide solid evidence, nay, even a scrap of evidence, that a any of the many slings and arrows she fires off on this blog have ANY basis in fact.
ReplyDeleteI'm right there with you, Anonymous. I've been a fairly avid reader of this blog for months, and of course you're right, Eloise never backs up her wild claims with evidence of any kind.
ReplyDeleteI don't expect her to actually engage in any kind of rational discussion, but I think the best way to address someone like this and to best them in a debate is to present a well reasoned argument while refraining from personal insults. Eloise's groundless statements look all the more ridiculous by contrast.
Steve,
ReplyDeleteI think that you bring up some valid points and am working on a response to them that I will post later.
Thank you for reading.