Fighting the Gentrification in Humboldt Park (Chicago, Arlington Heights: cheap apartments, house, neighborhood)

[rparz]

Watching the Blues Brothers makes me wish the University didn't take over Maxwell st.

[cfbs2691]

Originally Posted by Attrill

Newsflash for you - you left. It is no longer your neighborhood. If you are a so hellbent on blaming someone for the changes in Humboldt Park you should start by looking in the mirror. Then look at your family, friends and neighbors who left as well. That's where the blame lies.

[PuertoRicanIndependence]

NEWS FLASH, MY FAMILY GOT KICKED OUT we didnt leave on our own will

either read all that I have said or dont make a stupid comment as the one im quoting

and dont TWIST and CONSTRUE my words

[marothisu]

You should account your story of how exactly you got kicked out then....I'm sure many of us would like to read about the story.

[aragx6]

Originally Posted by PuertoRicanIndependence

NEWS FLASH, MY FAMILY GOT KICKED OUT we didnt leave on our own will

either read all that I have said or dont make a stupid comment as the one im quoting

and dont TWIST and CONSTRUE my words

Well that is the danger in renting and not owning, which I understand sucks. But surely it wasn't the only available rental in the neighborhood, was it?

[PuertoRicanIndependence]

when THOUSANDS of us are getting kicked out of our community yall sit here and say... ACCOUNT YOUR STORY.. well what about the THOUSANDS that have gotten removed from there homes.. they all have stories too..

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by PuertoRicanIndependence

when THOUSANDS of us are getting kicked out of our community yall sit here and say... ACCOUNT YOUR STORY.. well what about the THOUSANDS that have gotten removed from there homes.. they all have stories too..

Perhaps I'd like a starting point. Why are you getting so pissed off? All I did was ask for you to tell your story, and all you do is get pissed. Really? I am reaching out to you interested in hearing a story about what's going on and all you can do is tell me this snide bull**** in the form of bitching.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by PuertoRicanIndependence

lol...

bunch of idots who with hurt feelings

we have to be styrotypical, we have to get ugly, we have to get loud, we honestly have to, there is no other way. We come from a poor background so there is no way we can round up enough money to even start fighting gentrification... its a battle already lost.. so we have to do anything possible to win back our community

this issue goes beyond a few blocks of property..... this issue isnt about cheap rent and living closer to work..

for us Puerto Ricans who grew up here... this issue goes beyond all that, its a threat to our very existence

I'm going to state up front, I think this was a fake post by a troll.

But in case the OP is a real person:

If you grew up here, you're no longer Puerto Rican, just like my dad is not Norwegian and my mom's dad is not Danish and 95% of the "Italians" in the New York area aren't Italian. You are an American with Puerto Rican cultural ties. Like the mainland, Puerto Rico is a construct of immigrants which means it's not nation based on a genetic race, it's a country based on residency that happens to have a strong Caribbean-based culture.

The threat your existence is that your family left their homeland, not that the neighborhood is starting to be gentrified (still early stages). Being "poor" is not an identity that's in anyone's interest to protect. It is NOT a requirement to be poor in order to be Puerto Rican. Just two examples - I know there are well-off Puerto Ricans. I have a well-off Puerto Rican lawyer in one of my classes at Harvard. I know the wife of the chef opening a restaurant near me who is Puerto Rican and doing well.

I like ethnic enclaves. I like Humbolt Park. In fact, a photo I took of the Puerto Rican flags over Division Street illustrates the entry for "barrio" in a urban studies encyclopedia published by Sage Press. But you are way, way off base to try and claim that gentrification is some threat to Puerto Ricans. And any money to spend fighting gentrification is a waste. If you want to stop gentrification, there is one sure way to do it: Stop selling property. Or only list properties for sale in Spanish. Sell properties primarily through word of mouth. That's how Chinatown stays Chinese. They list properties in Chinese. They sell through word-of-mouth. It's illegal to put in a listing "We only sell to other Chinese" but it's not illegal to only advertise it in a Chinese newspaper or with signs written in Chinese. To a lesser extent, that happens in Pilsen, too.

And realize this: Most people, even people proud of their Puerto Rican cultural background, will not choose to live in dangerous areas. You might be willing to sacrifice your safety for cultural purity, but I can promise you that most parents are not willing to do that with their childrens' lives. If Humbolt Park is losing Puerto Ricans, it's for two reasons:

1) Not enough Puerto Ricans are moving to Chicago - go recruit your family from the island to move to Chicago and help bolster the P.R. population in H.P.

2) The only reason it can become not Puerto Rican is if Puerto Ricans are moving out. The ones who leave don't share your willingness to put up with crime and a lack of investment in buildings or bad schools or whatever else reason they have to leave that eclipses their desire to keep their Puerto Rican heritage.

[westender]

Originally Posted by PuertoRicanIndependence

The truth though is yes I do get frustrated when I see a white face here, or a new business where Ms. Rivera use to live, or anything having to do with gentrification, why? Because gentrification and the whole system, and oppression gets so ugly that it makes people have to say things and do things that is pretty much racist and unethical... like saying "Don't Move here" "Get out" But what choice are we left with???

You do know that Humboldt Park was a Swedish neighborhood, within living memory. What if the Swedes wanted you out of "their" neighborhood?

[eevee]

Originally Posted by PuertoRicanIndependence

NEWS FLASH, MY FAMILY GOT KICKED OUT we didnt leave on our own will

either read all that I have said or dont make a stupid comment as the one im quoting

and dont TWIST and CONSTRUE my words

You got evicted, which tends to happen when you don't pay rent. If you're so invested in HP, why didn't you and your family own? Why not find another rental?

Let's face it, you only care because you're borderline racist (drop the "borderline" part) and you think the Puerto Rican culture in HP is superior to any changes newcomers may bring. In reality, it doesn't seem like you and yours didn't invest much in the area, allowing it to decay into a crime ridden mess lacking in quality businesses. You and yours cleared out of the area, out of the city, and out of the state for a variety of reasons and now you're upset that the people who moved in after you are white. Guess what? Those white hipsters invest more to preserve the culture of HP than YOU by shopping in the area, renting from the Puerto Ricans who kept their buildings, and helping to make it a clean and inviting neighborhood that can attract more business into the area. Ranting on this forum is less than pointless and borderline (drop the "borderline" part) trollish.

Puerto Ricans weren't the first people to live in Humboldt Park and they won't be the last. Deal with it and move on.