The horror!!!

Here is the awful, apocalyptic future of the Cole Neighborhood as envisioned by several "neighborhood organizers" and "activists" that lament the inevitable, cyclical change of Urban Denver.

No, they're not talking about global warming. Nope, not pollution. Nope, not crime. Tornadoes? Wrong again. Locusts? Way off!

Nope, Cole neighborhood's immaculate reputation and rich cultural history will be utterly destroyed by... White people drinking coffee!!! Oh, the horrors!!!

Run for your life!!!

"A Tree Grows In Brooklyn"

I've written here before about Denver's ubiquitous weed tree, the Ailanthus, or "ghetto palm" as it is frequently called. No smell, other than perhaps the Purina plant on a windy day, is more associated with Denver in my mind than the Ailanthus trees in flower in June. An unpleasant odor to say the least, somewhere between cat urine and b.o., it's not one of the finer points of living in urban Denver, that's for sure.

Were you aware that there was a book and movie, in wich the Ailanthus stars? Yup, "A Tree Grows In Brooklyn", about a young girl with an alcoholic father growing up in Brooklyn, takes its title from the Ailanthus tree, which is featured frequently in the story.

Well, I had heard this, but it wasn't until tonight, when the movie was broadcast on TMC, that I actually checked it out out of curiosity. I must admit, it was pretty interesting, taking place in turn-of-the-century Brooklyn. While most black-and-white films had taught me to expect cheap, unrealistic sets, portionas of the film were clearly either filmed on location, or in some other similar "period" city. The streets and brick buildings made me envision what Denver was like at that time.

I was expecting the trees to be plastic, and of some generic style (Like a maple or something). To my surprise the trees in the film looked just like Ailanthus--Talk about set authenticity! You couldn't help but recognize the thin, palm-like leaves as familiar. The girls father talks about the trees "sprouting right out of the concrete, without a reason..."--Ain't that a fact, Jack.

The only thing they didn't portray in the film--Thank goodness--Was the odor. But with spring just a couple months away, won't be long before Denver's least favorite tree will be back in business again before we know it.

"Stop picking on the white people!!!"

Or so a regular and active Hispanic attendee of the Cole Neighborhood Association meetings says from time to time. (Please note again, I do NOT represent or speak for CNA, nor am I a frequent attendee of their meetings. Again, my posts don't claim to be anything than my personal opinion)
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"Everydaylife" writes in the Denver City Data Forum: "We moved to the Cole/Whittier last year because we were looking for affordable housing close to downtown in an area that is turning around"

A reply from "Frank in Denver": "Turning around from what? Is socio-economically cleansing a neighborhood of those with less income and forcing them further out from the city core something to be proud of? What I often run into are young white couples who are very happy to say they are a part of "bringing the neighborhood back", which is in many ways a very racist perspective. Do you think everyone who lives in said area wishes for home prices to rise?"

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Anyone else catch the assumption that our friend Frank made here? Notice anywhere in Everydaylife's post where s/he says s/he's white? What, do no blacks or Hispanics move to Cole seeking affordable housing? Do no blacks or Hispanics hope the neighborhood changes from its checkered, crime-ridden past, to a cleaner, safer place to live? Wow, sounds like Frank is stereotyping here... And what would it matter if s/he was white, black, or any other race? Does a certain ethnic background allow you to have an opinion about your neighborhood, while another forbids you to?

Racism anyone?

"Kettle, it's the pot--You're black." (Pun intended)

No, of course, if anyone doesn't think Cole/Whittier is just perfect just the way it is, they simply must be an evil white person--Oh, and their opinion doesn't count. You know, those dangerous, Starbucks-wielding Caucasians. No self-respecting minority or lower income resident could ever want an affordable grocery store, more commerce within walking distance, more trees and beautification, less violence, or a safer place for their kids to live and play.

I for one would guess that "Everydaylife" is suggesting that Cole/Whittier is "turning around" because crime is decreasing, homes are getting cleaned and fixed up, and in general the area is becoming a safer place for all (white, black, Hispanic, ALL) to live.

But Cole/Whittier still have a major way to go (as evidenced by recent shootings a block from my house)--But instead of thinking about gang violence, assaults, and murders, Frank is already busy lamenting the socio-economic "cleansing" and "forcing" of lower income residents "further out from the city core".

While we're here, I do feel it's my duty to mention the fact that I'm pretty sure this neighborhood was originally Eastern-European, and Asian (I can't find a link to support this assumption, but this is what I've been told--Original Cole residents were workers brought in to build and maintain the railroad). So Frank, while you're fretting over displacement, why not shed a few tears for all the Poles and Czechs that somehow got "displaced" by the blacks and Hispanics that live here now. I'm actually part Czech--Should I start telling every black person I see that I'm pissed that they "took over the neighborhood" from my people, like somebody told my wife the white people are doing today?

Frank goes on to say "Do you think that everyone living in said area wishes for home prices to rise?"
Whoah, slow down there, Chachi. No, but I sure hear a lot of my neighbors, that have lived here for years and years and years, telling me how the neighborhood has changed for the better: That there are fewer gang-bangers and drug dealers, fewer shootings, less violence, and that they feel that the neighborhood is improving--And that they're glad about it.

Know the only person that I know that has gotten "displaced" in my 4 years here? My neighbor, a Hispanic guy that grew up in the Curtis Park projects. But it wasn't the evil Starbucks crowd that displaced him--He told me he moved out because the neighborhood hadn't changed enough yet as he thought it had when he moved in two years ago with his wife and kids. Where did he move? The Suburbs... where he didn't have to worry about shootings, gangs, and drugs.

Perhaps "Frank in Denver" should stop generalizing about what whites think and do, what the poor think and do, and actually get out "in Denver" and actually talk to some people that live in the communities in question.

I think he likely would be surprised how happy residents are about the progress the neighborhood is making, into a safer, cleaner, yet still ethnically diverse area. And how most residents, regardless of economic status, feel there is a long way to go yet. So much so that the number one reason minorities are leaving, is to find a better place to live--Not gentrification or displacement.

Will you find some that are fearful of gentrification? Sure, you will. But these same people are already reaping the benefits of the improvement in the area, whether they've realized it or not. Oh, and the "new neighbors" (as some "old neighbors" call the newer white residents) are responsible for a lot of it: As the Hispanic resident I mentioned first in this post said at one meeting, "It's the white people that clean up the trash... that plant trees... and clean up the graffiti..."

With vacant housing abundant in Cole, crime still a regular occurrence, and folks leaving not because they're being forced out, but because they seek a cleaner, safer neighborhood, perhaps we can stop beating up on the white people about gentrification for a while.