Posted on 07/20/2006 8:45:04 PM PDT by auzerais
Clinton Wears Out His Welcome
Remember the fanfare when Bill Clinton decided to house his offices in Harlem after the end of his presidency? The community turned out in droves to welcome the man that some called "the first black President," declaring that his decision to lease offices in the area would spark an economic resurgence. His decision and the $354,000 lease created headlines for weeks.
Today, that decision has created different headlines. His formerly enthusiastic neighbors now blame him for the increasing gentrification of Harlem, raising rents and displacing the disadvantaged:
Harlem residents gathered outside President Clinton's office yesterday to protest against the former president as a symbol of Harlem's gentrification and the displacement of its residents.
The Harlem Tenants Council hosted the protest at 125th Street between Lenox and Park avenues that was attended by about 40 mostly elderly, African-American residents of the area. A HTC co-founder, Nellie Bailey, said the primary goal of the protest was to draw attention to what she calls a "housing crisis in Harlem," due in part to displacement because of price increases by landlords and evictions.
"We're hoping to have a dialogue with a president of enormous influence," Ms. Bailey said, "so he can understand the concerns of Harlem tenants," including the lack of a comprehensive, beneficial housing policy and legal services. A Clinton Foundation spokesman, Jay Carson, declined to comment on the protest.
Economic resurgence has its problems, and gentrification qualifies as one of the biggest. As property values increase, landlords have to get better rent and lease terms to keep up with bigger mortgages and tax bills. Property values tend to increase when high-profile tenants start taking up available lease space, such as Bill Clinton did in 2001.
It's unfair of Harlem residents to target Clinton for their woes, or at least him alone. New York has a number of factors that play into the sharp increase in housing costs, most of which have to do with their high tax rates and top-down rent control. The latter comes from a market that has too much demand and too little supply in the first place. Eventually that market effect would have driven people to Harlem for better prices; Clinton just made it trendy to do so.
It's a bit more than ironic that Clinton would get the blame, after the reams of fawning press he garnered for his move to Harlem and the interminable PR of how much the African-American community loved him. Apparently, Harlem residents would love Bill Clinton to go to the Upper West Side for a while.
Local legend has it that as soon as Clinton acquired his fourteenth-floor office space, the Secret Service closed down a notorious neighboring crack house, immediately boosting real-estate values.
and to think Harlem was his 2nd choice
And what exactly does this have to do with Slick Willie and Harlem?
The "Anti-Section 8" !!!
bttt
Hey Bill, you're welcome to move to my neighborhood if they don't want you in Harlem anymore.
So nobody was helped by this? You'd think everybody was hurt by this. Rising property values? An economic resurgence? What kind of Bizarro World is this, that bringing prosperity to a place is a bad thing? How many black landlords and property holders are retiring on their profits from this? The liberal white guilt oozing out of this story is nauseating.
More than 40 people are probably standing at the crosswalk waiting for the light to change in front of his office right now. Street buskers draw bigger crowds.
Pretty much. We went through the same thing in downtown Austin when property values went up. Lots of people complained because they couldn't afford to live there anymore. You could sell a 2br 1ba shack for $300~$400K on Rainey Street, (kind of a little pocket neighborhood from downtown, the kind where you're not surprised to find shoes hanging over the street on a power line), and the residents were having protests because they didn't want to sell and move, but feared the rising taxes and traffic.
Nuthin worse than rich folk movin in to ruin the neighborhood.
No wait.
Nuthin worse than white folk movin in to..
no wait.
nuthin wor.. oh I give up.
The Clinton's were in the usual damage control mode.
Soo playing the race card was their easy out option at the time.
LOL, thats a good one!
"gentrification of Harlem?"
The residents should be so lucky. I was there a couple of weeks ago and marvelled at the numbers of burnt out buildings in this sky high Manhattan RE market.
*snicker*
"Gentrification" means "plantation owners" I guess.
I'm sure he wanted the offices down there to keep his wife at a distance, y'know, for the sake of the par-tay.
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