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.
do you think you'll hear about this anywhere other than maybe the local paper or TV station? If it was a republican president, you can bet your illegally downloaded music collection that it would be a page one story and on the nightly news every night for a week.
bump
Trouble in paradise?
"His decision and the $354,000 lease created headlines for weeks."
You guys are laughing, but among us poor people, not being able to find space at $354,000.00 anymore, is a crushing hardship.
The complaint is he has improved the area and raised property values?
Let me be clear, I did not have gentrification with that Harlem....not once!
Yeah, they say that now. The fact is, he finally despoiled one too many of his neighbors' daughters.
Maybe Bubba should do the George Jefferson jive-shuffle, singing "Movin' on up!"...
They should count their blessings that Clinton's office choice was only symbolic. Otherwise they'd be complaining about outbreaks of Aids, genital herpes, clymydia, and a significant increase in teen pregnancy.
How many times do you think Clinton has actually stepped foot into that office?
I bet you can count them on one hand.
He probably only has a old stained pull out couch and a huge bottle of kamasutra oil in there.
Bump for tomorrow. I'm too tired to truly enjoy it tonight.
"There goes the neighborhood."
billyblytheclinton ruins every neighborhood he leaches off of.
Oh... You mean rich people moving into poor people's neighborhoods doesn't actually make those poor people richer unless they own their homes, which means they aren't really all that poor and can only get richer if they sell their homes, and the ones that only can afford to rent, which is pretty much everyone in a truly poor neighborhood, all see their rents jump. Thanks Bubba.
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