It’s traditional in Charlotte to wait at least a decade after city government pushes poor black people out of a neighborhood to hire a consultant to figure out why the tragedy occurred. By then, the memory of who exactly was responsible has faded, and it’s safe to blame the “gentrification” on the Volvo-drivers who now live there or some other dark, mystical, racist force.
I say to hell with tradition. Why wait? Let’s hire a consultant right now to document the taxpayer-funded white-washing of the Belmont neighborhood area. What’s going on in Belmont should outrage black leaders (if we had any) and fiscal conservatives alike.
It would be one thing if the city was merely enforcing housing code and cleaning up crime in Belmont — things it should have done all along — and waiting for the rise in property values that inevitably would follow. But city leaders’ haste to bleach the place is so over-the-top that it’s transparently racist.
Imagine if someone controversial like Mecklenburg County Commissioner Bill James proposed buying and shutting down virtually all the food marts in certain poor black neighborhoods as a way to “combat crime.” People would freak out. But that’s exactly what the city is attempting to do in Belmont — with a 10-1 vote in favor by the city council — and not a peep out of the self-righteous crowd or the bought-off black leadership.
The target of the store shutdowns isn’t just the vagrants who hang out in store parking lots, as the city claims. People in these neighborhoods often don’t have refrigerators and must walk to convenience stores daily for food. Because they also can’t afford to do their shopping in one weekly trip, paying daily bus fare to grocery stores outside the neighborhood would really cut into their ability to eat.
Selective enforcement of city housing code in Belmont is allowing scum lord investors to buy and board up what appears on some streets to be 20 to 30 percent of the houses as they wait for the big boom. That’s legal, but most of these houses also have dozens of visible code violations, including trash in yards and peeling exterior lead-based paint that the city prides itself on abating elsewhere. Guess it’s OK if Belmont’s kids eat paint chips.
If the scum lords had to actually bring the places up to code, there’s a danger they might incur enough costs that they’d have to rent them out — God forbid — or that they’d have to keep renting those they’re still renting now.
Almost a decade ago, I screamed about the pedestrians routinely mowed down by drivers on Parkwood Avenue, which runs along Belmont, because of faulty road engineering. Eventually neighborhood leaders were able to use the publicity to embarrass the city into making some fixes.
Now city leaders are tripping all over themselves to build $600,000 worth of sidewalks, crosswalks, street trees and lighting improvements along Parkwood. No one used to care that cars regularly ran off a sharp curve on Parkwood into Cordelia Park, endangering kids that played there. Now the city says that elaborate neighborhood “gateways” are needed to provide “extra pedestrian area” for people crossing into the park. How thoughtful!
And if city bureaucrats get their way, $110,000 decorative gateway markers — complete with artwork by artist Charles Partin — will frame the entrances to the neighborhood.
It’s ironic that the Charlotte Observer obsessed last week over the poor and elderly public housing residents who will be evicted from Hall House Uptown when the Charlotte Housing Authority sells it and how unfair it is that they might be relocated to places where they wouldn’t be within walking distance of amenities they need. In the article, the paper bemoaned the loss of yet more affordable housing.
But the Big O and the city council’s do-gooder politicians don’t apparently give a rip if Belmont residents have to scrape together change for a bus ride to Harris Teeter before they’re pushed out. The difference is that poor people aren’t a threat to the established Uptown area Hall House occupies. In Belmont, they’re in the way of what could be the next urban Dilworth-style neighborhood.
If this doesn’t eat at you from a social perspective, consider what it will cost you. Under the current scenario, Charlotte taxpayers in whose neighborhoods the city isn’t building decorative landscape features will be on the hook for the $1 million it will cost to buy these stores. Taxpayers will also pay millions for the mixed-use development the city is building to replace the old Piedmont Courts public housing complex with market rate and some affordable housing, millions to subsidize developers who will build a new grocery store in Belmont once all the mini-markets and the people who use them have been cleared out, and millions more to build replacement affordable housing units elsewhere in the city.
See Tara Servatius live at CL’s Political Party — April 4, 7 p.m. at the Neighborhood Theatre in NoDa (511 E. 36th St., 704-358-9298).
This article appears in Mar 28 – Apr 3, 2007.
Capitalism is a horrible thing. Profit motive completely debases and undermines the calculation and consideration of the human condition. We become numbers or even worse, invisible. Black people have always suffered from the apathy of white people but it’s even worse now since whites are worried more about Mexicans and Indians taking their jobs and Arabs committing acts of terrorism.
My point is that this is all the result of white supremacy. When neighborhoods decline and become safe havens for criminals it’s because the people in charge, white men mostly, saw fit to allow it to happen. No one cares when black people die or suffer. If you don’t believe it look at Sudan. People are clammoring about Zimbabwe now only because Mugabe actually reversed British colonialism and threw white people out of the country except for a few brave enough to remain. He then gave the land the British stole back to black farmers. Now he is being called a tyrant because the US and UK are funding an opposition party that will lead to a coup eventually. We all know that the CIA would overthrow the government if Mugabe gave an inch, just like we did democratically elected Aristide in Haiti.
There is nothing black people can do about these conditions because as soon as black people make it out of the ghetto they forget about the ghetto. It’s not a black thing. It’s a selfish thing. People in this country care more about money than each other…..period. We are well on our way to the destruction of this existence as we know it. The only way black people can survive the tyranny of white supremacy is to globally unite the diaspora in one land away from the malevolent influence of white men. They care nothing about anyone, including themselves, their families and their women. It’s all money and power tripping to them. They are their own God.
First off, if it were white people or hispanic people in Belmont – the same thing would be happening. And furthermore it has squat to do with what the city counsel plans for the neighborhood.
The bottom line is that the property values are going up because it’s the last area that’s dirt cheap that is that close to downtown. Look at Wilmore, Dilworth, Myers Park, Plaza Midwood, NoDa, and Westerly Heights – all these place are at least 3x as expensive.
Don’t be ignorant and point the finger at city counsel, white people, or “scum lords.” If you’re going to blame anything, blame it on simple economics.
All investors eyes are turned toward this area now. It’s also ignorant to think of it in terms of tossing black people out of their homes. Nobody is getting tossed out of any home they own unless they stop making payments to the bank. When you say they’re getting tossed out what’s actually happening is that an investor is coming along and offering them big $$$ so that they can buy another house plus have money to put in the bank. A lot of the time the homeowners are in a difficult situation (divorce, foreclosure, lost job, etc) and if it wasn’t for a RE investor then they WOULD be “tossed out” by the bank because they would foreclose – lose the home and their credit would be ruined forever.
I understand your point of view, though I don’t necessarily agree with all aspects of it. Just wanted to clarify that “Charlotte taxpayers” VOTED to approve the bonds that are paying for these enhancements. I am one of the many who intentionally voted yes because I want my taxpayer money to revitalize the area; I drove to work through that area daily for two years, and it’s about time someone paid attention and started putting some funds into the area.
“Poor black people” If you can’t afford to live, somewhere than you can’t afford it. White people get evicted from their homes just as easily as any other race. So take your poor little undercooked race remarks and go back to the 60’s. We have all heard enough. If you want something bad enough, you’ll take it!
well, George is clearly a follower of the minds that are trying to lead our poor black community.. I still have paper from the 90s when young black men stood on street corners and handed out literature that reads just as he has spouted in this thread…and yer right George..the superior white rulers should give you your own country and pay billions in support dollars for the next 50 years as punishment for the life they enjoy on the backs of black slaves who built this great country of ours. If it’ll get guys like you out of my neighborhood, then I’ll gladly send my annual check in to feed n clothe and house you..after all..we do it for the monkeys and the gorrilas..its called a zoo…last time I looked around the world outside of charlotte and outside of the US..doesn’t seem like other black folks, that weren’t oppressed by capitalists like me and mine were doing all that much better.
Seriously..though..we need to do something soon, cause now that the Latinos are moving in..it’ll just be one more race of people pushing the inferior black man down the food chain to abject poverty..we have to set aside some land and housing and food and transportation to take proper care of these unfortunates…now you can wallow in this kind of hatred..or you can do like me and other real black men have done and step up..and earn your opportunities in an amazing and wonderful country.
Tara– This is why the media is sometimes hurtful instead of helpful. If there is a situation that people feel that they can prevent, why not fix things before they get worse and do turn into a Charlotte crazed environment. Most people move to Belmont because of it’s Casual, Small Town appeal, less crime and inane activities. There is some crime; however compared to the larger cities on either side it is far better.
While you are so steadfast to condemn people by merely your opionon, Remember it is just that “Your Opinion”. You are willing to stir up garbage to be heard. You may not be totally wrong in your thoughts, but I do think that you are extreme.
I believe that the City is starting to boom and now they see that certain changes need to be made to improve it’s quality. I do think that if they do for one area they should do for all. Not everyone has the means to fix and take care of problems in their homes.
I just urge you to consider all sides before you blurt whatever pops into your head. You need to remember that you have a powerful tool with your article to touch and help, but you also have to power to hurt and destruct.
Thank you.
Julie Gantt
that was a very good and meaningful article. that voice needs to be even louder right now and not later. please continue your drive and print many more articles. it felt nice to hear the truth for a change.
it is a shame that in 2007 people are mad for printing the truth. people are being displaced instead of correcting ongoing problems that have plague that area for years. look around and every area around the downtown area is being done that way. since the traffic and public transportation is a mess the wealthy wants the downtown area back. so they can ride bikes or walk to work and you can move further away and have even a harder time trying to get to work with this poor public transportation system. we need this voice even louder. i support you whole heartedly. it is 2007 but the 60’s seem to be repeating, wake up black folks
You are right on target with that article.People are so misinformed about what the city is all about where people in public housing are concern all people that live in them are left out in the cold.
Tara, before you call all of the people that aren’t black in Belmont racist why don’t you come to some of our neighborhood meetings? I’ve never seen you there. Oh right, that’s probably because you live in Mathews and drive really fast through our neighborhood on your way to Plaza Midwood.
If you invested just 60 minutes in research before you took pen to paper and attended our neighborhood meetings you would have seen something very contrary to your arguments. You would have seen a group of people working together to make a neighborhood a safer, cleaner and more enjoyable place to live and raise a family. If you walked our streets, you would have seen that the people in Belmont are there because they love the neighborhood, the characters, the communal feel, the proximity to the city center, etc. But you didn’t. You chose to write some pretty venomous things. Shame on you. Rule number one of writing should be: Do your homework! Visit us over here. Attend some neighborhood meetings. Do something beside observing from afar – that doesn’t cut it.
Also, I am completely offended by your comments about the black leaders here in Belmont and Charlotte in general. Again, shame on you for making such broad and sweeping statements regarding our black leaders, “if we had any”. Are you kidding? Believe me, we have black leaders. To think that we don’t is asinine. Or to make such a ridiculous comment such as yours about our “bought-off black leadership.” I am truly offended by the words you put on the page.
So, you’ve articulated what you think is a very bad thing: other nationalities moving to Belmont. One person called it a drive (above). A drive? Are you kidding – you’re simply spitting venom. You have nothing in the way of vision. No one wants blacks to move out of the neighborhood – that’s why we moved in. It’s diverse. It’s not a vanilla, cookie cutter, suburban neighborhood. People in Belmont love diversity and love the sense of community. We’re not all the same and we love and embrace that. You’re calling everyone that wasn’t born in Belmont a racist. Great. Pulitzer material. Profound. Crawl back under your rock in suburbia – come out in another 10 years. By the way – how many minorities live in your neighborhood? And we’re racist?
As far as whose been eating the paint chips – I think I know.
Chris