Like Rain on Parked Cars, Chapter 20 – Layer Cake

“Command those who are rich…not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God…Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share…”  (1 Tim. 6: 17-18).

Before Wall Street speculation caused the real estate market to crash in 2008, gentrification was already changing the face of Philadelphia [1].

House “Flipping”

Residential tax abatement stimulated construction while holding property tax assessments at pre-development levels for a full ten years. This allowed urban professionals in their twenties and thirties to take up real estate “flipping”, something from which they profited handsomely in Fishtown and elsewhere before the market collapsed.

Old structures were converted into luxury lofts and condominiums.  Town houses were designed to lure the middle class to long-depressed areas of the city.  Newly developed areas in Northern Liberties and Old Kensington in North Philadelphia can attest to the fact.

Displacement

One of the forces behind renovation was Temple University which had purchased large tracts of land in some of the city’s most blighted and crime-ridden areas.  For this it was both lauded and reviled.

A big part of the reason was that neighborhood “improvement” often meant displacement [2].  Philadelphia Weekly reported that housing prices in Old Kensington doubled between 1997 and 2002, necessitating that long-time residents disperse and seek affordable housing elsewhere.  Safety was gained; collective memory (and the original community) lost.

A local councilman described the dilemma this way, “Do nothing and let the neighborhood deteriorate, or try to improve the neighborhood [3].”

He went on to introduce bills in support of rezoning in Brewerytown.  The purpose of these bills was to establish a new zoning designation, “Industrial Transformation District”, and establish the first such ITD in Brewerytown.

The bills would have eliminated both the need for public hearings on rezoning, and the power of zoning boards to overrule rezoning decisions.  That would have allowed developers to propose any type of use – whether residential or commercial – irrespective of adjacent land use.  In effect, it would have deprived local communities of a say on redevelopment – a say in their own futures.

There was vocal opposition by community-based organizations.

“Drug Reality” Tours

The Kensington Welfare Rights Union – a group determined to seek economic justice for the homeless and working poor – for a time ran so called “drug reality” tours [4].  These tours transported busloads into Kensington to witness “up close” the effects of drug trafficking on the community.

Members of the KWRU viewed corporate investment as using the nation’s drug epidemic to their economic advantage, with little or no regard for the underprivileged.  Not all, of course, would agree with this radical viewpoint.

A few, however, have put forward an even sadder theory.

A Layer on Top

“Gentrification is a touchy thing because regardless of what we are, a mostly white radical community, regardless of what we’re doing, all that is needed to start the ball rolling [for gentrification] is our white skin.  The artists and radicals move into a neighborhood and the white faces make it safer for others to follow.”

–Gentrification Opponent, James Nasti [5]

Some cities like Peekskill, New York have actually encouraged artists to settle in blighted neighborhoods “to create a layer on top of the African American community,” as carpenter Nick Mottern was reported to have put it, when interviewed by The New York Times.

Chinatown

African American communities are not the only ones subjected, for better or worse, to gentrification.  In June of 2000, merchants in Philadelphia’s 150 year old Chinatown for the first time since World War II shut down their stores for the afternoon in protest against a planned sports stadium.

Chinatowns in major cities across the country often cater to newly arrived immigrants, unskilled (or illegal), and unable to speak English.  As an example, the median annual income for Philadelphia’s Chinatown families in 2005 was a paltry $8000.  Unemployment there was twice the city’s average that year.

Gentrification has radically altered that.  With gentrification heavily impacting property values, many immigrant families can no longer afford to live in Chinatown.

Bordered on the east by Independence Park, on the west by the Convention Center, and on the south by the Gallery Shopping Mall, Chinatown originally had no public schools, libraries, or senior citizen centers within its boundaries.  However, units at one condominium complex on Race Street cost as much as $350,000.  Vaulted ceilings, oak floors, and a concierge were all included.

Now, a new stadium has again been proposed on the very doorstep of Philadelphia’s Chinatown, much to residents’ dismay [6].  At the same time, the city is in need of 60,000 units of affordable housing [7].

We have, it seems, traded the melting pot for a layer cake – the “sweet life” of a privileged few, alternating with the bitter reality experienced by large numbers of our population.

…

State legislation in 2004 authorized gambling in Pennsylvania.  During the first three months after Pennsylvania casinos opened, gamblers bet $1.06 billion.  They lost 90.6% of that.

Legalized gambling has long been put forward as a valid strategy for economic development.  During hearings in 1994 before the US House of Representatives Committee on Small Business, however, experts testified that casino-style gambling impacts negatively on the criminal justice system, social welfare system, small businesses, and overall economy of a region.

Though the gaming industry routinely promises painless tax revenue, for every tax dollar contributed across the nation by legalized gambling, at least three dollars of taxpayer support are required by way of infrastructure and regulatory costs, along with the law enforcement and social welfare costs already mentioned.

Philadelphia projected its own increased policing costs at $11-$16 million [8].

Gambling with Lives

Gambling, also, acts as a regressive tax on the poor.  In the forlorn hope of a jackpot that will change their lives, the disadvantaged tend to gamble disproportionately larger amounts of their income than their well-off neighbors – particularly on state lotteries.  This translates to less money for rent and groceries.

There were 900 jobs projected for a single Philadelphia casino (most paying substantially more than minimum wage).  Though figures varied, funds were, also, under discussion for redevelopment.

All this was an enormous enticement, yet still neighborhoods banded together to protest the location of casinos.  Not that the gaming industry took much notice.  One Philadelphia site under consideration was situated directly across from a housing project.

The poor see no viable alternatives, all the while falling farther behind.

Former Pres. Donald Trump (who had led a group of investors favoring the housing project site), lost his bid for an operating license [9].  Presumably that came as a blow, since Pres. Trump had repeatedly emphasized his “strong” personal connection to Philadelphia, specifically attendance at the elite Wharton Business School.

Though Pres. Trump did miss out on an opportunity, it was not the one he assumed.  A greater opportunity than casinos was right before his eyes.  In fact, it remains there to this day – awaiting a truly great man or woman.

Not the opportunity to make a financial killing or construct another monument to ego.  But the chance to improve the squalid living conditions of thousands of Philadelphia residents and their children.  The chance to make a mark that would outlast brick and mortar, outshine glass and steel.

Until someone takes up that cause, we will continue gambling with lives.

—

[1]  Wikipedia, “Gentrification in Philadelphia”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gentrification_in_Philadelphia.

[2]  Encyclopedia of Philadelphia, “Gentrification” by Dylan Gottlieb, 2014, https://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/essays/gentrification/.

[3]  Temple News, “Gentrification leads to safety and renewal” by Nicole D’Andrea, 2/15/05, https://temple-news.com/gentrification-leads-to-safety-and-renewal/.

[4]  Christian Science Monitor, “A new window on drug blight” by Stephen Murdoch, 4/17/03, https://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0417/p16s01-lihc.html.

[5]  Riverwest Currents, “Gentrification:  Artists and Yuppies Working Together” by Dan Knauss, July 2002 (Updated February 2019), https://riverwestcurrents.org/2002/07/gentrification-artists-and-yuppies-working-together.html.

[6]  Philadelphia Inquirer, “Philly Mayor Parker backs Sixers arena in Center City:  opponents protest outside City Hall” by  Jeff Gammage, Sean Collins Walsh, Ximena Conde, 9/18/24, https://www.inquirer.com/news/philadelphia/live/cherelle-parker-chinatown-sixers-arena-proposal-20240918.html.

[7]  Pathways to Housing PA, “Philadelphia’s Affordable Housing Challenges”, 5/17/24, https://pathwaystohousingpa.org/news/philadelphia-affordable-housing-challenges#:~:text=Experts%20estimate%20that%20Philadelphia%20needs,in%20the%20next%20five%20years.

[8]  WHYY, “Section 3 – Transportation Assessment”, https://whyy.org/wp-content/uploads/planphilly/assets_4/http-planphilly-com-sites-planphilly-com-files-gamingtaskforce_transpecon-pdf.original.pdf.

[9]  City Life, “Trump Once Tried to Open a Casino in Philadelphia with Boyz to Men II and Pat Croce” by Dan McQuade, 2/18/16, https://www.phillymag.com/news/2016/02/18/donald-trump-philly-casino-boyz-ii-men/.

Copyright © 2010 – Present Anna Waldherr.  All rights reserved.

Originally posted 1/24/16 as Gambling

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