I thought this was a very encouraging article though maybe a little more optimistic than I am. Hope he proves me wrong. I would love to loose the edgy he talks about and become Georgetown 2.
I'm no functionalist, but the revitalization of DC has more to do with economic and demographic factos than political ones. The movement of yuppies (mostly white) back into the city was a phenomena seen in cities all over the country. It was due to the increasing prices of suburbs, pushing people farther and farther out, leading to worse communte times. Marry lost all power in 1994, when Anthony Williams was appointed by Congress and the control board. If it really had to do with poilitics, DC's revitalization would be more unique, which it isn't. The demographic change is what has led to the political change. However, I do think that if Gray's administration continues to show signs of corruption, it might slow economic growth. But I doubt developers who hav plans years in the works are really going to change course because there was some quid pro quo in the DC Government.
Have to respectfully disagree with you. The demographic change in Capitol Hill started almost at the exact time Barry lost power. At that time, you started seeing more professionals moving into the area and buying run-down rowhouses that had been neglected for 30 years and fixing them up.
As Richard hinted at, it has to do with risk. Do you risk you're hard earned money fixing up a house in a city run by a crack-head or by someone who actually knows how to balance a budget (i.e., Williams).
Obviously, there are going to be a lot less people who are smart and have money who are going to want to invest with the crack-head run city.
I don't think Gray will be as bad as Barry (that would be like incompetence lightning striking twice) and I don't think he can stop the progress of development. That being said, I think he is already shaping up to be a "do-nothing" mayor who will be spending the majority of time in office just putting out the fires that his crony staff have started (see, e.g., Suilamon Brown).
Its sad really. When its all said and done, I think people might want to ask themselves if Fenty was such a bad guy after all. At least he was a competent, can-do mayor (despite his personality flaws).
I read elsewhere that tossing out Fenty in favor of electing Gray was a bit like drawing "19" in blackjack and doubling-down.
Was Fenty perfect? No. But he was an effective mayor. The coalition that got Gray elected was essentially very poor people who are suffering 10% unemployment, city bureaucrats (e.g. WTU) and their family members, and middle-class good government types.
The first group see development as a bad thing--that's money out of their pocket, or "some folks being left behind." The second group were just thrown under the bus with the announcement that (thank god) Kaya Henderson was going to be staying on as DCPS chancellor. And the third group are quite susceptible to a backlash if Gray doesn't pan out as a technocrat in the Williams/Fenty mold.
The only good sign is that, for all Gray's early missteps, it's looking more and more that it's the middle-class, good-government constituency he's decided to throw his lot in with.
Essentially his strategy needs to be to do everything Fenty did, but visit the black churches more often.
Being a good politician (ie staying in touch) is part of the job of a big-city mayor.
Even more importantly, you need to know who to pay off. Ever wonder why "hype-men" like Sulaimon Brown and Sinclair Skinner are invaluable to mayoral campaigns? It's because there's a not insignificant minority of DC voters who are extremely susceptible to demagoguery.
Unfortunately, "staying in touch" is often synonymous with putting these chowderheads on the payroll so they can talk about how "real" you are, and how your opponent is in the pockets of the developers and gentrifiers.
"BIKE LANES FOR WHO???"
"Here's your wad o'cash. Thanks for your service to our fair city!"
Vincent Gray will never have my support because of the streetcar debacle. I think it's justice that he's squirming this early into his term. Maybe they'll unearth something that will cause us to have a revote. He's an embarrassment to the city.
I'll bite. I'm not the author, so I dont know the intent of the author.. but hanging out in H St. is certainly edgy-er than going out in, for example, Arlington.
A few examples would be the not infrequent smash and grabs of valuables from cars. We city folk know not to leave bags of stuff visible in a car. In arlington (speaking mostly of the ballston / clarendon / rossyln parts) .. its not really a concern.
Going for a jog on H St? I probably wouldnt be blasting an ipod oblivious to my surroundings (a common occurance in arlington) .. or choosing a path down dark alleys .. (They dont even have alleys)
To someone from the 'burbs .. going to H St. can feel like a daring adventure .. whether or not in reality your actual chances of something dangerous happening to you are significantly increased or not. The increased need for awareness alone is 'edgy'.
I wont even mention trying to parallel park a large truck on a small one way, watching them attempt it is frightening to me, haha.
@3:35, I think Richard means edgy as in cool, and urban. He's writes of edginess as a positive quality which H Street would like to keep in the future. My reading is that the edginess he speaks of is the cool factor, the very reason the corridor has so much buzz right now. We have cool restaurants, bars, places to see live music, live theater, and some very cool art galleries. We also hosted a kick ass H Street Festival last years, and other events (like Thriller) that drew crowds.
@3:35, I think Richard means edgy as in cool, and urban. He's writes of edginess as a positive quality which H Street would like to keep in the future. My reading is that the edginess he speaks of is the cool factor, the very reason the corridor has so much buzz right now. We have cool restaurants, bars, places to see live music, live theater, and some very cool art galleries. We also hosted a kick ass H Street Festival last years, and other events (like Thriller) that drew crowds.
ah. thanks Inked. I honestly didnt know for sure what he meant by "edgy," but I will admit that I was more inclined to think he was inferring somethin similar to what Anon 4:36 was thinking. Some times its hard to guess at a person's point of view right off the bat if you're not familiar with their writings.
Yep, Maybe Rhee went down because she backed the school principals, and then Fenty backed her...unlike the current mayor who throws his people under the bus and has missteps.
edgy sort of implies things not necessary done by the rules or conventions. it's not about crime. at all.
it's about what people are trying to do. the palace of wonders was a good example of edgy. so is gallery o/h.
so is the art walk. it's the stuff thats not glitzy and glossy and professionally designed.
its that the buildings aren't painted all historic and that they don't flow together in a perfect stream of cohesiveness. it's a little chaotic. it's that the signage looks crazy and handmade. it's that the places aren't carbon copies of places that exist elsewhere in the world. it's that buildings are retrofitted for their current incarnation, not places that were built up to be a restaurant or bar. it's that there are unexpected staircases and bathrooms that were jammed in to some illogical location. its not the place you think you're gramma will like, unless she's rockstar cool.
it's that you don't go see the most famous bands or artists, but you see people trying new stuff out, and the cover charge is cheap allowing for more experimentation.
yeah, you've seen it all before. downtown used to be edgy, georgetown used to be edgy, so did u street and adams morgan. the eastern edge of u street still is, but mostly edgy wears off as money rolls in and professionals are hired and neighborhoods are branded and the store displays and graphics are designed on a computer and approved by a committee. edgy is a place full of people that think they are changing the way people see the world. NoMa, for instance will never be edgy. and while it used to be sketchy, it was never edgy.
as for your interpretations of what I meant by edgy, the various interpretations offered by people are all correct. It's not a one or the other thing. And comparatively, yes Arlington today is not like H Street today. But neither is Clarendon of today like Clarendon of 1987 (it was the go to area for Vietnamese food then) or Virginia Square of 1987 is nothing like it is today.
Not to mention H Street of 1987. I laugh to myself over how H Street is described today, remembering the dozens of people murdered a few blocks from where I lived in 1987-1990. (i.e., Rayful Edmonds' crack distribution area)
And I am still flabergasted seeing white mothers pushing baby carriages on the 500 block of M Street NE (or on Rhode Island Ave. NE for that matter).
And yes, the kind of edginess on H Street present today is more consumable say than is the experience presented by the intersection of Minnesota Ave. and Pennsylvania Ave. SE.
Mr. No Functionalist -- there is no question that the change in political leadership was essential to the movement of revitalization in DC from the innovator/early adopter phase, to the late adopter phase.
(This is based on the concept of the diffusion of innovations/innovation curve described by Rogers in _Diffusion of Innovation_.)
But I agree that it wasn't the same kind of factor like economics. More what Herzberg would call a "hygiene" factor in terms of the quality of the support structure around your choice.
Through 2003, you could find houses all over the neighborhood for under $125,000. And that's about what they cost in the late 1980s too, before the 1988 property downturn.
Before a major chunk of the population was ready to sign up for urban living, their sense of real risk had to be assuaged.
Before that it was the urban pioneers-people who were into cities despite the national trends and factors that still supported suburban living.
But the pioneers couldn't develop critical mass to spread out to all neighborhoods. Just some. And even the process of improvement in a place like Capitol Hill was one of incrementalism. It wasn't that long ago when living east of 6th St. and then living east of 8th St. was seen as insane.
TV shows like Seinfeld and Friends aren't enough in and of themselves vs. Brady Bunch to change societal trends.
As Inked knows, 'cause we've talked about it, I assert that the most important thing to happen to the improvement of the greater neighborhood was the creation of the infill subway station at "New York Avenue."
This broke down the fear barrier that H Street had formerly served as. After people knew the Metro was coming, people with choice started snapping up those houses...
That was as key as the creation of the H Street plan, the Atlas rehabilitation, other key property owners investing (like the Robeys or David Bernhardt, but not just them), Joe Englert, and Joe Fengler's figuring out that by installing the streetcar rails, that would accelerate the coming of the streetcar.
Oops... we never did it, but one of the things I wanted to do with the H Street Social and Cultural History Study that I managed in 2001-2002, was to do an oral history with Rayful Edmond.
TV shows like Seinfeld and Friends aren't enough in and of themselves vs. Brady Bunch to change societal trends.
Actually, I think the influence of Seinfeld is overblown. Clearly the seminal influence for many of the post- Baby Boom generation is "Sesame Street". Those guys all lived in a filthy alley. Lovable Oscar the Grouch was a dumpster-diving homeless guy.
Seriously, anyone raised on such a diet looks at H Street circa 2000 and thinks "This looks like home!"
I think we always seem to forget about the young black professionals who purchased homes within the H Street corridor that contributed to this revitalization! I along with at least 10 close friends all purchased homes here after college in the 90's. All from small towns..all with hundreds of thousands in equity. It's funny how we feel like invisible people! Many of you tend to think that all white folks have been the saviour of DC, and all black folks are the poor that need to go! You'd be surprised that many more of us are young professionals who are excited about our neighborhood and contribute to the tax base and growth of H Street!
9:43, I can't speak for everyone/everywhere around here, but on my block the recent additions (past several years) have been a mix of mostly black and white with a smattering of others (an Asian, or two) mixed in. Mostly, middle class for the buyers, and mixed socio economic class for the renters. If anyone thinks the middle class moving into/staying in DC is all white, they are wrong. Middle class blacks might be less noticeable during a daytime drive through of a neighborhood, but anyone who lives here knows that the local middle class population has a sizable black contingent. Some of the first people I met over here were middle class black folks who had either moved in over the recent years, or been here for a while. One woman had moved over here decades ago following a divorce, and truly made it her home, planting flowers/bulbs, and inviting neighbors to join her. It's people like her that bring us out of our shells and make us all good neighbors.
campy, if you come by the pug some night i'll tell you some funny wire stories. those guys hang out at the pug definitely. but there are others you skipped. layman fella, stop in some night for a drink with me, you seem more clever than me, but i bet i could give you some good info. rayful, when you seem to be keeping well abreast of things in supermax. see you when you're out. tonyt the pug
It's funny how we feel like invisible people! Many of you tend to think that all white folks have been the saviour of DC, and all black folks are the poor that need to go! You'd be surprised that many more of us are young professionals who are excited about our neighborhood and contribute to the tax base and growth of H Street!
I don't think there's anyone living in the neighborhood (and perhaps in DC) who doesn't get this. Of course, there are a lot of racist out-of-towners who comment on the Internet, so this skews things towards the ugly side of things.
36 comments:
I have a velocity. It generates an impressive arc, as well. Delete me! Delete me so hard.
I thought this was a very encouraging article though maybe a little more optimistic than I am. Hope he proves me wrong. I would love to loose the edgy he talks about and become Georgetown 2.
I'm no functionalist, but the revitalization of DC has more to do with economic and demographic factos than political ones. The movement of yuppies (mostly white) back into the city was a phenomena seen in cities all over the country. It was due to the increasing prices of suburbs, pushing people farther and farther out, leading to worse communte times. Marry lost all power in 1994, when Anthony Williams was appointed by Congress and the control board. If it really had to do with poilitics, DC's revitalization would be more unique, which it isn't. The demographic change is what has led to the political change. However, I do think that if Gray's administration continues to show signs of corruption, it might slow economic growth. But I doubt developers who hav plans years in the works are really going to change course because there was some quid pro quo in the DC Government.
Anon. 11:44:
Have to respectfully disagree with you. The demographic change in Capitol Hill started almost at the exact time Barry lost power. At that time, you started seeing more professionals moving into the area and buying run-down rowhouses that had been neglected for 30 years and fixing them up.
As Richard hinted at, it has to do with risk. Do you risk you're hard earned money fixing up a house in a city run by a crack-head or by someone who actually knows how to balance a budget (i.e., Williams).
Obviously, there are going to be a lot less people who are smart and have money who are going to want to invest with the crack-head run city.
I don't think Gray will be as bad as Barry (that would be like incompetence lightning striking twice) and I don't think he can stop the progress of development. That being said, I think he is already shaping up to be a "do-nothing" mayor who will be spending the majority of time in office just putting out the fires that his crony staff have started (see, e.g., Suilamon Brown).
Its sad really. When its all said and done, I think people might want to ask themselves if Fenty was such a bad guy after all. At least he was a competent, can-do mayor (despite his personality flaws).
I read elsewhere that tossing out Fenty in favor of electing Gray was a bit like drawing "19" in blackjack and doubling-down.
Was Fenty perfect? No. But he was an effective mayor. The coalition that got Gray elected was essentially very poor people who are suffering 10% unemployment, city bureaucrats (e.g. WTU) and their family members, and middle-class good government types.
The first group see development as a bad thing--that's money out of their pocket, or "some folks being left behind." The second group were just thrown under the bus with the announcement that (thank god) Kaya Henderson was going to be staying on as DCPS chancellor. And the third group are quite susceptible to a backlash if Gray doesn't pan out as a technocrat in the Williams/Fenty mold.
The only good sign is that, for all Gray's early missteps, it's looking more and more that it's the middle-class, good-government constituency he's decided to throw his lot in with.
Essentially his strategy needs to be to do everything Fenty did, but visit the black churches more often.
Fenty was a horrible politician.
Being a good politician (ie staying in touch) is part of the job of a big-city mayor.
So, even though I voted for him, I can't really argue that he was a great mayor.
Being a good politician (ie staying in touch) is part of the job of a big-city mayor.
Even more importantly, you need to know who to pay off. Ever wonder why "hype-men" like Sulaimon Brown and Sinclair Skinner are invaluable to mayoral campaigns? It's because there's a not insignificant minority of DC voters who are extremely susceptible to demagoguery.
Unfortunately, "staying in touch" is often synonymous with putting these chowderheads on the payroll so they can talk about how "real" you are, and how your opponent is in the pockets of the developers and gentrifiers.
"BIKE LANES FOR WHO???"
"Here's your wad o'cash. Thanks for your service to our fair city!"
Vincent Gray will never have my support because of the streetcar debacle. I think it's justice that he's squirming this early into his term. Maybe they'll unearth something that will cause us to have a revote. He's an embarrassment to the city.
what does the blogger mean by "edgy?"
just glad to have left this dump of a town
Anon 4:06,
If you were so glad to leave, why are you still interested in reading this blog? Sounds pretty lame.
Although you may have a point with all this stuff going on with Gray. I bet Fenty is laughing his ass off right now. And he should.
Anon 3:35,
I'll bite. I'm not the author, so I dont know the intent of the author.. but hanging out in H St. is certainly edgy-er than going out in, for example, Arlington.
A few examples would be the not infrequent smash and grabs of valuables from cars. We city folk know not to leave bags of stuff visible in a car. In arlington (speaking mostly of the ballston / clarendon / rossyln parts) .. its not really a concern.
Going for a jog on H St? I probably wouldnt be blasting an ipod oblivious to my surroundings (a common occurance in arlington) .. or choosing a path down dark alleys .. (They dont even have alleys)
To someone from the 'burbs .. going to H St. can feel like a daring adventure .. whether or not in reality your actual chances of something dangerous happening to you are significantly increased or not. The increased need for awareness alone is 'edgy'.
I wont even mention trying to parallel park a large truck on a small one way, watching them attempt it is frightening to me, haha.
@3:35,
I think Richard means edgy as in cool, and urban. He's writes of edginess as a positive quality which H Street would like to keep in the future. My reading is that the edginess he speaks of is the cool factor, the very reason the corridor has so much buzz right now. We have cool restaurants, bars, places to see live music, live theater, and some very cool art galleries. We also hosted a kick ass H Street Festival last years, and other events (like Thriller) that drew crowds.
@3:35,
I think Richard means edgy as in cool, and urban. He's writes of edginess as a positive quality which H Street would like to keep in the future. My reading is that the edginess he speaks of is the cool factor, the very reason the corridor has so much buzz right now. We have cool restaurants, bars, places to see live music, live theater, and some very cool art galleries. We also hosted a kick ass H Street Festival last years, and other events (like Thriller) that drew crowds.
ah. thanks Inked. I honestly didnt know for sure what he meant by "edgy," but I will admit that I was more inclined to think he was inferring somethin similar to what Anon 4:36 was thinking. Some times its hard to guess at a person's point of view right off the bat if you're not familiar with their writings.
Didn't Rhee have something to do with Fenty going down?
Yep, Maybe Rhee went down because she backed the school principals, and then Fenty backed her...unlike the current mayor who throws his people under the bus and has missteps.
@Anonymous 3:35
what does the blogger mean by "edgy?"
http://dcist.com/2009/12/street_view_captures_apparent_publi.php
Welcome to the neighborhood. We hope you enjoy your stay!
edgy sort of implies things not necessary done by the rules or conventions. it's not about crime. at all.
it's about what people are trying to do. the palace of wonders was a good example of edgy. so is gallery o/h.
so is the art walk. it's the stuff thats not glitzy and glossy and professionally designed.
its that the buildings aren't painted all historic and that they don't flow together in a perfect stream of cohesiveness. it's a little chaotic. it's that the signage looks crazy and handmade. it's that the places aren't carbon copies of places that exist elsewhere in the world. it's that buildings are retrofitted for their current incarnation, not places that were built up to be a restaurant or bar. it's that there are unexpected staircases and bathrooms that were jammed in to some illogical location. its not the place you think you're gramma will like, unless she's rockstar cool.
it's that you don't go see the most famous bands or artists, but you see people trying new stuff out, and the cover charge is cheap allowing for more experimentation.
yeah, you've seen it all before. downtown used to be edgy, georgetown used to be edgy, so did u street and adams morgan. the eastern edge of u street still is, but mostly edgy wears off as money rolls in and professionals are hired and neighborhoods are branded and the store displays and graphics are designed on a computer and approved by a committee. edgy is a place full of people that think they are changing the way people see the world. NoMa, for instance will never be edgy. and while it used to be sketchy, it was never edgy.
the opposite of edgy is friendship heights.
as for your interpretations of what I meant by edgy, the various interpretations offered by people are all correct. It's not a one or the other thing. And comparatively, yes Arlington today is not like H Street today. But neither is Clarendon of today like Clarendon of 1987 (it was the go to area for Vietnamese food then) or Virginia Square of 1987 is nothing like it is today.
Not to mention H Street of 1987. I laugh to myself over how H Street is described today, remembering the dozens of people murdered a few blocks from where I lived in 1987-1990. (i.e., Rayful Edmonds' crack distribution area)
And I am still flabergasted seeing white mothers pushing baby carriages on the 500 block of M Street NE (or on Rhode Island Ave. NE for that matter).
And yes, the kind of edginess on H Street present today is more consumable say than is the experience presented by the intersection of Minnesota Ave. and Pennsylvania Ave. SE.
It's all relative.
It's all very interesting.
Hey Layman, no 's'.
Mr. No Functionalist -- there is no question that the change in political leadership was essential to the movement of revitalization in DC from the innovator/early adopter phase, to the late adopter phase.
(This is based on the concept of the diffusion of innovations/innovation curve described by Rogers in _Diffusion of Innovation_.)
But I agree that it wasn't the same kind of factor like economics. More what Herzberg would call a "hygiene" factor in terms of the quality of the support structure around your choice.
Through 2003, you could find houses all over the neighborhood for under $125,000. And that's about what they cost in the late 1980s too, before the 1988 property downturn.
Before a major chunk of the population was ready to sign up for urban living, their sense of real risk had to be assuaged.
Before that it was the urban pioneers-people who were into cities despite the national trends and factors that still supported suburban living.
But the pioneers couldn't develop critical mass to spread out to all neighborhoods. Just some. And even the process of improvement in a place like Capitol Hill was one of incrementalism. It wasn't that long ago when living east of 6th St. and then living east of 8th St. was seen as insane.
TV shows like Seinfeld and Friends aren't enough in and of themselves vs. Brady Bunch to change societal trends.
As Inked knows, 'cause we've talked about it, I assert that the most important thing to happen to the improvement of the greater neighborhood was the creation of the infill subway station at "New York Avenue."
This broke down the fear barrier that H Street had formerly served as. After people knew the Metro was coming, people with choice started snapping up those houses...
That was as key as the creation of the H Street plan, the Atlas rehabilitation, other key property owners investing (like the Robeys or David Bernhardt, but not just them), Joe Englert, and Joe Fengler's figuring out that by installing the streetcar rails, that would accelerate the coming of the streetcar.
Oops... we never did it, but one of the things I wanted to do with the H Street Social and Cultural History Study that I managed in 2001-2002, was to do an oral history with Rayful Edmond.
Hey Layman, no 's'.
I think--with the plural-possesive--Richard was referring to both of you guys (i.e. "those Rayful Edmonds'").
TV shows like Seinfeld and Friends aren't enough in and of themselves vs. Brady Bunch to change societal trends.
Actually, I think the influence of Seinfeld is overblown. Clearly the seminal influence for many of the post- Baby Boom generation is "Sesame Street". Those guys all lived in a filthy alley. Lovable Oscar the Grouch was a dumpster-diving homeless guy.
Seriously, anyone raised on such a diet looks at H Street circa 2000 and thinks "This looks like home!"
friends, seinfeld, brady bunch. all fine and good. but was no once else influenced by welcome back kotter????
or fort apache, the bronx?
Many are influenced by Jimmy McNulty and Bunk Moreland, who presumably are regulars at the Pug.
I think we always seem to forget about the young black professionals who purchased homes within the H Street corridor that contributed to this revitalization! I along with at least 10 close friends all purchased homes here after college in the 90's. All from small towns..all with hundreds of thousands in equity. It's funny how we feel like invisible people! Many of you tend to think that all white folks have been the saviour of DC, and all black folks are the poor that need to go! You'd be surprised that many more of us are young professionals who are excited about our neighborhood and contribute to the tax base and growth of H Street!
9:43,
I can't speak for everyone/everywhere around here, but on my block the recent additions (past several years) have been a mix of mostly black and white with a smattering of others (an Asian, or two) mixed in. Mostly, middle class for the buyers, and mixed socio economic class for the renters. If anyone thinks the middle class moving into/staying in DC is all white, they are wrong. Middle class blacks might be less noticeable during a daytime drive through of a neighborhood, but anyone who lives here knows that the local middle class population has a sizable black contingent. Some of the first people I met over here were middle class black folks who had either moved in over the recent years, or been here for a while. One woman had moved over here decades ago following a divorce, and truly made it her home, planting flowers/bulbs, and inviting neighbors to join her. It's people like her that bring us out of our shells and make us all good neighbors.
"Edgy" means "contains visible poverty."
Pioneers killed Indians for their land.
http://blogs.forbes.com/erikkain/2011/03/08/adrian-fenty-and-michelle-rhee-support-governor-scott-walkers-union-busting/
campy,
if you come by the pug some night i'll tell you some funny wire stories. those guys hang out at the pug definitely. but there are others you skipped. layman fella, stop in some night for a drink with me, you seem more clever than me, but i bet i could give you some good info. rayful, when you seem to be keeping well abreast of things in supermax. see you when you're out.
tonyt
the pug
Joe Englert said:
I had nothing to do with the streetcars. So, if you hate them, it's not my fault. If you love them, I will take credit.
anon 9:43,
any of us white people worth our salt or even just pay attention already know that. i'm sorry you are made to feel invisible sometimes.
why would someone cop the moniker of a murder that caused a lot of suffering in this neighborhood.
very uncool.
It's funny how we feel like invisible people! Many of you tend to think that all white folks have been the saviour of DC, and all black folks are the poor that need to go! You'd be surprised that many more of us are young professionals who are excited about our neighborhood and contribute to the tax base and growth of H Street!
I don't think there's anyone living in the neighborhood (and perhaps in DC) who doesn't get this. Of course, there are a lot of racist out-of-towners who comment on the Internet, so this skews things towards the ugly side of things.
Wow! I'm the one that wrote regarding "feeling invisible". It's refreshing to see POSITIVE RESPONSES for a change! Thanks guys..means a lot!
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