Humboldt Park & Gentrification

kjh: 4th Jul 2007 - 18:50 GMT

"systematic gentrification?" more like systematic commercialization. poor people should band together and buy property, houses, land, and try to ignore mass commercialism and pressures to conform to ever-changing fads and fashions.

Xavi: 7th Jul 2007 - 21:55 GMT

It is not only about class, but race as well. Instead of "poor people," in the context of Humboldt Park, it should be Puerto Ricans and Latinas/os.

Popeye & Maniac: 9th Aug 2007 - 04:56 GMT

Too many rats in humboldt park... I saw one run across the floor in a restaurant 2 days ago... I thought you guys were clean?

Glad I moved : 13th Aug 2007 - 21:36 GMT

what about the puerto rican families who have been in the humboldt area for along time and the buildings they own have gone up dramtically in price. They are selling for the money and moving elsewhere. My friend payed $37,000 for his 3 flat in 1979 and just sold it for $340,000. This is his retirement money now!!!!

Xavi: 17th Aug 2007 - 01:49 GMT

There are many stories of Puerto Rican families who are making a killing off of their homes by selling and moving to Florida, or back to Puerto Rico or wherever and they do so for many reasons. One reason is that parents have raised their children, all of whom now have their own homes or apartments and thus feel no reason to own an old house. Some just want to live somewhere else.

However, to often are stories of developers tricking (through a myriad of ways) or harassing families into selling, sometimes below the value of their homes. Or families being forced to leave because they no longer can afford the property taxes. Or being attacked with housing violations by city inspectors. Or people believing that the best life is outside Humboldt Park and regreting that they left and driving (or taking the bus) back every week to visit old friends and families. Again, in order to improve a community, one must have a community to begin with. To learn more about the detrimental affects of gentrification in Humboldt Park (which far outway the alleged "benefits") and the "move-out, move-up" mentality, read the community newspaper of La Voz del Paseo Boricua, which can be found at any Puerto Rican business in and around Paseo Boricua. Also, visit www.myspace.com/humboldtparkpd

Shon B.: 17th Aug 2007 - 07:06 GMT

I sadly agree. A lot of people who have moved into the old ethnic neighborhoods are being displaced. Many are moving to older suburban areas. Purposefully or not, a lot of big cities are gentrifying; displacing traditionally ethnic neighborhoods and replacing them with a whole different voter base.

Sam: 28th Aug 2007 - 17:21 GMT

I remember when this neighborhood was Italian. My grandmother owned a house on division street between Chicago and North Avenues. The neighborhood was beautiful and the houses well maintained. The Our Lady of the Angels Fire destroyed the families of Humboldt Park and many of them moved to escape the memory of the fire. This white flight allowed the neighborhood to swiftly become a ghetto. I tried to visit the old neighborhood a few years ago and couldn't even stop at a red light. there were so many people just standing on the street corner drinking and yelling. It was ridiculous. Why wouldn't you want that neighborhood to gentrify? Take the money and run.

Xavi: 7th Sep 2007 - 04:02 GMT

Most of the eastern part of Humboldt Park until the mass Puerto Rican migration of the 1940's and '50's was Jewish and Polish, with some German and Italian elements. When those ethnic groups were the majority it was a ghetto - that's why they left. If you read some of Saul Bellow's books you will see how he described the destitution of the Jewish population by Damen and Division (now "Wicker Park) that is comparable to any black or Latino ghetto in the U.S. However, those groups assimilated into whitenness (after they took advantage of the rich social networks and institutions that were created after being stable in a particular enclave for so long. Urban Renewal and gentrification, as well as the industrial-to-service economy shift has taken that away from present-day immigrant and marginalized populations) and fled to the suburbs through the GI Bill housing vouchers (which were highly discriminatory) after WWII. A few classes in Sociology will teach you all this.

Humboldt Park has its social ills (and as you can see from the rest of my diatribe, there are specific historical/social/political reasons why) but it is a ghetto struggling to maintain the rich social networks, organization, institutions, and cultural symbols that are needed in order to address and solve those social ills. Gentrification hightens that problem. Greed and flight ignores the problem.

To learn more about the anti-gentrification struggle in Puerto Rican Humboldt Park, please visit www.myspace.com/humboldtparkpd or go here for a caldendar of events: http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b113/TresCaminos/Xavi%20Pics/PDCalendar.jpg

Vinamon: 24th Sep 2007 - 02:16 GMT

Xavi, read the post above. Heard of the Our Lady of the Angels School Fire?

brando: 28th Sep 2007 - 15:49 GMT

Ive lived in HP for 5 years and love many things about the Hood, like being so close to wicker Park and paying alot less rent. ., but I have never been able to understand how a people so "proud" can live with so little pride. The litter, the gangs of little kids with guns, the tags, the nonstop horn honking, the unkept yards, the racist behavior towards anyone not PR. If your so "Proud" start showing some pride, this could be a great neighborhood.

Jason: 11th Oct 2007 - 01:25 GMT

I'm sorry to agree with Gentrification, The old Southeast Side used to be a mecca of beautiful homes with flowers and families enjoying life in the 1970's-early 80's. The area was majority Irish, Serbian and Croatian. Today it is a pit of violence and has become a ghetto. All the good people who kept everything clean have moved to the Northside of Chicago or to Indiana. If anything Getrification needs to come full force to the Southside.

Christopher : 8th Apr 2008 - 21:36 GMT

I agree of what they they are saying. The bad people should not come and take over by buying housing and making a condo and expensive for others.

Christopher: 22nd Apr 2008 - 22:35 GMT

It is not fair for people to be living in the bad conditions. Also that people need to respect the Humboldt Park residents who live here. Not to push people out of their homes.

Christopher: 24th Apr 2008 - 22:56 GMT

People need to step up and do the right thing for Humboldt Park. Such as the Mayor of chicago needs to do something about the case.

ChiPhi: 7th May 2008 - 18:42 GMT

Christopher and others, why is there always a: "...somebody needs to do something to help..." why don't people take responsibility and pride for their own? I have lived in this neighborhood for 5 years now and it is astounding how little respect for the 'hood most 'traditional' residents have. The litter, liquor bottles everywhere, kids cursing up a storm, graffitti, gangs, absence of viable/sustainable business on Division (Paseo Boriqua) which could provide an economic boost to the area...I can go on and on. Is this what people are fighting to preserve? No handouts, each community that has made it have energized themselves and progressed. Not sustain by regressing and keeping the community 'down'. Gentrification is a fact of capitalism. The 'so-called' yuppies also worked hard for what they got in school, at work etc...so why make them bad guys for looking to invest in an affodable neighborhood with potential? If you can't stand the heat then up your game, work to afford the condos, go to school. Time waits for no one...the Mayor is not coming to save anybody!

CaptainVideo: 18th May 2008 - 07:10 GMT

What you are doing is no different that all white communities banning together to keep blacks from moving in because they are afraid that they will bring crime and lower property values.

Humbolt is not a Hispanic name, it is an Anglo name. Humbolt Park was not always Puerto Rican in the past, and there is no reason why it should remain Puerto Rican in the future.

Most immigrant groups after they have established themselves in the city move out to the suburbs where there is less crime, no gangs and better schools. The Puerto Ricans who are selling their property to the gentrifiers at a high price and buying a nice bungalo in the suburbs are the smart ones.

kls: 30th Jul 2008 - 02:42 GMT

My husband and I have lived in Humboldt Park for 4 years since moving to Chicago from Guatemala. I cannot think of a better compromise for us both. I love being near the shops and restaurants in Wicker Park. He loves that he can go to the corner store or the coffee shop and speak Spanish (easing the culture shock of the move for both of us). We know lots of couples like us who have embraced the neighborhood for this reason. We also love the neighborhood because it is one of few in the city that is truly integrated. Just on our block we are Puerto Ricans, Ukranians, Polish, Arabs, Cubans, Mexicans, Guatemalans, Asians, Argentinians, Italians, African Americans, Caucasian Americans, hipsters, rockeros, Harley reiders, little old Ukranian ladies who have lived in their homes for 90 years.

I find, however, that on Division Street people treat me very differently when I am with my husband versus when I am on my own - hard stares and even refusing service. It hurts my feelings and begs the question - where are multiracial families to live?

I love the cultural richness found on the Paseo Boricua, but hate to see this cultural pride tied to dysfunctional American culture in the form of trash, anger, gangs and violence. All of my neighbors are happy to see the mellowing on our street. No one, no matter how long they have lived on the block, is unhappy to see the car burnings stop and the crack houses rehabed. Everyone's gardens, rich or poor, look brighter since the corner store turned into a flower shop. If this is gentrification, is it so bad?

Urban areas are fluid beings that ebb and flow over time. It is sad to see what we have known change, but also sad to waste so much energy on antagonism rather than embracing the positive.

Jason: 22nd Aug 2008 - 17:21 GMT

What's most ironic is that liberals are deeply "conservative" when it comes to gentrification. They are seeking to take a vibrant city of constant flux and movement and freeze it in time.

No one group has the right to claim a neighborhood. The Puerto Ricans are not the 1st nor will they be the last group to dominate Humboldt Park. It started out German (in fact it was named after Von Humboldt), then Norweigan, then Polish-Italian-Jewish, then Hispanic and now some whites are moving in.

If you want a static, frozen society move to a "progressive" country like Cuba or North Korea.

Jason: 22nd Aug 2008 - 17:25 GMT

Here's something to contemplate:

Welfare and other social programas that "progressives" love so much are extremely costly. Between section-8, medicare, foodstamps and 101 other prograns a welfare family easily runs the tax payers $20,000 per year.

The only thing that's sustaining these constantly escalating programs is the infusion of more tax dollars brought on by the "evil yuppies" who are moving into the city.

Without these "evil yuppies" how are you going to pay for these programs?

Xavi: 7th Sep 2008 - 19:34 GMT

Humboldt Park has its social ills (and as you can see from the rest of my diatribe, there are specific historical/social/political reasons why) but it is a ghetto struggling to maintain the rich social networks, organization, institutions, and cultural symbols that are needed in order to address and solve those social ills. Gentrification hightens that problem. Greed and flight ignores the problem.

To learn more about the anti-gentrification struggle in Puerto Rican Humboldt Park, please visit www.myspace.com/humboldtparkpd

arquitecto: 11th Sep 2008 - 00:28 GMT

Xavi, good post. I feel your pain. I am a central american immigrant who grew up in cleveland. Went to school in Portland and am living in Sacramento CA. I have gained a little perspective on the issues surrounding gentrification. I see rich folks who want to move in to urban neighborhoods their ancestors had forsaken in an era drenched with artificially bloated prosperity derived from cheap oil. Their spatial positing and the heavily contested terrain of gentrification speaks to a shift in the way people are structuring their lives post-peak oil. However, being displaced from an increasingly desirable neighborhood sucks.
Without struggles (like your's Xavi) to retain the character and identity of a neighborhood, many economically disadvantaged peoples will find themselves populating the fantasy lands of the past. Suburbia stands in a vulnerable place to negotiate the waves of economic and resource disparity that will pulse through North America's imminent fall from grace.
When we refuse to give up our place in our neighborhoods we must have a clear vision of the future. How can we incorporate and adapt our existing social, economic and cultural structures into a cohesive vision of our future? Can we embrace differences and thrive on collaborative diversity? We must work together to envision a viable future based on a concrete understanding of the explicit and increasingly pertinent limitations of humanity and our mother earth.

Humboldt1: 22nd Sep 2008 - 17:23 GMT

Arquitecto,

Seriously, you don't need to use all the 5 dollar words. I have been in Humboldt Park for the past 3 years, having purchased an apartment building here in which I live. I continue to own and rent out property I have in Itasca. I know more about gentrification than most would ever want to, having lived in and studied it from a commercial real estate perspective (I work as a commercial banker here in Chicago).

I am one of those rich white people you are talking about moving back into an area that my ancestors abandoned due to cheap oil (though my ancestors are all farmers from Indiana). I am doing far more to improve the neighborhood than the thugs who came here before me.

Humboldt Park has alot of challenges. The area has improved the past 3 years slightly, though I wish it would look more like its neighbor to the north Logan Square, which also has its challenges, though perhaps less so. I think in 5-10 years, Humboldt Park will be even nicer, though I worry about the areas south of Grand Avenue, which seem to be run down and dominated by a bunch of black thugs. The Puerto Ricans in Humboldt Park certainly have their gangs, but I have had a much more favorable experience with Puerto Ricans and Mexicans in Humboldt Park and in general than I have had with blacks, having had to forcibly evict 3 black families at gunpoint with Cook County Sherriffs this past winter. I now have Mexican and Puerto Rican tenants and have had no problems other than the occassional late rent check.

I am looking to buy more buildings in the near future, but will be focusing on Logan Square and Bucktown as the real estate crisis has made these areas affordable to me again.

Humboldt/West Bucktown - whichever you prefer: 27th Sep 2008 - 05:42 GMT

I've been in this area for over 6 years. Bought a condo 3BR/3BA. The first year was rough with all the random shootings at night. I get the scoop from the locals, like my neighbor who doesn't work but hangs out in front of his porch. I think he's a section 8 candidate. Anyhow, alot of developments in the area. My place recently got appraised for $390K. Purchased it 6 years ago for $280. The area has gotten a lot nicer with the yuppies moving in.

I'm not sure why people are still claiming areas as theirs and so closed minded to gentrification. Just like gangbangers and their imaginary lines and territories. This is how ignorance starts. Humboldt has turned around because of gentrification. The shootings are still happening but not as frequent. If the pioneers wants to preserve then I suggest to ride the change and be a good host/neighbor. It's OUR community now! You know the change is good and as far as my neighbor, we're happy we can mingle. No judgement needed.

Humboldt1: 3rd Oct 2008 - 20:51 GMT

I am happy to get rid of all the gangbangers. I have confronted drug dealers and will surely do it again. I do not want the kids on my street living around this crap. I am a single guy with significant resources both monetarily and politically, so I don't fear the gangs.

If they want to confront me I welcome it. I doubt they will be any match for the police that taxpayers like me pay for. The neighborhood is better off with them not around. I can't buy every building and kick them out but I will be buying a number of buildings over the next 10-20 years and will be certain there is no place for people who ascribe the gang lifestyle in my buildings.

There is no West Bucktown. That is what realtors tell you to get you to buy a place.

I like Humboldt Park, particularly east of California, but think Logan Square is a bit further along with regards to gentrification and will be focusing most of my time and energy on acquiring properties near the california and western el stops in Logan Square and Bucktown. Areas west of Kedzie will take longer to gentrify. I know this personally as I already own an apartment building just east of Pulaski near north avenue.

dena: 7th Oct 2008 - 13:47 GMT

I have lived in the Humboldt Park area all my 50 years and seen many changes for the better yet the gangs are a big problem still in our community and schools in the area are getting worse. I live on a fix in-come and fear higher taxes will force me to sell there is too many families living in small units which, I feel is adding to over-crowding and violence when gang lifestyle in becoming the norm we need to hold home owners and building owners accountable for whom they alowed to rent in the units that they know are breaking laws.