dengeist

t1_j5qg402 wrote

I can see you’re ignoring the important ideas here and you’re sticking to your belief. The point is, it’s not the same and it’s not going to look the same as anywhere else. It doesn’t matter what you would do, it is what is. This isn’t about anti-gentrifiers, at all. Gentrification is a nice way of saying whiter. It’s not going to happen like it did in any other city, because minorities own those homes and they’re not leaving; and for what? What reason do they have to leave?

You’re citing Jersey City, but I can tell you don’t spend much time there. Large parts of Jersey City are not gentrified, only downtown (Paulus hook), Exchange place/the waterfront are gentrified. Marion, Greenville and other parts simply aren’t and they’re pretty much the same as they’ve always been. Why? Because they’re residential areas where minorities own the homes and have for years.

The status quo in Newark would be slum lords owning those houses in the south and west wards. That is simply not the case anymore.

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t1_j5phufi wrote

That’s all well and good. However the South and West wards are primarily residential, which is why I said those will be the last. There isn’t enough space in those wards to build say…a Vermella. So you aren’t going to see those types of developments there. You may get some modernized fill in houses in empty lots, but that’s about it.

Gentrification won’t look the same in the south and west wards, simply because of the nature of the existing housing there. As long as there is no commuter friendly solution to get to NYC, those two wards will lag behind. At the same time, there are houses for sale, but it’s not Tom from Kansas who works in the city buying those houses. That means, at best the South and West wards will be more mixed, but not ‘gentrified’ in a traditional sense. It may become a little more white due to younger millennial and Gen-Z being priced out, but that’s it. How would the existing minority homeowners be moved? Just because the houses are being bought by minorities doesn’t mean they aren’t being improved.

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t1_j5kll0m wrote

It’s going to happen to all wards eventually. Once people realize the size of homes in the south and west wards and the prices drop back down to reasonable levels, you’ll see it take more shape. The south ward could benefit from a light rail to Weequahic park. That would speed things up drastically.

It’s already happening though. If you look on a site like Zillow or Redfin there isn’t much stock in Newark at all. Nobody that knows Newark is going to pay 450k for a house on S. 17th street. Someone is buying houses.

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t1_iriv0b5 wrote

I’m all for progress, but at the same time Newark does a pretty crappy job of preserving its history. For a city that was founded in 1666, there are very few historical sites.

That hotel does have a history, both good and bad. A lot of famous black musicians stayed there when black broadway was in that area. It was also a crackhead and hooker spot.

I’m on the fence about converting it into apts, but I don’t think it can continue as a hotel, the history should be preserved somehow.

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