Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Gentrified Neighborhoods Threatened!

Yes, The Onion has brought to light a new threat to gentrified neighborhoods like those in Ward 6 -- aristocratization! It seems that aristocrats are pushing out young white professionals from their neighborhoods. See this photo of Brooklyn!
Image from The Onion

From The Onion:
"When you have a bejeweled, buckle-shoed duke willing to pay 11 or 12 times the asking price for a block of renovated brownstones—and usually up front with satchels of solid gold guineas—hardworking white-collar people who only make a few hundred thousand dollars a year simply cannot compete," Kennedy said. "If this trend continues, these exclusive, vibrant communities with their sidewalk cafés and faux dive bars will soon be a thing of the past."...

"A three-block section of [Chicago neighborhood] Wicker Park that once accommodated eight families, two vintage clothing stores, a French cleaners, and a gourmet bakery has been completely razed to make way for a private livery stable and carriage house," Kennedy said. "The space is now entirely unusable for affordable upper-income condominium housing. No one can live there except for the odd stable boy or footman who gets permission to sleep in the hayloft."...
The aristocracy has adamantly dismissed claims that the sweeping changes are detrimental to the merely wealthy who have been displaced, and many persons of noble blood have pointed to aristocratization's benefits. These include lower crime rates attributed to new punishments, such as public floggings and the pillory, which are primarily meted out for maintaining direct eye contact with members of the highest class. 
How will Ward 6 fend off aristocratization? Or has it already succumbed? Watch out for those powdered wigs and horse-drawn carriages.

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