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Peace in our time: New York Times declares South Boston 'tamed'
By adamg on Thu, 06/21/2007 - 12:55pm
Every June, the New York Times travel section writes about some marvelously chic little Boston neighborhood it's discovered. Last year, it declared the South End almost hip. This June, it pronounces Southie tamed, i.e., the streets are no longer lined with beefy hooligans waiting to shiv anxious-looking New Yorkers (obviously, the story was written before recent events). It's even illustrated with an ICA photo (surprise!) that's captioned:
The Institute of Contemporary Art sits on the HarborWalk, designed to reconnect the South Boston waterfront to the rest of the city.
Because, you know how difficult it was to get to Southie before the HarborWalk was completed, which, well, er, um, it hasn't been, but no matter, because until the ICA opened, a trip to Southie meant rushing in in a convoy of armored Escalades with plenty of bodyguards:
... While a few factories were converted into artists' lofts over the last two decades, it remained a seedy place. ...
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Comments
"taming" southie. how ... condescending.
Frankly the NYT should go back to DUMBO and Williamsburg and continue to chortle over how those neighborhoods are getting hit with the gentrification firehose.
I mean, seriously.
If you think that naming your neighborhood DUMBO is a great idea, you've got quite a few more problems than fearing for your life while driving down Congress Street past the Children's Museum.
Remember "Sobo"? Who are
Remember "Sobo"? Who are these outsiders who come in and think they can rename neighborhoods to fit their style. The yuppies and developers want to New York-ize Boston by making every neighborhood into some awful trendy/hip yuppie enclave.
Tired of the Cult of ICA
Seriously, I'm tired of the ICA being heralded as the greatest architectural achievement in the city's history.
One day, it will be spoken of in the same breath as city hall. That day will come when simply putting a terrible design behind a wall of glass is no longer a means by which to transform a hideous monolithic block into a prize-winning structure.
"Tamed"
As one of the "Old Guard" I look at someting like this as both humorous and arrogant. I thank God everyday people like the NY Times finally arrrived to save us. South Boston will end up a like lot of other neighborhoods in Boston. The North End is nothing more than a theme park. The South End a high priced yuppie ghetto. Charlestown an enclave of equally high priced real estate.
Sadly, South Boston is rapidly heading in this direction. What busing and other social experiments failed to do the marketplace has accomplished. Our neighborhood will consist of people who go to work, return from work and stay to themselves (mostly). There will be a small number of citizens that will be involved in issues. But nothing like we've seen in the years past.
I guess this is what passes for progress today.
Pretty sad that Southie and
Pretty sad that Southie and soon to be Dot is turning into another elitist yuppie enclave. I love how these developers are building way too much condos and flooding the market furthering screwing up the market. I pray thay loose every penny and go bankrupt.