
Artists getting evicted in Detroit - rmason
https://www.bridgemi.com/detroit/thanks-making-detroit-cool-artists-heres-your-eviction
======
LarryDarrell
I can only speak about the Midtown Detroit where I lived from 2002 to 2008. It
was a group of students, artists, musicians and old-timer bohemians that made
that area great and interesting. The only common denominator was that nobody
had much money.

Once the suburban kids from more wealthy suburban families started to move in
it was all but over. I visited recently and the rough edges and patina and
unpredictability has been worn away by the safe suburban values and esthetics
of the new residents.

I know it gets tiresome to hear, "You don't know what it was like, man." in
regards to gentrification. But I can get over-stylized brew pubs, twee
boutiques, foodie small plates and corporate sponsored street fairs anywhere.
Those things where not there when it was deemed "Cool". My rent was $400 that
I split, the same (rather shitty) apartment now goes for $1600. When the cost
of living goes up like that, you've shut our a lot of interesting people
looking for a chance to do something interesting.

People with money are chasing "Cool" and it's the one thing you cannot truly
buy.

~~~
sverige
I was 'cool' for a couple of years or so in Seattle in the late 80s and early
90s. Lived in the last frame house in Belltown, made art and had lots of
artist friends, saw Nirvana and four other bands for $5 at Squid Row, have
pictures of my out of town friends at Jimi Hendrix' original grave, ate cheap
soup for lunch lots of days at Pike Place Market, and generally was so much
cooler than the people I left behind in the Midwest that it was impossible to
quantify.

I don't miss those days. In fact, it seems like a gigantic waste of time 30
years later. Glad I got out when I did.

~~~
Rediscover
> last frame house in Belltown

Curious, was that the one on the 2200 block of Second, or the one on Lenora
and Post Alley? If the latter, do You have any pics?

~~~
sverige
IIRC, it was between Broad and Cedar off of First, back on the lot toward Post
Alley, across from the Labor Temple. Any pics I have are buried somewhere in
storage, unfortunately.

Edit: It might've been between Broad and Eagle. It's been almost 30 years and
the neighborhood has completely changed.

It was directly uphill from the Union 76 Superfund site, which might be the
sculpture park now. I remember watching the trucks swoop in one day as they
put up fences around the site. Our property was managed by a somewhat crazy
SEIU member who was a direct descendant of a surviving male member of the
Donner Party.

~~~
Rediscover
Thanks for the info and the great description ("...Donner party").

My partner at that time quite possibly was an over-seerer of the activities
You described, she did superfund environmental impact stuff and I vaguely
recall something about it. There was a small house I really admired on Post &
Lenora, it was there until the early 2000's (I lived <50 meters away).

~~~
sverige
Ah yes, I was very likely wrong when I said it was the last one. It was
certainly the last one I saw regularly. I moved to Wallingford after that, and
then later to Squire Park, before I left the area entirely.

------
supernova87a
Being artists, old, hipster, gay/lesbian, etc shouldn't give anyone special
rights to claim that they need to be specially immunized from the pressures of
the world.

It's just a fact that people who make something, invent, come up with a good
idea, make a place better, eventually are going to be disappointed by the
masses who take up their ideas/places and lack the same reverence for what
they created by replacing it with money.

Many of the inventors of, say radio/cellphones, medicines, technologies, or
chefs, painters, architects, fashion designers, would probably be rolling in
their graves with what the mass market has done with their original lofty
ideas. It happens to everyone, and you move on. If you're lucky you take
advantage of some of the value of what you created.

It's no different for people who own a house, live in a community that became
hot. They created something (and, by the way, many did not, they just lived
there), and now what they created is appealing enough that more people want to
live where they live.

For those that owned property, they get plenty out of the deal. For those that
don't and rented, well, gentrification is not the first time that someone who
rents loses out compared to being a property holder. That's a wholly separate
issue.

Feel free to suggest how to change human nature and the way people and the
masses behave.

~~~
soganess
The machinery being critiqued is not the same thing as an individual asking
for special treatments.

If most instances of a place growing desirable because human(vs financial)
investment results in said place being overrun by an influx of wealth
disparity that eventually restructures the space into a corporate-safe shell
of its former self then there will be a chilling effect that stops the former
from happening. You can show up to a place and not immediately outbid all your
neighbors for the most desirable spots. Having wealth is not the same as
exercising wealth.

Nor is gentrification a single instance, its the accepted mechanism that those
with more wealth employee to claim the non-tangible identities created by
those with less. It's the emergent result of this socialized desire for
something "cool and authentic"(whatever that nonsense means) buckled up with
tools afforded by a normalization of conspicuous consumption.

We are eroding the individual identities of American cities, the people who
are being displaced do lose something more than the opportunity to live in a
geographic location, and pretending it's inevitable/"just how things are" will
eventually result in a nationwide reduction in non-financial investing in
cities. It stinks for everyone, even those doing the gentrifying. Where will
one move too when all the cool places are gone?

I know I sound like Jimmy Carter telling everyone to wear a cardigan and turn
the heater down, but we all just need to learn to let things be. Even if they
are exciting, especially if they are exciting.

~~~
supernova87a
You speak as if the one and only important metric of a place is how many
street murals and tattoo parlors there are. And that coolness of a place
should be enough justification to prevent anyone else from enjoying its
benefits. Loss of coolness == bad, huh?

What about gentrification as a force for reducing crime, raising property
values in a place (yes, actual uncouth $ value for people who invested, even
unwittingly, and now receive value beyond just being able to get a good
burrito), and housing people who previously were searching and couldn't afford
to live elsewhere?

Just because gentrification comes with some corporate associations doesn't
mean it isn't supporting and benefiting millions of actual people. People who,
yes, probably aren't fluent in a 2nd language, can't make a good empanada
themselves, and are more boring than the people they replace. But who bring
stability, more prosperity and resources, and safety margin of not falling
back into urban decay?

Who are you to say that their use of a community is less worthy than the
former occupants? Who gets to decide? Who gets to decide, day to day, and
house by house, when someone living there dies or moves, who is "worthy" to
move in to replace them? Or are you also suggesting that no one ever be
allowed to move in there unless they pass some sort of coolness test?

And, by the way, do you mourn the one-before occupants who were displaced by
the current creatives / "desireables" so concerned with gentrification now?

~~~
pharke
Gentrification seems to be a form of domestic tourism. It at least grows from
the same vine as the travelers lust for authentic experience of a culture. A
few tourists here and there do little harm but mobs of them can completely
skew the local economy towards servicing their needs.

------
barce
"The irony of a group fighting gentrification by committing one of its most
brutal acts – eviction – isn’t lost on Lee."

A non-profit that works against gentrification is the one evicting the
artists! Oh, the irony!

~~~
dahart
I feel like the article was playing this point up so much that it bordered on
unfair to the new owner, they’re being painted as hypocrites, but they did buy
the building and they do need space to work, and according to the article they
tried. It’s a no-win situation, but the people being moved just had their
expectations set too high. Some groups that face this situation form co-ops
and buy the place themselves.

~~~
mc32
I think it’s a lesson for everyone. The world doesn’t work on idealism. From
time to time you have to deal with reality. This is one of those times.
Perhaps they all learn some perspective from this.

------
envoked
I grew up in Cleveland and since moving out every city I've lived in has had
an issue with gentrification (Boston, NYC, SF, Portland).

While I empathize with the individuals affected, part of me can't help
thinking of it as a good problem on the city level. Growing up there were
places where the copper piping was more valuable than the houses. Even now
there's plenty of properties to buy sub $20k, close to mass transit, farmer's
markets, and places like Case Western University.

Maybe some of the affected in Detroit will move down to Cleveland and one day
I too will have the luxury of complaining about gentrification.

------
sdinsn
> “It sucks that our vision has to come at the cost of artists who have used
> and loved that space,” Lee said. “There’s no way around it. It absolutely
> sucks.”

No way around it? Was this the only building in Detroit?

~~~
DoreenMichele
It was the only one they could get. They kept getting outbid by buyers with
more cash.

Which doesn't excuse it. They apparently got the building in part because they
were expected to let the artists stay.

It sounds almost like a bait and switch. They probably were not consciously
and intentionally trying to scam anyone, but they took the deal and then
changed their mind after the fact about how they would handle everything.

Also:

 _But Allied Media’s staff grew by 40 percent, another tenant needed more
space and the City of Detroit wouldn’t allow the building to claim partial
tax-exempt status as a nonprofit if it housed for-profit artists, Lee said._

~~~
crooked-v
I wonder how viable it would be to set up a one-person non-profit corporation
that pays its owner-operator a reasonable wage off the proceeds of sold art.

~~~
DoreenMichele
Probably impossible given that non-profits require a board.

But I do wonder what other creative solutions might have been possible and
either weren't explored or weren't pursued agressively enough to succeed die
to lack of resources yadda.

------
thomk
4th generation Detroiter here.

The murals and commissioned graffiti around the city are very, very cool. The
Dequindre cut alone is an outdoor art museum.

With that said, though, all the cool street art in the world isn't going to
bring this city back. Investment and land development will though and that
means higher rents. I hate to see what is going on in Eastern Market for
instance.

What outsiders and visitors may not realize is how geographically big Detroit
is. Boston, Manhattan, and San Francisco would all inside the city limits of
Detroit, for instance. Detroit is safe in _pockets_. Downtown, midtown, cork-
town, belle isle, Eastern Market, Hamtramck and a few blocks on the east side
(and others) are all ok to go visit for the suburbanites. But you don't cross
from one to the other without your car.

I have heard it said that Detroit isn't a city that was forgotten, Detroit is
a city that just doesn't give a damn. Go 1 block outside of any of those
pockets and you'll see what I mean.

My dream is those pockets touch, and we get a subway or some real mass transit
and we'll feel like a whole city.

Here's what it's like to enjoy the city as a suburbanite. You get in your car,
drive straight to your destination (probably downtown) go to your event, maybe
hit a nearby bar or restaurant, then get back to your car before it's too late
and drive out of Detroit back to the safe neighborhood you live in outside of
the city limits.

It sucks. It has sucked for a long time and it's just now getting better. You
can see it happening, downtown and midtown are basically contiguous now. We
have 3 new sports stadiums and downtown is actually fun now.

I know it sucks that rent is going up, but that is a small side effect in my
opinion. Riots in the 60s, systemic, chronic, oppressive corruption (including
an ex mayor who is still in federal jail), the city declared bankruptcy a
short 6 years ago and it wasn't that long ago you could literally golf the
length of Detroit.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9uzDelNvDg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9uzDelNvDg)

I'm a big street art fan, but, I for one welcome our new landlord overlords.

------
rectang
That's the market. It is savage to the naive and ill-prepared. Charitable
property owners will eventually be out-competed by ruthless ones.

~~~
kd5bjo
> Charitable property owners will eventually be out-competed by ruthless ones.

While true, the primary virtue of being an _owner_ is that you’re free to do
whatever you want with your property, even if there is a different, more
profitable, use. These evictions are entirely the property owners’ choice, and
have not been forced by competition.

What we have here is a demonstration that they are _capitalists_ , and not
_philanthropists_. I don’t think that comes as much of a surprise to anyone.

~~~
deogeo
That's the primary reason I'm opposed to real-estate taxes (at least for small
to reasonably large lots) - they force you on a hamster wheel just to keep
what you have. If they're pegged to property values (not just area) they act
as eminent domain - you either use your property in some market-driven way, or
be forced to sell it as keeping it becomes unaffordable.

No room for sentiment or tradition - develop or die.

~~~
ryandrake
But, if they're not tied to property values, you get what's happening in
California: Older people, simply by virtue of them being here first, end up
being able to enjoy million-dollar neighborhoods while paying $hundreds in
taxes. While younger people pay 10X more in taxes to live in 0.25X the
neighborhood.

It's like domain squatting but with homes.

~~~
jimmaswell
It doesn't make sense to me how people who oppose gentrification pushing poor
residents out of areas would be fine with higher property taxes pushing old
people out of areas. Maybe it's ageism. Both seem bad to me. It's not even
like California's budget is suffering - they have a huge surplus.

~~~
deogeo
I think it's because the connection to one's home has been devalued. That
there is no legitimacy in wanting to live where one grew up. That it's somehow
entitled to expect to stay without paying for it - 'it' being taxes, since the
house was already paid for.

------
Kalium
> “What’s going on now in Detroit is gentrification, stuff with no meaning.”

I can only assume that someone being so stereotypical is deliberately being
ironic.

------
segmondy
properties are so cheap in Detroit, you can afford one working at McDonalds
provided you don't have significant debt. If artists want to live in Detroit,
they can.

~~~
wozniacki
Tangential to your point, why are artists uniquely carved out as a privileged
group ( or under-privileged depending on your read on things ) here as opposed
to other similarly suffering groups?

Isn't a HVAC-technician with a small family just as not affected by sky-high
rents & the displacement that follows gentrification?

I don't get why artists are owed a 'quota', as such.

~~~
slang800
HVAC-technicians could become a privileged group too, if they had more friends
working in journalism.

------
pkaye
I though there was lot of vacant properties in that area?

~~~
segmondy
There are tons of "cheap" properties, the smart thing would be for these
artists to buy their own right now while they can still afford it.
Unfortunately they are going to have to move locations as the "hip" areas are
now expensive.

~~~
pkaye
If their belief is that their work is makes the place hip then it would make
sense to buy up a few cheap properties and benefit from the growth.

------
slang800
Renting property sucks and comes with a lot of risk.

~~~
dang
Please don't post shallow dismissals here.

[https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html](https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html)

------
TedDoesntTalk
This is hacker news?

~~~
dang
Anything intellectually interesting is welcome on HN. This article is as
detailed and well-written as many others that interest people here.

[https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html](https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html)

------
ndiscussion
Happening in Portland too. Wonder which will drive the yuppies out first - the
boredom of New Los Angeles, or the bad weather.

They seem to like the New Los Angeles as long as they can tell their friends
they live in Portland or Detroit. So I'm betting on the weather.

