Is it possible to discuss the real District 3 issues in the election for a city council member for District 3?
Over at Facebook there is a group for District 3. When I posted there about the problem created by Sawantism .. her use of crowds to block discussion nf real issues … I was met by vitriolic defenses, accusing me variously of being a racist (she is a light brown Brahmin), a sexist (I am a male) and being a defender of Israel’s Nazi behavior (I am a Jew, Israel is not Nazi Germany).
So, let me do my best to list some of the MY real issues and hope that others who live in the District will take up the speaker stick:
1. Is Gentrification another word for Apartheid? The rent crisis is real but that alone does not explain the ethnic impoverishment happening in District 3. As our streets turn pinkish, I wonder if the effect is not to make the once divers District more like Bellevue Mall? Is it easier to sell condos to Amazonians if the streets look the Eastside?
A clear measure of the success of Seattle’s apartheid is to look at the schools in District 3. Has anybody noticed that Garfield’s music program has fewer and fewer Black performers?? Can Garfield’s famed Basketball team prosper without Black players or will the District find some way to import players the way the UW does?
Why do middle class African Americans NOT decide to live here? It is not just money. Many from this community have chosen to move to Bellevue or nicer areas near Renton. I suggest that the District has become an unfriendly place not only for Black families but for all other ethnic groups ranging from the Catholic community that used to fill North Capital Hill to Ethiopian people who have created the nucleus of their community with a church and shops in the Central District.
One answer is “Africatown.” Is it to late for this sort of effort in District 3?
2. Where Have the Artists Gone? It is not JUST traditional ethnic groups that are being driven out. The Pike/Pine 12th corridors were until recently the home for a vibrant arts community. That community does need reasonable rents BUT it contributes hugely to the District. What can be done to keep this a good place for artist studios? Why aren’t art galleries being attracted to all those new retail spaces?
3. Where Have the Old Folks Gone? I can answer this .. anyplace but the third
The nearest movie theater to the Third District is downtown. Our only major street, Broadway, has narrow pedestrian unfriendly sidewalks with no small parks and little area for street side cafes.
district. Why? Selling a house here is easy but living here as an older person is not so good. The District is missing the cultural attractions that should be here and has few if any retirement homes.
4. Light Rail is Great .. Unless You Can Not Get There! As someone who lives on Capitol Hill, works at the UW campuses on South Lake Union and the Ship Canal, AND commutes to the airport … light rail seems to be a great idea. Except that the planners created the thing with no plans for parking at the Broadway station and no effort to increase local transit on the Hill. When I talk with them, I heat that I should (at age 73) ride my bike more.
5. Screw the UW! Listening to Kshama Sawant the only housing issue is poor people (she seemingly wants to build tenements someplace) but the UW does need housing for grad students and junior faculty. Amazon style podments certainly will not work for young faculty. They need real homes including shops and schools. Looking at the map, it seems as if those folks should want to live here but where? How do we develop housing these folks (like artists) can afford?
In the meantime, do any of the candidates understand that the UW already has a huge presence here? Who do they think works at Harborview? For that matter how many of the staff of hospitals on pill hill or faculty at SU or Seattle Central are D3 residents??
6. Oh yeah, there are kids! Our former mayor Norm Rice told us that Seattle was a great place for families to raise kids. Is that true in District 3??? One issue that may be ripe is preK. The mayor has started a pilot program but today’s families … two working parents or one parent … need preK. PreK must be in the interest of the UW and the corporate employers. If we want District 3 to attract families, could we expand the mayor’s program by creating preK facilities? Could that work with our churches too? What about the hospitals on pill hill?
What role might the District’s elite private schools play in creating such a resource … Bertschii for all? PreK at Bush??