wishful thinking
In a front-page story, the Post-Intelligencer says, “Broadway struggles to regain its hipness.” [p-i] above a picture of the street kids asking for money for kung fu lessons.
I, possibly out of ignorance from not having lived here long enough, wondered if the headline is a bit of an optimistic history re-write.
Yeah, yeah. I’m replying to an ancient entry. Bite me.
According to the P-I, this was the “epicenter of hipness” during the early to mid-90s. Now it’s littered with vacant storefronts and unconcious street drunks.
I’m trying to figure out how this was different from when I was there in the early 90s. I remember a couple weeks before I left, a 99 cent store opened up on Broadway. Such stores need cheap rent to survive, and cheap rent is not the hallmark of a thriving business district.
The demise of Broadway Market? Inevitable. The only items of use to most people were the multiplex and the atrium coffee stand. Oh, and maybe the shoe repair place. The rest of it - overpriced food, clothing and knicknacks - could be done without.
I saw Paris Is Burning at the Broadway Market multiplex with my friend Larry, and we both agreed the facility was ass-tastic. Filthy, cramped, and overpriced. Go figure that people would rather spend money to see a movie somewhere nice.
As far as the panhandlers, they were a problem even when I was there, probably because people kept giving them money. What people do with their money is no one else’s business, but wailing because you didn’t think through the whole cause and effect deal is pathetic.
There’s a lot more to it - NIMBY-centric development laws, city budget cutbacks, etc. - but this neighborhood has always been in decline. Where’s the story here?