Austinist: City Council Member's Last Ditch Pitch to Save East Austin

marie

Fri, 30 Jun 2006 16:42:45 -0600

nimby - not in my back yard.... inflation is a fact sadly, prices do rise - my fiance and i have been priced out of santa fe by people who have more money than us here - we cant afford to buy here or afford the property taxes so we decided to move to austin and buy a house in the east side because of its proximity to downtown and its character... now im hearing that by doing that im now the "gentrifier" which is funny considering the fact that i have been gentrified out of a city that i was a 5th generation native of... when does it stop... it is america after all isnt it? dont i have the right to buy where i want? just like the people who moved to my home town did? frustrating debate... and i am hispanic but i have more money and am more educated because i am a yupi or "young urban professional" as it stands for...

marie

Fri, 30 Jun 2006 16:36:35 -0600

Kenneth

Wed, 07 Jun 2006 15:40:46 -0600

I've become a little put out by the whole "gentrification" debate lately. It all seems a little racist to me, albeit in a different skin color. W. 6th, South Congress, West Campus/Wheatsville are all examples of gentrification. However, the Alvarez proposals seem reasonable to me to allay some of those fears. I've long advocated some sort of property-tax freeze for longtime residents in East Austin.