Andria Santos

Engl 1100

Professor Young

September 26, 2014

My home town

 I was born and raised in Long Branch, New Jersey. In 2005 eminent domain took place, which caused gentrification to happen two blocks away from my home. People were forced out of their homes from eminent domain, and had to move elsewhere. Eminent domain is the right of a government or its agent to expropriate private property for public use, with payment of compensation. After people were forced out of their homes and businesses had to move from eminent domain, our city built a vacation place on the beach called Pier Village. Pier village is a shopping center that has five star clothing shops and restaurants. Pier village attracts people from all over the country and gives our town great business, but it has destroyed families and taken away the history that was once there.

Growing up my family and I use to eat dinner at a little Portuguese restaurant called pearl of Lisbon, where pier village is now located. My family and I would go to Pearl of Lisbon at the end of each weak and bond over the mouthwatering food. This place was more than just a restaurant that served delicious food; it was a part of my identity. Eating at this restaurant once a week as a child helped me understand a little more about my culture, such as the food and language. It also helped my family communicate and created long lasting memories. I remember one night my family and I going to eat and the owner telling my parents that eminent domain has been taken into place and the city is forcing him to move. My parents were in shock and in utter disbelief because they knew it would upset my sister and me.  Now that the restaurant is gone, a part of my identity is gone. Not only do I not get to enjoy the delicious food but I will also no longer be able to feel that sense of comfort that I once have.  

Since pier village is a vacation place and many famous people visit during the year everything has increased from the property value, to the property taxes. Long Branch even charges for parking near the beach. Due to the increase in taxes, it has caused many residents in Long Branch to no longer be able to afford the cost of living, which has forced them to relocate elsewhere. If the residents of Long Branch weren’t relocating because of the increase in property taxes, they were relocating because of eminent domain. As a resident of Long Branch, I was able to see firsthand how raising property taxes and eminent domain affected residents, such as my family and friends. My best friend Emily lived a block over from my favorite restaurant Pearl of Lisbon and was also forced to move because of eminent domain. Her house was passed down from generation to generation, and due to eminent domain, her family had to move their lives and leave all of the memories they have invested in over the years, behind.                                              

  Before Pier village was established, Long Branch was a quiet local beach. The families who went to the beach usually knew each other and the children were friends. Parents were able to let their children play without constantly supervising them, because they knew that the children were under good care of the lifeguards. Now that Pier village has been established, the quiet local beach days have turned into loud over populated beach days. As a resident of Long Branch and life guard of Long Branch beaches, I have seen a change in scenery. Parents have to constantly be aware of their children and lifeguards have to be more aware of the people who did not grow up in the area and know little about the beach and rip currents. As a local we call these people “Bennys”. People no longer go to the beach to hear the sound of the waves crashing or the touch of the sand, but go as a social event and blast loud music. Due to pier village, residents will no longer be able to enjoy a quiet day at the beach.

In the essay, written by Valerie Kinloch “Harlem, Art, and Literacy and Documenting “Harlem is Art”/”Harlem as Art”. She talks about gentrification in Harlem and how it is changing the community. She emphasizes on how old mom and pop shops are being replaced with new stores such as old navy and mac. She states “see, the hard part of this project on Harlem and art is facing them new people who aint from Harlem and think this community is all about new things popping up(Kinlcoh 152).” I am able to relate with Kinloch because the mom and pop shops in my town are also being replaced with newer stores. Also, people who come to vacation overlook what was once there and just see the new.

            Most people who come to visit pier village have no idea what pain it has caused the residents of Long Branch. I believe a way to inform the nonresidents of what was once there is by the city adding pictures around pier village to show the nonresidents or “bennys”, what Long Branch once was. Not only would this help people understand what the residents have been through, but it will also gives the residents of Long Branch a little piece of mind, knowing that the city cares about the people who have been hurt by this.

           When people from out of town come to pier village they see beautiful buildings, five star restaurants, amazing clothing shops, and a social extravaganza. When I see pier village, I look at what once was, the residents that were forced from their homes, the businessmen who actually cared about his/her costumers, and the people who saw and admired the true beauty of Long Branch. Although pier village attracts people from all over the country and has brought our town a great amount of revenue, it will never be able to replace the heart ache each family endured while moving or the memories and art that our town once had. Residents of Long Branch will no longer be able to park near the beach for free or be able to enjoy a quiet beach day, due to the establishment of pier village. Until the city of Long Branch puts pictures up to share the art of what was once there, and help the residents feel a little more appreciated, my home town will never be the same.

Andria Santos

Engl 1100

Professor Young

September 26, 2014

My home town

 I was born and raised in Long Branch, New Jersey. In 2005 Gentrification took place two blocks away from my home. People were forced out of their homes from eminent domain, and had to move elsewhere. Eminent domain is the right of a government or its agent to expropriate private property for public use, with payment of compensation. After people were forced out of their homes and businesses had to move from eminent domain, our city built a vacation place on the beach called Pier Village. Pier village is a shopping center that has five star clothing shops and restaurants. Pier village attracts people from all over the country and gives our town great business, but pier village takes away the history of what was once there.        

Growing up my family and I use to eat dinner at a little Portuguese restaurant called pearl of Lisbon, where pier village is now located. My family and I would go to Pearl of Lisbon at the end of each weak and bond over the mouthwatering food. This place was more than just a restaurant that served delicious food; it was a part of my identity. Eating at this restaurant once a week as a child helped me understand a little more about my culture, such as the food and language. It also helped my family communicate and created long lasting memories. I remember one night my family and I going to eat and the owner telling my parents that eminent domain has been taken into place and the city is forcing him to move. My parents were in shock and in utter disbelief because they knew it would upset my sister and me.  Now that the restaurant is gone, a part of my identity is gone. Not only do I not get to enjoy the delicious food but I will also no longer be able to feel that sense of comfort that I once have.  

Since pier village is a vacation place and many famous people visit during the year everything has increased from the property value, to the property taxes. Long Branch even charges for parking near the beach. Due to the increase in taxes, it has caused many residents in Long Branch to no longer be able to afford the cost of living, which has forced them to relocate elsewhere. If the residents of Long Branch weren’t relocating because of the increase in property taxes, they were relocating because of eminent domain. As a resident of Long Branch, I was able to see firsthand how raising property taxes and eminent domain affected residents, such as my family and friends. My best friend Emily lived a block over from my favorite restaurant Pearl of Lisbon and was also forced to move because of eminent domain. Her house was passed down from generation to generation, and due to eminent domain, her family had to move their lives and leave all of the memories they have invested in over the years, behind.                                              
  Before Pier village was established, Long Branch was a quiet local beach. The families who went to the beach usually knew each other and the children were friends. Parents were able to let their children play without constantly supervising them, because they knew that the children were under good care of the lifeguards. Now that Pier village has been established, the quiet local beach days have turned into loud over populated beach days. As a resident of Long Branch and life guard of Long Branch beaches, I have seen a change in scenery. Parents have to constantly be aware of their children and lifeguards have to be more aware of the people who did not grow up in the area and know little about the beach and rip currents. As a local we call these people “Bennys”. People no longer go to the beach to hear the sound of the waves crashing or the touch of the sand, but go as a social event and blast loud music. Due to pier village, residents will no longer be able to enjoy a quiet day at the beach.

In the essay, written by Valerie Kinloch “Harlem, Art, and Literacy and Documenting “Harlem is Art”/”Harlem as Art”. She talks about gentrification in Harlem and how it is changing the community. She emphasizes on how old mom and pop shops are being replaced with new stores such as old navy and mac. She states “see, the hard part of this project on Harlem and art is facing them new people who aint from Harlem and think this community is all about new things popping up(Kinlcoh 152).” I am able to relate with Kinloch because the mom and pop shops in my town are also being replaced with newer stores. Also, people who come to vacation overlook the old art within the town and just see the new.

           When people from out of town come to pier village they see beautiful buildings, five star restaurants, amazing clothing shops, and a social extravaganza. When I see pier village, I look at what once was, the residents that were forced from their homes, the businessmen who actually cared about his/her costumers, and the people who saw and admired the true beauty of Long Branch. Although pier village attracts people from all over the country and has brought our town a great amount of revenue, it will never be able to replace the heart ache each family endured while moving or the memories and art that our town once had. Residents of Long Branch will no longer be able to park near the beach for free or be able to enjoy a quiet beach day, due to the establishment of pier village. My home town will never be the same.

 

Work Cited

Kinloch, Valarie.”Harlem, Art, and Literacy and Documenting ‘Harlem Is Art’/’Harlem as are.’”  Teaching development writing.Ed,Susan Naomi Bernstein.Fourth Edition.                                                                              Boston:Bedford,2013.147-160.Print.

Andria Santos

Engl 1100

Professor Young

September 26, 2014

My home town

            I was born and raised in Long Branch, New Jersey. In 2005 Gentrification took place two blocks away from my home, where people were pushed out of their homes, and forced to move somewhere else. Our city built a vacation place on the beach called Pier Village. Pier village is a shopping center that has five star clothing shops and restaurants. It has brought up the value of property in Long Branch but also has brought up property taxes. Due to this it has caused people to no long afford to live in Long Branch and has forced them to move. As a resident of Long Branch and coming from parents who are home owners this has affected us, my parents taxes have double after pier village was built. Pier village attracts people from all over the state and gives our town business, but it takes away the history of what was once there. Growing up my family and I use to eat dinner at a little Portuguese restaurant once a week, that was once where pier village is today. Now that it is gone, not only do I not get to enjoy the delicious food but I do not get to drive by and remember all of the great memories my family and I once had.  There was also a big hill right in front of the beach where all of the kids in the neighborhood would go when it snowed. Now that the hill is gone and pier village has been established, kids younger than me such as my brother will miss out on a great experience like that.

            In the essay, written by Valerie Kinloch “Harlem, Art, and Literacy and Documenting “Harlem is Art”/”Harlem as Art”. She talks about gentrification in Harlem and how it is changing the community. She emphasizes on how old mom and pop shops are being replaced with new stores such as old navy and mac. She states “see, the hard part of this project on Harlem and art is facing them new people who aint from Harlem and think this community is all about new things popping up(Kinlcoh 152).”

            When people come to Long Branch they just see the nice shopping centers and taste the delicious food, but they fail to realize that was once there and who was affected by this gentrification. Pier Village has caused the residents to have nothing but memories of what was once there and has made it more expensive for residents to stay.  

Andria Santos

Engl 1100

Professor Young

September 26, 2014

Reading Response Questions

1.      “From architectural designs to cultural activities to the role of local communities in civil rights movements, urban places and spaces are rich in history (147-148).” This sentence means no matter how new or old a building, park or home is, they all have history. History is what makes all of these places rich.

2.      Phillip and Khaleeq talk a lot about 125^th street because there has been constant construction on this street. It went from a street with mom and pop shops to famous stores such as mac. They both also talk about this street because people no longer look at the history of the street such as the hotel Theresa where many people have stayed over the years; people now look at the new stores that are being built. In my town a famous hang out place is pier village. Pier village was once someone’s home until they were gentrified. Now pier village is vacation place with a shopping center and condos.

3.      The use of symbols as identities throughout the reading is important because it gives a reading a better understanding. I have never stepped foot in Harlem but after reading this passage by Valerie Kin Loch, I feel like I’ve lived there practically my whole life.  A part that really caught my eye is when Phillip stated “It’s the art in how we walk… the art in how we talk(150).” This statement shows that Philips identity was affected by where he was brought up, and both walking and talking are symbols within ones identity.

4.      “Follow up conversations with phillip and Khaleeq me new ways to see art as’ action you don’t get permission to create’(Phillip) and as’ what we got inside us that wanna get out” (Kinloch qtd Khaleeq 151). The meaning of this sentence tells readers that where we come from is in fact art. The reason where we come from is art, because it molds every person’s identity that was raised there and gives people different symbols such as the way they walk or talk.

5.      Kinloch discusses community as a sign of history. This means that every community has a history such as in Harlem the hotel Theresa. In my community we have a hotel where a few presidents use to stay over the summer, one in particular was Woodrow Wilson. In honor of his staying we have named one of our public housing authorities after him. We also have statues of each president that has stated in our town.

6.      Digital and documentation help Khaleeq and phillip show residents the effects of gentrification because it gives the residents a better understanding. Visually showing the residents helps them see what is actually happening instead of picturing it in one’s mind. I believe I could have done my response about my community without using digital documentation and photographs, but using it has helped my readers understand the changes in my community and has helped prove my point.

7.      The list of questions Kinloch asks as she closes her essay, tie up everything she has been trying to talk about in the essay. One of her questions state “Now that today’s Harlem is undergoing gentrification, I wonder, “Where are the adults, the black and white and Latino/a and Puerto Rican residents and political leaders, the people who are supposed to protect the community(161)?”  Now that gentrification as taken place what is Harlem now going to represent since it will no longer represent historical struggle.