By “All the people in the dance will agree. That we’re well-qualified to represent the L.B.C,” “Doin’ time” by Lana Del Rey.
The first time I heard this song last summer, I thought it was a pretty good and catchy Lana Del Rey cover. But this line has been bothering me,bothering me because listening to it will make those living in Long Beach complicit in the rising rents and price of living.
Knowing that the more attention we get from celebrities and popular media the more people will idealize us and want to move here. Gentrification is sort of like fungus, it eats up all the poor low income areas like its dead wood and turns us into a fruit for others to enjoy. That fungus has eaten away from our north, coming from Los Angeles and the opulence of the coast. A block of homes will be “fixed up” into a new set of apartments, and like fungus, it will slowly change it’s environment for others to reap.
There are many complicated and confusing sentiments that arise over the changing landscape of Long Beach. Years ago you would always hear people make comments like, “They’re finally working on Long Beach Boulevard” or “Look how pretty downtown is now.” On the other side you would hear, “Man they need to fix the potholes on the 710” or “When will the city come fix my street?.” There are countless examples of the city disregarding Long Beach but the most transgressive of which is what happened to World Famous VIP Records on Pacific Coast Highway and Martin Luther King Avenue. Once a home to local artists, it is now just a 7/11 because the city and property owners did not care for the eastside and its spirit.
The focus on Forth Street, renovation of downtown’s library and general beautification has made locals feel like the local government cared at least a little for our image. It gives off welcoming vibes and the overwhelming majority of locals are accepting of everyone. But with California’s population problem it feels like locals are being driven out. My parent’s home on the westside goes for half a million dollars, when only two decades ago it would go for $100,000.
Driving down Broadway Avenue towards the 710 freeway, you begin to see rows of new apartment complexes; colorful with intricate designs, they offer a chance to relax from the eyesore or grey buildings. Around dusk you notice that there are only a few lights on. It’s haunting knowing that you have rows of empty buildings and houses, while the homeless sleep in the entryways to the lobbies of these empty homes.
With all these factors it is difficult not to be angry. As a local, it feels like newcomers and the city’s government care more about property value than the people already living here. As reported by RentCafe average rent is already $2,106 in Long Beach. This price lays as a stark contrast to the rents reported by the city in their report on city wide rents where in 2016 average rent was $1,280 and in 2007 was $1,092. This would be no problem if we had subsidized housing, but our city continues to spend ridiculous amounts of money on a new court house, new bridge, new library. Not to mention the city of Long Beach spends almost half of its $500 million dollar budget on policing. With work already scarce in cities and the cost of living too high, most of the working class will have no choice but to commute miles just to work in a tourist city.
All that will be left in Long Beach will be landlords maintaining a playground for the rich. Not only will the community be forced out of Long Beach, but eventually its soul will be removed and all that will be left is a product with bright colors to distract you from its lack of value.
I grew up in the worst neighborhood in Los Angeles. I wished it was gentrified. The good people who live there shouldn’t be subjected to rat and roach infested environments.
A playground for the rich? Long Beach? If gentrification is on the rise in many places, it defies reason that is all directed at the same people. The gentry population has expanded. Gentrification is an free-market reaction to the increased prosperity of the country over the last 30 years. These “soulless” buildings will be rented to those who want to live in Long Beach and pay the price. If not enough people come, those rents will go lower. There is only so much coastline in California and a lot more people with money. Demand dictates the market. What should Long Beach do, bring the full weight of government down on the private owners so that “artists” can live there? If you fear “gentrification” a repeal of Proposition 13 taxes (on commercial property as of now) is your worst nightmare. Taxes on “assessed” value will truly and permanently ensure only the rich (corporations) can ever start a business along the coast.
The apartments in the picture are low income housing apartments. That neighborhood is no where near being gentrified, how do I know? Because I was born and raised in that neighborhood. Stop giving out false imaging, if you’re going to write an article on a topic, make sure the picture isn’t false.
Also, Lana Del Rey’s Doin’ Time is a cover song. Original artists are Sublime (who are from LB) but you should know that. (;