Rue 52 or Yupsters take 52nd Street

[thoth]

Who the hell is going to a cafe on 52nd street?

What are you an idiot or something? Would you be the guy in the 80s who asked who in their right mind would go to a cafe in Old City?

[schmoe]

What are you an idiot or something? Would you be the guy in the 80s who asked who in their right mind would go to a cafe in Old City?

I'm the guy who asks that question right now.

[seand]

Who the hell is going to a cafe on 52nd street?

I'll bite. People who want a cup of decent coffee and are tired of walking all the way to 50th and Baltimore.

Me - on occassions when I'm taking kid and/or dog to Malcolm X Park and/or Blackwell Library. Actually my dog is not a very avid reader but you get the point.

[phillydeveloper]

VOTER REGISTRATION & RED, WHITE & BLUE BREAKFAST | Facebook

[the_wza]

Who the hell is going to a cafe on 52nd street?

People like me, who avoid ding dongs like you. Enjoy your Starbucks!

[Kukla65th]

All this panic about white people coming to 52nd Street or Girard in Brewerytown.

No one is/was stopping landlords on such corridors from upgrading/ restoring their properties. The owners aren't people living in those areas, by and large.

The question the long time residents should be asking is "why do property owners only raise rents, sell properties, or improve them once a new demographic shows up?"

Think patrons who had to shop on 52nd for the last 35 years didn't wish it was nicer? Think again. They should be mad at Jannie Blackwell and her predecessors for not improving codes enforcement, cleaning streets better through city agencies, or getting planning realized that might have upgraded that area long before the "white menace" that some are annoyed with, showed up.

52nd Street once had a racially diverse, working class clientele. This may be the beginning of a return to what once was in that respect, even if the income diversity of those cultural groups will be greater.

The other topic I find worth an argument is the way the media cover these changes from the perspective of people potentially being pushed out, as if higher home prices and higher taxes come instantly with new kinds of buyers or renters moving in. What about covering the shifts in, for example, formerly white areas as people flee in the face of race/class panic as new non white residents come in, or as kinds of crime they never saw before behind to occur. Lets not pretend this doesn't happen (Overbrook, Oxford Circle, etc.) Those stories are just as charged, and interesting.

[daveydoo]

The other topic I find worth an argument is the way the media cover these changes from the perspective of people potentially being pushed out, as if higher home prices and higher taxes come instantly with new kinds of buyers or renters moving in. What about covering the shifts in, for example, formerly white areas as people flee in the face of race/class panic as new non white residents come in, or as kinds of crime they never saw before behind to occur. Lets not pretend this doesn't happen (Overbrook, Oxford Circle, etc.) Those stories are just as charged, and interesting.

I hazard to guess that more than a few residents of West Philly have a relative or friend in a place like Harlem or Bed/Stuy. They hear what's happening there and fear the same may happen to their neighborhood and they will have to move. But the distinction is that this is not NYC and will never have the demand (i.e. pressure on the housing market) that NYC has. So prices will rise but much more gradually. And with legislation in Harrisburg pending to defer paying property taxes until the sale of the house, this expense should not be as much of a concern to current homeowners.

Then again they may have relatives or friends in Chicago. There one of the major forces of displacement was massive public housing demolition. It is a project that I believe will ultimately be for the better. But among the unintended consequences was a disruption of some of the stable working class neighborhoods on the South Side like Chatham due to an increase in crime when a percentage of criminals displaced moved in. This was caused by a lack of replacement housing because the Chicago Housing Authority believed that the mixed-income developments replacing the highrises would be constructed in short order. But they really didn't have the number of units needed on the construction agenda anyway. They weren't counting on the events of 2008 imploding demand. Anyone who has followed these events who lives in or near public housing would probably be on guard against the housing authority demolishing their domicile without having existing replacement housing at the ready. I'm not supporting public housing as a permanent fix for any individual's housing situation. This is only speculation on my part as to the mindset current residents may have regarding fear of displacement.

[MarketStEl]

All this panic about white people coming to 52nd Street or Girard in Brewerytown.

No one is/was stopping landlords on such corridors from upgrading/ restoring their properties. The owners aren't people living in those areas, by and large.

The question the long time residents should be asking is "why do property owners only raise rents, sell properties, or improve them once a new demographic shows up?"

Think patrons who had to shop on 52nd for the last 35 years didn't wish it was nicer? Think again. They should be mad at Jannie Blackwell and her predecessors for not improving codes enforcement, cleaning streets better through city agencies, or getting planning realized that might have upgraded that area long before the "white menace" that some are annoyed with, showed up.

52nd Street once had a racially diverse, working class clientele. This may be the beginning of a return to what once was in that respect, even if the income diversity of those cultural groups will be greater.

The other topic I find worth an argument is the way the media cover these changes from the perspective of people potentially being pushed out, as if higher home prices and higher taxes come instantly with new kinds of buyers or renters moving in. What about covering the shifts in, for example, formerly white areas as people flee in the face of race/class panic as new non white residents come in, or as kinds of crime they never saw before behind to occur. Lets not pretend this doesn't happen (Overbrook, Oxford Circle, etc.) Those stories are just as charged, and interesting.

I'm going to get around to this.

I just need to organize my thoughts and arguments.

[thoth]

Then again they may have relatives or friends in Chicago. There one of the major forces of displacement was massive public housing demolition. It is a project that I believe will ultimately be for the better. But among the unintended consequences was a disruption of some of the stable working class neighborhoods on the South Side like Chatham due to an increase in crime when a percentage of criminals displaced moved in. This was caused by a lack of replacement housing because the Chicago Housing Authority believed that the mixed-income developments replacing the highrises would be constructed in short order. But they really didn't have the number of units needed on the construction agenda anyway. They weren't counting on the events of 2008 imploding demand. Anyone who has followed these events who lives in or near public housing would probably be on guard against the housing authority demolishing their domicile without having existing replacement housing at the ready. I'm not supporting public housing as a permanent fix for any individual's housing situation. This is only speculation on my part as to the mindset current residents may have regarding fear of displacement.

We're doing the same thing here

[seand]

BTW - crepes and coffee are good. I like the menu system on big monitors. Interior is nice. Art on the walls.

The round crepe making grill is neat to watch in action.

[thoth]

BTW - crepes and coffee are good. I like the menu system on big monitors. Interior is nice. Art on the walls.

The round crepe making grill is neat to watch in action.

I feel like a big dummy for not going there yet. This post has inspired me to go right now.

[seand]

It would be really novel if this thread were suddenly about, you know, the actual business and not everybody's complicated feelings about gentrification and where people "belong".

[thoth]

It would be really novel if this thread were suddenly about, you know, the actual business and not everybody's complicated feelings about gentrification and where people "belong".

Ok I just got back so prepare to have your dream come true

So the interior is very nice, I almost felt like too much of a slob to be in there. Got an Iced Tea and "the cosby", which is a crepe with grilled chicken, spinach, tomato and a very tasty, sort of mustardy sauce. Overall it was pretty good. 8 bucks was a bit steep for what it was, but they clearly spent a lot of money making the building a nice place to hang out so I'd give it a pass. The homemade iced tea I got was undrinkably sugary, so minus points for that.

Without verging too much into gentry talk, being there made me kind of wonder how a place like this doesn't already exist on 52. While it was a bit surreal walking in there, the place wasn't outlandishly expensive and seemed to succeed at attracting a mixed crowd, at least while I was there. So it's not like only one demographic would support the business, or wants coffee or good food.

When I think about it in comparison to a place like Girard Ave in B-town, something doesn't compute. That area has already attracted a small handful of nicer businesses, but is surrounded by areas that are, in some ways, not nearly as nice or stable as the blocks out here on either side of 52nd.

[FourS]

I popped in for the first time last weekend. It's nice. All I got was a coffee, but the crepes smelled pretty good. To add to a few of the other wide ranging discussions on this thread:

A) The type of person who buys coffee on 52nd St. is, in my case anyway, the type of person who takes there kid to swimming lessons at the YMCA on Saturday mornings and needs a cup of good coffee.

B) Both of the people working in the cafe (one appeared to be a manager or the owner) were black, as was other dad in there with his kids. I'm white. We talked football for a minute. No one shouted any epithets, nor did the street open up into a happy, rainbow of harmony. It did get dicey for a second when it surfaced that neither of the other men were Eagles fans (one Cowboys and one Broncos), but I'm very open minded and there were kids present including one of my own. We just drank (or sold) coffee and went about our day.

People open businesses that they hope will meet the demands of the customers at a given location. I wish them luck and hope to return soon.

[thoth]

It did get dicey for a second when it surfaced that neither of the other men were Eagles fans (one Cowboys and one Broncos), but I'm very open minded and there were kids present including one of my own.

sounds like you were lucky to get out of there alive.

[annie]

West Philly Born and Raised, A Local Entrepreneur Invests in 52nd Street – Next American City

On my way back from the library, tried one of the sweet crepes ($7) over the weekend which was good. There's some plainer crepes to be had for $5. I don't know if the stereo system isn't installed yet or what but was really wishing for some music so I wasn't hearing the next table's conversation so much. Nice place.

[Malloy]

West Phila native : +100 looking fw to checking this place out.

[OffenseTaken]

"Rue fifty-two" or "rue cinquante-deux"?

[Cro Burnham]

"Rue fifty-two" or "rue cinquante-deux"?

Come on, this is Philly: "fiddy dooce"

[Malloy]

No no no. Its FIVE TWO.