Saturday, May 30, 2009
My Neighborhood
It's very difficult to give a sense of where I live in words or photos. I'm often referring to poor, working & middle class people, the Hispanic or Orthodox Jewish in the area, the range of apartment buildings, the retail districts, the nearby university. Here's some glimpses around the streets when I step out the front door & turn left, to feed Gina's cats or go to the library. I was testing a new camera, late afternoon, on auto (learned a quick lesson not to rely on it) , just to make sure it worked & the SD card was good. I cut the enormous 9 mp files way down, no corrections.
The first photo is the corner of Gina's street. The next three are views down a long adjacent block. The 5th photo is a corner house owned by a guy with a nightclub & DJ business. During his pool parties there are Mercedes, Lexus's, Hummers, even a Jaguar parked on the street.The rest of that block is maybe my favorite street here, interesting mix of homes. 6th photo includes the old Victorian house. The other side of the street is completely different; Orthodox Church & apartments. Last photo is a house right up the corner, vacant for nearly two years. But within the same short distance, I can photograph some crappy apt buildings, minimally maintained two families, & very sleazy people, as well some lovely homes (& other peculiar Spanish villa affectations). What I see here, & was demonstrated to me in nearby Rahway during the Clinton years, is that home ownership is key to stablizing older neighborhoods, but not through easy mortgages (or with absurdly inflated price tags). These streets are holding steady, which means the people in the houses could afford them. There's plenty of children & flowers.
The first photo is the corner of Gina's street. The next three are views down a long adjacent block. The 5th photo is a corner house owned by a guy with a nightclub & DJ business. During his pool parties there are Mercedes, Lexus's, Hummers, even a Jaguar parked on the street.The rest of that block is maybe my favorite street here, interesting mix of homes. 6th photo includes the old Victorian house. The other side of the street is completely different; Orthodox Church & apartments. Last photo is a house right up the corner, vacant for nearly two years. But within the same short distance, I can photograph some crappy apt buildings, minimally maintained two families, & very sleazy people, as well some lovely homes (& other peculiar Spanish villa affectations). What I see here, & was demonstrated to me in nearby Rahway during the Clinton years, is that home ownership is key to stablizing older neighborhoods, but not through easy mortgages (or with absurdly inflated price tags). These streets are holding steady, which means the people in the houses could afford them. There's plenty of children & flowers.
Labels: Elizabeth NJ, photograph
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"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be." Thomas Jefferson
Much greener, and more picturesque than I had imagined, given your descriptions of the "hood-like" quality of your neighborhood. My neighborhood is all apartment buildings, although just one block east and three blocks south or about two miles north, are single family residences instead of the usual two story apartment buildings.
The main thing I like in my area are the historical apartments. Like the one that was on fire last year next door to me. That is designated an historical building, and as such, the owner has to rebuild it according to the way it used to look. He can't simply raze it to the ground and build up a shiny new 21st century apartment. Probably a good 25 percent of the units in my area are designated historical, well, as it relates to Los Angeles and its history, not so much as what would be considered historical by east coast standards.
The main thing I like in my area are the historical apartments. Like the one that was on fire last year next door to me. That is designated an historical building, and as such, the owner has to rebuild it according to the way it used to look. He can't simply raze it to the ground and build up a shiny new 21st century apartment. Probably a good 25 percent of the units in my area are designated historical, well, as it relates to Los Angeles and its history, not so much as what would be considered historical by east coast standards.
My area of the state is a conglomeration of neighborhoods where it's almost impossible to know when you've changed towns. There are 15 miles of streets like these extending west & southwest, mostly old suburbia. In some places, you go from near 'hood conditions to affluent middle class in a few blocks.
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