View Full Version : Black Community Rejects Trader Joe’s Store Because it Would Attract Too Many Whites
Yep, I would say racism is alive and well in the US, due in large part by that stuttering, big eared git, currently taking up/wasting space in the W.H.
:munchin
Black Community Rejects Trader Joe’s Store Because it Would Attract Too Many Whites
PORTLAND, Ore., February 7, 2014– According to local media outlet, The Oregonian (Highlighted by the Associated Press), African American activists and politicians forced the Trader Joe’s grocery chain to drop their plans for a new store in a predominately black community because the store would “increase the desirability of the neighborhood,” for “non-oppressed populations.”
The Portland Development Commission offered a substantial discount to the grocery chain for a two acre parcel of land that appraised for $2.9 million. The land, which sat undeveloped for years, was offered to the chain for $500,000 in an attempt to bring high paying jobs and prosperity to the neighborhood. The construction project, which was to include a two large anchor buildings and 10 retail shops, was promised to an African American owned construction company. The Portland African American Leadership Forum, along with the Mayor Charlie Hales, sent letters to Portland Development Commission citing that they were “contributing to the destructive impact of gentrification and displacement of the African American community.” They also said that they would remain opposed to all development of the land that doesn’t solely benefit African Americans.
http://www.libertynews.com/2014/02/blatantly-racist-black-community-rejects-trader-joes-store-because-it-would-attract-too-many-whites/
ddoering
02-09-2014, 13:58
That's pretty short-sited of them. Think of all the people they could have robbed, cars they could have jacked, and logs they could have sucker punched......:munchin
The Portland Development Commission offered a substantial discount to the grocery chain for a two acre parcel of land that appraised for $2.9 million. The land, which sat undeveloped for years, was offered to the chain for $500,000 in an attempt to bring high paying jobs and prosperity to the neighborhood.
I love how the land sat vacant for years, now they have a bird in hand, they not only strangle the bird, they shit on it, then call a press conference to explain how/why they strangled and shit on it. :rolleyes:
mojaveman
02-09-2014, 14:10
They don't have to worry about this white boy because I've never liked Trader Joe's anyway. I do my grocerie shopping at Stater Brothers or Albertson's.
That's pretty short-sited of them. Think of all the people they could have robbed, cars they could have jacked, and logs they could have sucker punched......:munchin
I mean really, especially in that part of the united states................as the percentage of persons that are carrying firearms are between slim and none.
lol "The Great Unifier" :D
Seems a bit more complicated than summarized by Liberty News.
http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2014/02/trader_joes_decision_to_pull_o.html
Richard
No matter what the initial reasoning for being pro/con it is still only about skin color.
As long as that is a denominator it is without merit.
Peregrino
02-09-2014, 15:22
So the community activists will slit their own throats for "affordable housing"? If it were anyplace around here, the locals who actually live in the area - not the outsiders agitating against gentrification (read "dilution of their power base") - would be vocally opposed to affordable housing because they know what comes with it. Don't know about the Left Coast but around here that usually means Section 8 Housing, crime, drugs, and a further precipitous slide towards anarchy. A vacant lot is safer/smarter.
ETA: I've always appreciated the irony involved in blacks and progressives applauding blacks moving from (fleeing) black neighborhoods for suburbia (white neighborhoods) but those same black (and progressive) leaders protesting the inverse, i.e. "gentrification" of black neighborhoods (white influx - amazing how the word chosen to describe it is "gentrification").
So the community activists will slit their own throats for "affordable housing"? .........
Nope, the activists didn't have a dog in the fight. They all lived outside the impact area.
The people impacted by it wanted a store and the other shops it would bring.
That's pretty short-sited of them. Think of all the people they could have robbed, cars they could have jacked, and logs they could have sucker punched......:munchin
LOLOLOLOL :D
"The King neighborhood was already changing. Nearly three-fourths of the community was African-American in 1990, according to U.S. Census figures. By 2010, only a quarter of the area’s residents were African-American."
So where did these people go and why did they go? The troublemakers make their living by keeping the people oppressed, no oppressed people no reason for agitators. Jesse and Al owe all they have to the oppressed.
Remington Raidr
02-09-2014, 16:18
"The King neighborhood was already changing. Nearly three-fourths of the community was African-American in 1990, according to U.S. Census figures. By 2010, only a quarter of the area’s residents were African-American."
So where did these people go and why did they go? The troublemakers make their living by keeping the people oppressed, no oppressed people no reason for agitators. Jesse and Al owe all they have to the oppressed.
The article Richard referenced says the opposition states they were "forcibly removed".
What we have here is a failure to provide gubmit freebies to make a deal work.
Hey, it IS Oregon. Relax and spark up a fat choom, bro.
Oldrotorhead
02-09-2014, 16:37
Seems a bit more complicated than summarized by Liberty News.
http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2014/02/trader_joes_decision_to_pull_o.html
Richard
Yes, the development was at a stand-still. That didn’t erase the decades of displacement or bring affordable housing to the neighborhood.
The activists said they will continue working on a plan to bring African Americans and other low-income people who had been “forcibly removed” back to the inner city. Their group still wants the development commission, the city’s economic-development arm, to build affordable housing on the property.
If I understand this they want a bigger tax drain and lower standards in the area? Well that is a great idea.:eek:
Having worked construction off MLK in NE Portland, and having lived in NW Portland, I can't say I blame the black community, honestly. Gentrification is one thing, letting NW'ers move in is another :D
IMO, this is an ill considered thread that would have benefited from an OP bolstered by background research and/or more careful reflection.
IME, commercial developments that include a TJ's or another specialty grocery store generate a lot of controversy within the neighborhoods that they're going to be built.
IMO, it is bad form to say that local communities and their stakeholders are best equipped to address local issues and then to dog pile when those issues are being worked out. I think this is especially the case when it is clear that no real effort is made to learn more about the specific contexts of a controversy. <<LINK (http://topics.oregonlive.com/tag/portland%20development%20commission/index.html)>>
MOO, it is exceptionally bad form to say that the federal government should not subsidize businesses because it is a form of "socialism" and then to argue the opposite point when a municipal government decides to do just that.
IMO, this is an ill considered thread that would have benefited from an OP bolstered by background research and/or more careful reflection.
IME, commercial developments that include a TJ's or another specialty grocery store generate a lot of controversy within the neighborhoods that they're going to be built.
IMO, it is bad form to say that local communities and their stakeholders are best equipped to address local issues and then to dog pile when those issues are being worked out.
From one of the stories in your link:
"PAALF members reiterated previous demands to include an affordable housing component on the two-acre lot and issued several demands."
See, to me, that's "bad form".
You know, Sig, maybe you can explain why people live in affordable housing in the first place.
The reported lot has been vacant for approximately 20 years.
Presumably, no tax revenue, no water and sewer fees, no jobs, no payroll...no improvement.
Local communities play poker with developers all the time and sometimes F-up.
IME, a good grocery store tends to attract residents and development...a twenty year vacant lot tends to attract...well...trash.
From one of the stories in your link:
How many other articles did you read? Did you have time to glance at any of City of Portland's master planning documents <<LINK (http://www.portlandonline.com/portlandplan/)>>?
"PAALF members reiterated previous demands to include an affordable housing component on the two-acre lot and issued several demands."
See, to me, that's "bad form".IMO/IME, it is a part of a negotiating process. Some groups are going to ask. Others are going to demand. This back and forth happens all the time.
You know, Sig, maybe you can explain why people live in affordable housing in the first place.You can find some of your answers here. http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/comm_planning/affordablehousing/The reported lot has been vacant for approximately 20 years.
Presumably, no tax revenue, no water and sewer fees, no jobs, no payroll...no improvement.
Local communities play poker with developers all the time and sometimes F-up. IME, a good grocery store tends to attract residents and development...a twenty year vacant lot tends to attract...well...trash.
IME, what constitutes a "good neighbor" is going to depend upon whom one asks. Trader Joe's is not always considered a good neighbor because of the parking demand a store can generate and its impact on area traffic patterns. Also, as some of the pieces in the Oregonian indicate, TJ may not have been the best of potential neighbors in the way it approached this process <<LINK>>.
It seems that there are no objections to a local government subsidizing in partial secrecy a corporation, nor interest in the PDC's own admission that it had, in the past, contributed to gentrification in the area, nor curiosity about how such conduct might impact contemporaneous conversations about economic development.
Peregrino
02-09-2014, 20:05
I'm also curious why a 2 acre lot in a "underdeveloped" part of town that's been vacant for 15+ years is valued at 2.5 million. It doesn't pass the sniff test.
I'm also curious why a 2 acre lot in a "underdeveloped" part of town that's been vacant for 15+ years is valued at 2.5 million. It doesn't pass the sniff test.
Yeah, no kidding.
BTW, if it is in Portland the local Commissars will dictate who wins/loses. The Commie State Hq.
IME, what constitutes a "good neighbor" is going to depend upon whom one asks. Trader Joe's is not always considered a good neighbor because of the parking demand a store can generate and its impact on area traffic patterns. Also, as some of the pieces in the Oregonian indicate, TJ may not have been the best of potential neighbors in the way it approached this process.
Having been to TJ's around the country - yes - parking sucks.
Plenty of parking space on that blighted and underused vacant lot I suspect...no real reason to go though.
Never been to a TJ's...... What is so special about them? It is a Grocery store isn't it?
Never been to a TJ's...... What is so special about them? It is a Grocery store isn't it?
Grocery store, cheap wine, yuppie shit, traffic issues, nothing special...sometimes considered a small step up from an underused vacant lot...at least by some employees, shoppers, property appraisers and tax collectors.
IMO, this is an ill considered thread that would have benefited from an OP bolstered by background research and/or more careful reflection.Did you read and or research your response?
The construction project, which was to include a two large anchor buildings and 10 retail shops, was promised to an African American owned construction company.
MOO, it is exceptionally bad form to say that the federal government should not subsidize businesses because it is a form of "socialism" and then to argue the opposite point when a municipal government decides to do just that.States can use their taxes anyway they want to however, I pay "federal" taxes and there in lies the difference...:munchin
I'm also curious why a 2 acre lot in a "underdeveloped" part of town that's been vacant for 15+ years is valued at 2.5 million. It doesn't pass the sniff test.I was thinking the exact same thing......:confused:
Bill Harsey
02-10-2014, 09:12
IMO, this is an ill considered thread that would have benefited from an OP bolstered by background research and/or more careful reflection.
IME, commercial developments that include a TJ's or another specialty grocery store generate a lot of controversy within the neighborhoods that they're going to be built.
IMO, it is bad form to say that local communities and their stakeholders are best equipped to address local issues and then to dog pile when those issues are being worked out. I think this is especially the case when it is clear that no real effort is made to learn more about the specific contexts of a controversy. <<LINK (http://topics.oregonlive.com/tag/portland%20development%20commission/index.html)>>
MOO, it is exceptionally bad form to say that the federal government should not subsidize businesses because it is a form of "socialism" and then to argue the opposite point when a municipal government decides to do just that.
Sigaba, Could you please write in plain English without all the acronyms?
I don't understand what your saying.
Sigaba, Could you please write in plain English without all the acronyms?
I don't understand what your saying.
Sig is covering his butt because some of the large sharks in this forum will occasionally rise up and take a bite out of a otherwise innocent poster.
IMO = In My Opinion
IME = In My Estimation
MOO = My Opinion Only
I'm surprised that he didn't throw in the broad YMMV.
YMMV = Your Mileage May Vary.
Sig, if I've mistranslated, feel free to correct!
Sig is covering his butt because some of the large sharks in this forum will occasionally rise up and take a bite out of a otherwise innocent poster.
IMO = In My Opinion
IME = In My Estimation
MOO = My Opinion Only
I'm surprised that he didn't throw in the broad YMMV.
YMMV = Your Mileage May Vary.
Sig, if I've mistranslated, feel free to correct!
IME: In My Experience?
Neighborhood life cycles: the only constant is change
http://lgbtweekly.com/2013/02/14/neighborhood-life-cycles-the-only-constant-is-change/
"I am always interested in the differences between the various San Diego neighborhoods and where they are positioned in the ever-changing phases of the neighborhood life cycle............."
The agitators are saying gentrification (going white) but is the neighborhood in the revitalization phase of the neighborhood life cycle? When a neighborhood hits bottom it either revitalizes or dies.
It appears the neighborhood is in the revitalization process. Property values have increased over the past few years. Property owners have decided to fix up their properties and charge higher rents or sell them in an increasing market. This is displacing the poor leading to gentrification.
The black population has shrunk to around 25%. The activists wish to keep that 25% there. The only way will be through subsidized rents - which property owners will not want after they spend thousands upgrading properties - or government built low income housing. The 75% are not going to like that.
The thing about poor people is they don't disappear - they just move to a difference neighborhood.
And not all middle/upper class are white. I would love to see the deeper statistics for the area. Does the 75% include whites, blacks and other minorities who are buying in because the neighborhood is improving and they want to get in at the lowest cost?
meh...
This is no different than wondering why Afghans prefer tribal violence to peaceful coexistence. It seems like the citizens prefer a better life...
…clearly the power brokers prefer the status quo.
Bread and circuses; nothing more and nothing less.
Roguish Lawyer
02-10-2014, 09:57
IMO = In My Opinion
IME = In My Estimation
MOO = My Opinion Only
I'm surprised that he didn't throw in the broad YMMV.
YMMV = Your Mileage May Vary.
You left out:
SAM = Smoke and Mirrors
RSM = Ridiculous Straw Man
and
CBS = Commie Bullshit
Oh -- MOO, YMMV
:D
meh...
This is no different than wondering why Afghans prefer tribal violence to peaceful coexistence. It seems like the citizens prefer a better life...
…clearly the power brokers prefer the status quo.
Bread and circuses; nothing more and nothing less.
+1
IMO, the whole issue's a pile of CBS.
The Reaper
02-10-2014, 14:00
Sig is covering his butt because some of the large sharks in this forum will occasionally rise up and take a bite out of a otherwise innocent poster.
IMO = In My Opinion
IME = In My Estimation
MOO = My Opinion Only
I'm surprised that he didn't throw in the broad YMMV.
YMMV = Your Mileage May Vary.
Sig, if I've mistranslated, feel free to correct!
Love the analogy, hermano! :D
TR
1stindoor
02-10-2014, 14:14
You also left out Richards favorite....YGBSM.
Roguish Lawyer
02-10-2014, 18:59
You also left out Richards favorite....YGBSM.
I thought that was ASIG . . .
We'd be happy to take that Trader Joe's off their hands down here. TJ's needs 100,000 population to even consider building a store. Our whole county only has 133,000.
Pat
I'm also curious why a 2 acre lot in a "underdeveloped" part of town that's been vacant for 15+ years is valued at 2.5 million. It doesn't pass the sniff test.
Probably because there are a lot of drugs and stolen property sold at that location. :munchin
Bill Harsey
02-11-2014, 09:47
This should be an episode on "Portlandia",
http://ricochet.com/main-feed/Community-Organizers-Chase-Trader-Joe-s-Out-of-Portlandia
Community Organizers Chase Trader Joe’s Out of Portlandia
Jon Gabriel, Ed. · February 4, 2014 at 12:41pm
Portland Sign
Trader Joe’s wanted to build a new store in Portland, Oregon. Instead of heading to a tony neighborhood downtown or towards the suburbs, the popular West Coast grocer chose a struggling area of Northeast Portland.
The company selected two acres along Martin Luther King Blvd. that had been vacant for decades. It seemed like the perfect place to create jobs, improve customer options and beautify the neighborhood. City officials, the business community, and residents all seemed thrilled with the plan. Then some community organizers caught wind of it.
The fact that most members of the Portland African-American Leadership Forum didn’t live in the neighborhood was beside the point. “This is a people’s movement for African-Americans and other communities, for self-determination,” member Avel Gordly said in a press conference. Even the NAACP piled on, railing against the project as a “case study in gentrification.” (The area is about 25 percent African-American.)
After a few months of racially tinged accusations and angry demands, Trader Joe’s decided it wasn’t worth the hassle. “We run neighborhood stores and our approach is simple,” a corporate statement said. “If a neighborhood does not want a Trader Joe's, we understand, and we won't open the store in question.”
Hours after Trader Joe’s pulled out, PAALF leaders arrived at a previously scheduled press conference trying to process what just happened. The group re-issued demands that the now-cancelled development include affordable housing, mandated jobs based on race, and a small-business slush fund. Instead, the only demand being met is two fallow acres and a lot of anger from the people who actually live nearby.
“All of my neighbors were excited to have Trader Joe’s come here and replace a lot that has always been empty,” said Nghi Tran. “It’s good quality for poor men.” Like many residents, Tran pins the blame on PAALF. “They don’t come to the neighborhood cleanups,” he said. “They don’t live here anymore.”
“There are no winners today,” said Adam Milne, owner of an area restaurant. “Only missed tax revenue, lost jobs, less foot traffic, an empty lot and a boulevard still struggling to support its local small businesses.” The store was to be built by a local African American-owned construction company.
Artist Kymberly Jeka insisted “this is not what the neighborhood people want. This is terrible.” Grayson Dempsey looked out of her window at the vacant lot: “I appreciate that (PAALF) is trying to talk about the origins of gentrification. That’s really essential, but they can’t stand up and say, ‘As residents of the King neighborhood, this is what we want.’ The residents of the King neighborhood want this to happen.”
Sometimes a community doesn’t want to be organized.
But have no fear, Portland. You might not have a new Trader Joe’s, but PAALF promised to hold a “community visioning process” later this month. No word yet if that brainstorming session will offer jobs, affordable housing or Two-Buck Chuck.
** Want to participate in conversations like this—or start your own? Subscribe to our lineup of podcasts or attend a live meet up? Interact with some of the biggest names in conservatism? Then join Ricochet today! It's the only place on the web where you can get civil, smart, witty conversation about politics and culture from the center-right…without all the noise and name-calling. Join today for the price of a cup of coffee. **
Portland image via Shutterstock.
mark46th
02-11-2014, 09:54
I am not a fan of Trader Joe's. 2 buck chuck is awful wine. I only use it for cooking. Their marketing and advertising is targeted towards women. The only reason you will see a man in a Trader Joe's is because a man will do anything if he thinks it is foreplay...
craigepo
02-11-2014, 10:49
I think that Trader Joe's fits into about the same female cerebral area as Ikea. I'm not really sure where the hell that is. Nor do I understand it. Nor do I want to.
I am not a fan of Trader Joe's. 2 buck chuck is awful wine. I only use it for cooking. Their marketing and advertising is targeted towards women. The only reason you will see a man in a Trader Joe's is because a man will do anything if he thinks it is foreplay...
Trader Joe's contracts with small high-quality vintners to produce some very good wines under their label at an exceptionally reasonable price (Bogle level pricing).
Richard
“All of my neighbors were excited to have Trader Joe’s come here and replace a lot that has always been empty,” said Nghi Tran. “It’s good quality for poor men.” Like many residents, Tran pins the blame on PAALF. “They don’t come to the neighborhood cleanups,” he said. “They don’t live here anymore.”
“There are no winners today,” said Adam Milne, owner of an area restaurant. “Only missed tax revenue, lost jobs, less foot traffic, an empty lot and a boulevard still struggling to support its local small businesses.” The store was to be built by a local African American-owned construction company.
Artist Kymberly Jeka insisted “this is not what the neighborhood people want. This is terrible.” Grayson Dempsey looked out of her window at the vacant lot: “I appreciate that (PAALF) is trying to talk about the origins of gentrification. That’s really essential, but they can’t stand up and say, ‘As residents of the King neighborhood, this is what we want.’ The residents of the King neighborhood want this to happen.”I've till this day, seen a place with MLK namesake worth a fuck.....:confused::munchin
ZonieDiver
02-11-2014, 11:57
I am not a fan of Trader Joe's. 2 buck chuck is awful wine. I only use it for cooking. Their marketing and advertising is targeted towards women. The only reason you will see a man in a Trader Joe's is because a man will do anything if he thinks it is foreplay...
I don't cook with ANY wine I won't drink! :D
They do sell some nice Italian prosecco varieties and pretty good prices, as well as some other wines (but not the "Two Buck Chuck" - which is about 3 bucks now).
I don't like TJ's for the same reasons, as well as the fact that most of their produce is pre-packaged (a la "Fresh N Easy"), which is a waste and an impediment to choosing good produce.
Admittedly, I will stop by to purchase their green tomatillo salsa, and sample stuff.
I think that Trader Joe's fits into about the same female cerebral area as Ikea. I'm not really sure where the hell that is. Nor do I understand it. Nor do I want to.
:D True.
I've never been to an Ikea, but I'm curious. Last time I was in California I went to TJ's, walked through the whole store and wondered why I'd wanted to go there so badly. Meh.
I remember TJ's in San Rafael in the late 80's. It was a fun place to go then.
As for Portland, I don't blame the company at all for pulling out before bowing to all the "community activist's" demands.
Susan
The Reaper
02-11-2014, 13:38
Why don't grocery chains build stores in economically depresssed areas?
I think we just saw at least one good example.
TR
ddoering
02-11-2014, 15:02
I've till this day, seen a place with MLK namesake worth a fuck.....:confused::munchin
True dat.
Pericles
02-14-2014, 15:31
meh...
This is no different than wondering why Afghans prefer tribal violence to peaceful coexistence. It seems like the citizens prefer a better life...
…clearly the power brokers prefer the status quo.
Bread and circuses; nothing more and nothing less.
This post is the closest to being on target.
TJ's didn't understand how things work in certain areas of this country.
Suppose you want to do something in an area that has been "community organized". If you fail to hire the community organizer as a consultant before attempting to do anything that is going to impact his community, you will be met with massive protest and resistance. You either wise up and hire the community organizer to "shepherd" you through doing what you intend to do, or you will experience increasing difficulty up to vandalism and violence.
Study how Jesse jackson, Al Sharpton, Barack Hussein Obama, et al. made piles of cash.
After you hire the community organizer, and who ever else the community organizer directs, then the community exerts pressure on your behalf.
TJ's didn't understand how things work in certain areas of this country.
I respectfully disagree.
TJ's probably had multiple backup locations at the ready and won't look back.
If TJ's deemed it in their economic interests to hire the extortionist community organizers they would have done so. As a national chain, they will have experience dealing with all sorts of characters in order to secure land, labor and permits.
TJ's will have another store - and most likely the lot in question - will remain vacant and all the construction jobs in the area (and all the second and third order positive economic effects generated by such a development - which are not insignificant) will go wanting.
The community organizers most likely overplayed their hand in this case...unless they have backup class A tenants and experienced developers ready to go.
However, just imagine if the controversial reason cited by the community organizers - in not supporting this project - in the original story were reversed...
mark46th
02-14-2014, 21:32
Richard- I am not a connoisseur of fine wines but I know what I like and what is minimally acceptable to my palate. I have tried both red and white Charles Shaw wine. Just not very good to me...
ghp95134
02-15-2014, 00:52
This post is the closest to being on target.
TJ's didn't understand how things work in certain areas of this country.
Suppose you want to do something in an area that has been "community organized". If you fail to hire the community organizer as a consultant before attempting to do anything that is going to impact his community, you will be met with massive protest and resistance. You either wise up and hire the community organizer to "shepherd" you through doing what you intend to do, or you will experience increasing difficulty up to vandalism and violence.
Study how Jesse jackson, Al Sharpton, Barack Hussein Obama, et al. made piles of cash.
After you hire the community organizer, and who ever else the community organizer directs, then the community exerts pressure on your behalf.
Damn, but if that don't sound like the Mafia.
--Guy
I've till this day, seen a place with MLK namesake worth a fuck.....:confused::munchin
Yup, and the cycle of no jobs, poverty and lack of hope continues for the residents of the neighborhood thanks to the "community organizers".