Central Machine Works
Protect & Preserve Denied
RECEIVED Sat., July 25, 2015
Dear Editor,
Regarding “Protect and Preserve” [News, July 24]: In the late Nineties, our community south of East Seventh Street begged the City Council and Planning Commission to protect and preserve it. Besides wanting its cultural characteristics preserved, we wanted affordable housing, services, and our own businesses. Instead, the city adopted a plan by a team that did not fairly represent our longtime, low-income Mexican-American community. We were denied our wishes and self-determination. Like Urban Renewal before it, this Smart Growth high-density, tax-raising plan was really an anti-family plan. Even before the 1928 Master Plan, the city had already completely pushed us out of our west Downtown Mexican neighborhood. (And, of course, you won't find a historic plaque amongst the luxury condos and expensive restaurants there now.) And then we were pushed east where some Mexicans already lived by the river. Because of racism we were red-lined and denied bank loans and unable to fix up our houses, buy property, or start our own businesses. In the meantime, outside investors were buying up all the land. Because the city didn’t officially recognize us as a “historic and cultural district,” it proceeded to pass redevelopment policies that zoned us out. Today the white washing and gentrification of our traditional neighborhood continues. This article doesn't mention any of this!
Regarding “Protect and Preserve” [News, July 24]: In the late Nineties, our community south of East Seventh Street begged the City Council and Planning Commission to protect and preserve it. Besides wanting its cultural characteristics preserved, we wanted affordable housing, services, and our own businesses. Instead, the city adopted a plan by a team that did not fairly represent our longtime, low-income Mexican-American community. We were denied our wishes and self-determination. Like Urban Renewal before it, this Smart Growth high-density, tax-raising plan was really an anti-family plan. Even before the 1928 Master Plan, the city had already completely pushed us out of our west Downtown Mexican neighborhood. (And, of course, you won't find a historic plaque amongst the luxury condos and expensive restaurants there now.) And then we were pushed east where some Mexicans already lived by the river. Because of racism we were red-lined and denied bank loans and unable to fix up our houses, buy property, or start our own businesses. In the meantime, outside investors were buying up all the land. Because the city didn’t officially recognize us as a “historic and cultural district,” it proceeded to pass redevelopment policies that zoned us out. Today the white washing and gentrification of our traditional neighborhood continues. This article doesn't mention any of this!
Anita Quintanilla