In defense of NIMBYism

6 comments

August 29, 5:03 PM

by Tony Long, North Beach Examiner

 

 

Well, when it comes to North Beach, I'm a NIMBY. And damned proud of it. And if you love North Beach -- I mean really love it, and value its live-and-let-live traditions, and the fact that there's a place for everyone here -- you're a NIMBY, too. Because the things that are happening around here right now are threatening to destroy the heart and soul of the neighborhood, all for the benefit of a few big mouths and a few big pockets who look at North Beach and see nothing but a financial opportunity.

We've got real estate speculators buying multi-unit buildings and evicting longtime tenants so they can convert apartments into condominiums (while making a hell of a lot of money). "We're feeding the American dream," they bleat in self-righteous indignation. "Every American wants to own his own home." Well, no, every American doesn't want to own his own home. A lot of Americans prefer to rent. Besides, by fulfilling one person's dream (and making a hell of a lot of money), you're destroying someone else's. That's a net gain of zero.

Bottom line: North Beach is a renter's neighborhood and any new construction that's allowed should be for rental units only. You want to own something? Go live in the Sunset. There's a little NIMBYism for you.

Here's a little more.

The city wants to run that subway of theirs into North Beach. If it were just a matter of the subway alone, I think I'd be for it. But with the subway will come pressure to increase density -- which is the mantra of the current city administration obsessed with its Manhattan-style penis envy. If you start building six-story buildings along Columbus Avenue, you'll destroy the village of North Beach. So, if you live here, what do you do? Sit by and let it happen and watch them obliterate your neighborhood in the name of "progress"? Or do you resist, and fight for the reason you live here in the first place?

"It's better to die on one's feet than live on one's knees," said Dolores Ibarruri, the Spanish political activist who opposed Franco. Her situation may have been a little more dire than ours, but the point still remains.

A NIMBY fights to preserve what's there because it's worth preserving. Knuckling under to the forces of greed and coercion is cowardice of the highest degree.

So the next time someone accuses you of NIMBYism, give him a big kiss.

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