posted on March 2, 2007 02:55:19 PM new
Gays worried about straights moving into the neighborhood...
S.F.'s Castro district faces an identity crisis
As straights move in, some fear loss of the area's character
Wyatt Buchanan, Chronicle Staff Writer
To walk down San Francisco's Castro Street -- where men casually embrace on sidewalks in the shadow of an enormous rainbow flag -- the neighborhood's status as "gay Mecca" seems obvious.
But up and down the enclave that has been a symbol of gay culture for more than three decades, heterosexuals are moving in. They have come to enjoy some of the same amenities that have attracted the neighborhood's many gay and lesbian residents: charming houses, convenient public transportation, safe streets and nice weather.
The integration of gay and straight is increasingly evident not only in the Castro District but across North America, from Chicago to New York City to Toronto, where urban revitalization is bringing new residents at the same time some gays are settling in other parts of cities or the suburbs -- such as the East Bay.
But some gay and lesbian residents of the Castro are worried that the culture and history of their world-famous neighborhood could be lost in the process, and they have started a campaign to preserve its character. The city, meanwhile, is spending $100,000 on a plan aimed at keeping the area's gay identity intact.
Heterosexuals "are welcome as long as they understand this is our community," said Adam Light, a leader in the Castro Coalition, a group formed eight months ago to address the shifts in the neighborhood in recent years.
In San Francisco, the line between the Castro and nearby Noe Valley has blurred, said Aldo Congi, a San Francisco native and vice president of McGuire Real Estate who has sold property in the city since 1979. In the 1970s, the gay revolution in the Castro was shocking to straight people, including him.
"There used to be demarcation, where straight families would want to be in Noe and gay families or couples in the Castro," Congi said. "I think it's much more integrated now. I don't think there's any question about that."
While evidence of the change is largely anecdotal, estimates based on census data from 2000 and 2005 show that San Francisco and other major cities in the United States are losing gay and lesbian couples, while Oakland, Berkeley and San Jose gained couples, according to a UCLA demographer.
The Castro's gay and lesbian residents need to be actively involved in neighborhood planning if they want to see the area maintain its identity, said Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris, chair of the School of Public Affairs and Urban Planning at UCLA.
"It's very difficult to stop change," she said. "But you can try to direct it in ways that you like as opposed to ways that you hate."
San Francisco's gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community also is helped by its storied history. Thousands of gays and lesbians came to the city at the beginning of the Gay Liberation movement in the late 1960s, settling first in the Haight, where they fixed up Victorian homes. In the 1970s and '80s, many of them moved over the hill to the Castro, where there was less crime.
"I think the only gay neighborhood that is going to survive is the Castro," said Don Reuter, a New York writer who has spent the past seven months documenting the status of gay enclaves in 12 U.S. cities. "In every city this is going on. We're unraveling. Our gay neighborhoods are unraveling," he said.
In Chicago, the core gay neighborhood has moved farther from the urban center as real estate prices have risen. Most gay and lesbian people who own homes now live on the northern edge of the city, said filmmaker Ron Pajak, who is documenting the history of the city's gay community.
A district of gay nightclubs in southern Washington, D.C., is being demolished to make room for a new stadium. And in Toronto, high-rise condos are replacing parking lots in the Gay Village, and more heterosexuals are moving into the neighborhood.
"You can't tell people where to live, and people are making all sorts of decisions," said Kyle Raye, Toronto's first openly gay city councilman who has represented the Gay Village area since 1991. "The lines are blurred; even the police love working (during gay pride events). There are significant social changes that have occurred."
Still, gay and lesbian residents in San Francisco are trying to draw lines around the Castro. Last week, the city began taking bids from consultants to create a plan to guide development of at least nine major properties and vacant lots on Market Street.
Supervisor Bevan Dufty, who represents the area and is leading the city planning process, sees the effort as a "community visioning process" that will include the creation of smaller units of affordable housing for young people and the elderly.
"I think we can do things in the next four to five years that will sustain us for the next 40," Dufty said.
He also wants development that will create spaces for community institutions such as Theater Rhinoceros, which bills itself as the city's "queer theater," and organizations that assist people who have HIV and AIDS. But his biggest goal is to create a permanent home in the neighborhood for the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society's archives, along with a museum.
"People from around the world go to the Castro, and there is precious little they can access to know our history," he said.
That history was not a factor when Rachel Beckert and her husband decided to move their family to a flat on Eureka Street in the heart of the Castro three years ago.
"The only thing that meant anything to me was the area would be nice," said Beckert on a recent day, as she watched her son and daughter ramble through the playground at the Eureka Valley Recreation Center a block from the center of the Castro Street shopping district. Eureka Valley is the historic name for the neighborhood that once had many Irish and German residents, some of whom still live there.
Beckert's brother, sister-in-law and their children moved into the flat below them. They picked the neighborhood for its location, safety and proximity to shopping -- attributes that attract many.
At first, Beckert wondered if her family's presence would provoke a backlash from gay and lesbian residents, but she says they have been friendly. She rejects suggestions that families like hers should live in other neighborhoods.
"You could also say this neighborhood used to be full of families," she said, adding that neighbors on both sides of her building lived in the Castro before it became a gay enclave.
The blocks surrounding the recreation center and the Beckerts' home have the highest concentration of gay and lesbian residents in the Castro -- as high as 95 percent, according to an estimate based on 2000 census data by Gary Gates, a senior research fellow at the UCLA School of Law's Williams Institute, which tracks demographic data of gays and lesbians. According to the estimate, the proportion of gay and lesbian residents ranges from about 80 percent to 30 percent elsewhere in the area.
Using census data to look at population shifts over time is more difficult. Between 2000 and 2005, same-sex couples in San Francisco declined by about 5 percent, Gates estimates. The rate was 2 1/2 times that of heterosexual couples.
The trend is also apparent in Philadelphia, Washington, New York, Houston, Detroit and Austin, Texas, according to the estimate. The population of same-sex couples in Oakland, Berkeley and San Jose, meanwhile, appeared to increase during the period -- San Jose by 34 percent, Oakland by 14 percent and Berkeley by 8 percent.
Along Castro Street, merchants are seeing another trend: high turnover among shops as business owners struggle to afford rents that are among the highest in the city.
"We need to find and attract new businesses to the neighborhood," said Paul Moffett, president of the Merchants of Upper Market and Castro. "They may not be gay-owned, but the bottom line is we want a vibrant, successful and healthy business community. Whether gay, Chinese, African American or owned by women, it doesn't matter."
Perhaps the central question expressed in community forums about the future of the Castro is whether gays and lesbians should assimilate into mainstream culture as they gain acceptance -- or maintain a separate place.
"Having a specific neighborhood politicians can point to, can go to and shake hands or kiss lesbian babies, has really solidified the gay vote, our political muscle," said longtime community activist Tommi Avicolli Mecca at a forum in November.
He said places that are free from anti-gay violence and discrimination are important refuges. But other people believe anti-gay sentiment will fade over time.
San Francisco Convention and Visitors Bureau chief Joe D'Alessandro, who lives in the Castro with his gay partner and their six children, said he thinks gay enclaves marginalize the people who live there. He said the gay community in his previous home of Portland, Ore., a city without a historically gay neighborhood, is a model because gay and lesbian residents comfortably live in the mainstream.
"They do not live in a ghetto," D'Alessandro said, "and I think they're stronger because of it."
posted on March 2, 2007 03:22:40 PM new
"There Goes the Neighborhood"
Might do them some good to have straight people around them.
I'd never made that lifestyle choice, especially if I had children.
But I did especially enjoy and get a laugh from this idiots comment:
"Heterosexuals "are welcome as long as they understand this is our community," said Adam Light, a leader in the Castro Coalition, a group formed eight months ago to address the shifts in the neighborhood in recent years."
Does he somehow think being GAY puts them in charge of the whole area and who 'gets to live there'. LOL
posted on March 2, 2007 03:41:32 PM new
Linda, can yo imagine the outrage from the left IF a STRAIGHT male made that statement about gays moving into a predominately straight neighborhood?
It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.George S. Patton
posted on March 2, 2007 04:44:01 PM new
Sure can, bear. I can hear it now.
My online experience with gay men has been nothing but negative. They all appear to be extremists to me....out of control of their emotions....and can't have a rational discussion. I believe it's because they feel threatened in some way.
And as this article points out...they're feeling threatened by a normal couple moving into what they believe is ONLY their community.
I'm so glad I got out of CA....and now that I read what's going on in the San Jose area...even more so.
And southern california, imo, has been taken over by the gangs and illegals.
posted on March 2, 2007 06:26:28 PM new
Linda_K
posted on March 2, 2007 03:22:40 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"There Goes the Neighborhood"
Might do them some good to have straight people around them.
I'd never made that lifestyle choice, especially if I had children.
But I did especially enjoy and get a laugh from this idiots comment:
"Heterosexuals "are welcome as long as they understand this is our community," said Adam Light, a leader in the Castro Coalition, a group formed eight months ago to address the shifts in the neighborhood in recent years."
Does he somehow think being GAY puts them in charge of the whole area and who 'gets to live there'. LOL
Don't think so bud. Better rethink that nonsense.
Bear1949
posted on March 2, 2007 03:41:32 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Linda, can yo imagine the outrage from the left IF a STRAIGHT male made that statement about gays moving into a predominately straight neighborhood?
It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.George S. Patton
Linda_K
posted on March 2, 2007 04:44:01 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sure can, bear. I can hear it now.
My online experience with gay men has been nothing but negative. They all appear to be extremists to me....out of control of their emotions....and can't have a rational discussion. I believe it's because they feel threatened in some way.
And as this article points out...they're feeling threatened by a normal couple moving into what they believe is ONLY their community.
I'm so glad I got out of CA....and now that I read what's going on in the San Jose area...even more so.
And southern california, imo, has been taken over by the gangs and illegals.""""
How can anyone wonder why some gays (or anyone else) may not want people like linduh and bear moving into their neighborhood ?
From the article:
""The only thing that meant anything to me was the area would be nice," said Beckert on a recent day, as she watched her son and daughter ramble through the playground at the Eureka Valley Recreation Center a block from the center of the Castro Street shopping district. Eureka Valley is the historic name for the neighborhood that once had many Irish and German residents, some of whom still live there.
Beckert's brother, sister-in-law and their children moved into the flat below them. They picked the neighborhood for its location, safety and proximity to shopping -- attributes that attract many."""
Yes, and whether gay or straight , most people probably don't care to have hate-filled scared little people spreading their slime in a nice, safe neighborhood....
posted on March 2, 2007 10:46:21 PM new
The essence of being gay is to hysterically call for "acceptance" while simultaneously demanding special status within the group. It is all part of the same disease I guess.
posted on March 3, 2007 11:12:29 AM new
Just like mingopig, cowfarm, bigdopa and the rest of the demomorons to allow for a double standard. The fags continually want special treatment that the rest of America doesn't receive, but yet when a straight person wants EQUAL rights, they scream.
.
.
.
"Unfortunately there are levels of Stupid that just can't be cured!!" The current Demomoron motto.
posted on March 3, 2007 12:58:15 PM newI'd never made that lifestyle choice, especially if I had children.
Liar_K is at it agian. Above she is saying if I had children. I THOUGHT SHE HAD A SON THAT WAS IN THE MILITARY.
So Linda do/did you have children or did you not.
Absolute faith has been shown, consistently, to breed intolerance. And intolerance, history teaches us, again and again, begets violence.
---------------------------------- The duty of a patriot in this time and place is to ask questions, to demand answers, to understand where our nation is headed and why. If the answers you get do not suit you, or if they frighten you, or if they anger you, it is your duty as a patriot to dissent. Freedom does not begin with blind acceptance and with a flag. Freedom begins when you say 'No.'
posted on March 3, 2007 01:21:40 PM newMight do them some good to have straight people around them.
It would work the other way around to Linda. IT MIGHT DO THE STRAIGHT BIGOTS LIKE YOURSELF SOME GOOD.
As you can see in the article most cities are loosing their "gay area". It suggests that gay people do not need to be around other gay people in order to be who they are. Being gay does not define where they must live. Many gay people are moving out of major population areas and moving further in to suburbia to settle down and raise a family. Just like with straight people, gay people move to where the housing is affordable.
My partner and I live in a neighborhood that consists of families with 2 or 3 children. The neighbors do not care that they have gay people living next to them.
I suppose you would not mind having a gay or lesbian couple living next to you.
Even little Eureka Springs, Arkansas has a highly visible gay and lesbian presence.
Absolute faith has been shown, consistently, to breed intolerance. And intolerance, history teaches us, again and again, begets violence.
----------------------------------
The duty of a patriot in this time and place is to ask questions, to demand answers, to understand where our nation is headed and why. If the answers you get do not suit you, or if they frighten you, or if they anger you, it is your duty as a patriot to dissent. Freedom does not begin with blind acceptance and with a flag. Freedom begins when you say 'No.'
[ edited by logansdad on Mar 4, 2007 12:46 PM ]
posted on March 3, 2007 02:21:25 PM new
Hahahahhhaahahahaha!!! and a LOL!
Boy, I point out what bigots the neocons are and do they get upset !!1
And, OF COURSE, make accusations THEY cannot back up !!!
All the gays want to do is what I would do in my community...try to keep out nasty, hate-mongering, bigoted, socio-paths like linduh and bear !!! I wouldn't want the KKK in my nieghborhood either...or a Nazi group.......same thing !
They simply want to live in peace and don't want some slobbering cavemen causing them trouble.....
The board radicals are in all their glory.....calling us names.
This is nothing more than DISCRIMINATION FROM gays towards heterosexuals. Wanting to keep them OUT of THEIR community.
How funny - and it again points out the enormous double standards they have.
IF anyone had wanted to do the same [keep out of their community] say, blacks, chicanos, muslims....then the liberals here would be arguing it a different way.
No one, BY LAW, is allowed to keep anyone out of ANY community.
posted on March 4, 2007 08:11:12 AM new
"""The board radicals are in all their glory.....calling us names.
This is nothing more than DISCRIMINATION FROM gays towards heterosexuals. Wanting to keep them OUT of THEIR community.
How funny - and it again points out the enormous double standards they have."""
I take it that means you would welcome gays moving in next door to you
What it means is, as has been explained, they don't want hate-filled gay bashers moving into their neighborhood causing trouble...trying to "set an example" for them, ..walking down the street going TSK TSK TSK.
Seems to me all they're saying is if you can't accept us as your neighbors, don't make us your neighbors.
"""IF anyone had wanted to do the same [keep out of their community] say, blacks, chicanos, muslims....then the liberals here would be arguing it a different way."""
No one, BY LAW, is allowed to keep anyone out of ANY community."""
So you want gays to move in next door......I am surprised.....
posted on March 4, 2007 10:12:55 AM new
Of course you're surprised.
But that surprise comes from your own ignorance. Your own refusal to either grasp or retain what I have shared many times have been my personal experiences with gays/lesbians.
IF you'd ever acknowledge those posts....then you wouldn't be so surprised.
But that's not what your mean spirited posts are EVER about.
posted on March 4, 2007 12:50:42 PM newNo, linduh, what I've seen from you is nothing but nasty, insulting, mean spirited gay-bashing.
I have been wondering for quite a while what has caused Linda to have a such a "reverand Phelps" attitude toward gay people.
Absolute faith has been shown, consistently, to breed intolerance. And intolerance, history teaches us, again and again, begets violence.
---------------------------------- The duty of a patriot in this time and place is to ask questions, to demand answers, to understand where our nation is headed and why. If the answers you get do not suit you, or if they frighten you, or if they anger you, it is your duty as a patriot to dissent. Freedom does not begin with blind acceptance and with a flag. Freedom begins when you say 'No.'
Are YOU a Bunghole?