Friday, June 11: Tremont Anti-Gentrification Rally
by Evict Sutton Brothers From Tremont Tuesday, Jun. 08, 2004 at 10:35 PM
gentrifythis@kleveland.org

There will be free food, music, zines, and other information about the gentrification of Tremont this Friday, June 11. The radical cheerleaders will also be stopping by for a visit, so be sure to come over and help fight for affordable housing and services in Tremont.

This FRIDAY, JUNE 11, there will be an anti-gentrification event in Tremont at the CORNER OF PROFESSOR & JEFFERSON.

Cleveland Food Not Bombs! will be serving a tasty assortment of free food, and the radical cheerleaders will also be performing. Throw in a free CD of local music, literature about gentrification and Tremont, and a whole lotta Tremonters tired of being ignored and pushed around, and the event is sure to be a powerful criticism of both city and corporate plans for Tremont.

A dozen ultra-expensive restaurants & bars in a working class neighborhood, yet not one grocery store? Older, affordable housing destroyed to make way for pricey town houses and condos? 148 public housing units permanently destoyed, their residents carelessly shipped off, while "mixed income" rental properties with high rent replace them? An elementary school destroyed while millions of dollars are spent attracting wealthy outsiders? WHAT IS HAPPENING IN TREMONT?

The word, of course, is gentrification. Developing companies, such as Tremont West and Sutton Brothers, continue to buy properties all over the neighborhood, building expensive, overpriced stores and housing. The result is the forced dislocation of the areas working class residents, pressured out of the community in which many were raised so wealthy development companies can profit by attracting upper-middle class investors, property owners and renters. Locally owned businesses are pressured by the city and developers to sell and move out, while greedy development companies continue to ignore the community's needs.

Some people may remember the "old days", when Tremont was known as the Southside. Hardware stores, delis, barbers, grocery stores, laundromats, and countless other stores sprawled across the neighborhood. Today, these shops are nonexistant, replaced by overpriced properties being milked by rich investors for a couple quick bucks. Property taxes for long-term residents, many on fixed incomes, skyrocket while affluent investors are given tax abatements.

It's not too late to fight back! The city and the developing companies aren't going to give us any options, we have to demand them! Join Tremont on June 11 as we stand together against corporate greed and exploitation!

If you'd like to support the event, here are flyer 1 and flyer 2.

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