Consider the example of the Lower East Side of Manhattan, where I used to live. When I moved there, it was the most culturally active and politically radical neighborhood I had ever seen. It was a 50-50 mixture of poor Puerto Ricans and white Bohemians. The two groups got along very well, often organizing political action around common causes. The communist and anarchist meetings were packed with working-class immigrants--how often do you see that in the UK? The popular culture of the neighborhood was world-famous, it was the birthplace of the Beatnik and Punk movements, both Allen Ginsburg and Richard Hell were regularly seen on the streets and in the bars. The Nuorican Poets' Cafe brought Puerto Rican Spanglish to the world's attention. The only place I've ever found that is remotely comparable in its atmosphere is Brixton.
Now, there was one characteristic of the neighborhood that many of you apparently see as a problem. There were crack and heroin dealers on almost every block. Lots and lots of them: I would be approached ten times as I walked accross the road for a coffee. I never had a problem with any of them, and nor did anyone else I knew. I suppose their customers did bring street-crime with them, and you had to watch your back, but it wasn't the end of the world.
Anyway, by the early '90's there were campaigns to get the dealers out, just as some of you are proposing in Brixton. They weren't organized by the working-class, from whose ranks the dealers were drawn, and who generally saw the trade as a vital source of income for their community. They were organized by the advance guard of Yuppies, who had bought property there, but more expecially they were organized--behind the scenes, naturally--by property speculators. They would buy cheap, subsidize protests by "local" groups, and wait for the neighborhood to "improve."
Which, with the election of the fanatically authoritarian Rudy Giuliani as Mayor in 1992, it rapidly did. Within two years, there wasn't a single dealer to be found. They all went to prison, given ridiculously Draconian sentences. Of course, all the squats had to go as well--there was a brilliant punk squat on my block with a big A for anarchy sculpture of scrap metal that you'll remember if you visited the LES in the 80's, it was closed within days of Giuliani's election. Then all the best bars and cafes changed hands because they couldn't afford the new rent--as I write CBGB's looks like it is finally capitulating, imagine how different the world would be if there's been no CBGB's. They became bland, faceless places for Yuppies.
And those of you who think anti-dealer campaigns are a good plan for Brixton should guess what else happened. Housing rents rose. A *lot.* Suddenly the working-class people couldn't afford to live there any more. They dispersed to the outer boroughs, their communities destroyed. Then *middle* class people couldn't afford to live there any more. Today, you won't find a one-bedroom in the LES for under $3000. So the only people who live there are bankers and lawyers and doctors. It is now much like any other neighborhood in any other American city. The march of homogenization continues unchecked. I suppose that pretty soon everywhere will be like everywhere else: Brixton will be like Chelsea. But when that happens, I wonder how many of you will be living there.
