Uptown Village

[GR_Urbanist]

I have tried real hard to not respond to the recent comments on this issue, but I can no longer resist.

I find many of these comments about this new business very judgmental and quite frankly paternalistic. The neighborhood around this new business is still VERY VERY predominately African American. Access to the type of products this store carries are very important to the majority of the residents of this neighborhood.

Do any of you making these comments have any idea of the cultural importance of the wide variety of hair care products have to the majority of residents of this neighborhood. Prior to the opening of this store many of the residents of the Baxter-Uptown neighborhood had to leave the neighborhood to find their hair care needs. Now they can walk to the store in their neighborhood.

How is this any different than the relentless comments made on threads related to the central city from folks looking for upscale restaurants, grocery stores, and other type bourgeois retail establishments that meet your needs?

I find the comments about pay day loan services very offensive. There is nothing more predatory than pay day loan services, or rent to own businesses. First of all Lighthouse would never lease to one of these type of establishments. Additionally, there is no comparison between between this establishment and despicable companies that prey on lower income folks.

It is starting to seem to me that the "gentry" in beginning to gain its voice in the Wealthy Business District.

[ModSquad]

So yeah, I guess I should realize the cultural importance of having a place nearby to get my grease, and hair picks, if that's what you were getting at.

[GR_Urbanist]

For the record that is not what I was/am getting at. I simply do think that linking this retailer to payday loan or rent to own stores, or the derogatory comments about fake hair or wigs is very culturally appropriate.

And, if I am wrong about this next comment someone correct me...the "Leased" sign hung in the window for months before the store opened, the proprietors of the store were in there painting and setting up for at least a month before they ever put their window decals in or their product in the windows, did anyone from the business district or any of the other people commenting on this thread that have a stake in this business district bother to stop by and help the new owners understand that there is a desire for businesses in the Wealthy District to have a certain look or decor to fit in to this unwritten "non-tackiness" standard?

[GRDadof3]

Better be careful. The next thing Wealthy Street will get is a Neighborhood Association to handle issues like these.

[GR Jackson]

I would just like to say that both Wing Heaven and the shoe place have been invited to join the WSBA. I am sure that the new store will also be invited.

I also think that if somebody walked into the wig store as they were putting it together and told them how to set up, that would be offensive. That would really give the feeling of an elitist place, telling them that we knew better than them and they should listen to us.

One last thing is that the race/cultural issue has been brought up too many times in regards to this building. I don't think this applies at all. There are buildings in this business district owned and operated by a large variety of cultures and ethnicities, and no one has a despariging comment about those. That isn't the issue, the unappealing set-ups of two businesses in close proximity is.

[twoshort]

Are comments like 'they have a lot of fake hair' or 'they don't sell powdered wigs' or 'i can't fathom what a drawstring wig is' derogatory?

[Mark Miller]

Most of the comments regarding these businesses are rooted in the right place - especially in regards to their urban appearance. There seems to be no basic understanding about the storefront windows: why they are there, what to do with them, their importance or even any recognition that the tenant even realizes that they are there. It looks like they are treated as wall to put display racks against on the inside and a wall to put signs on, on the outside.

This is urbanism 101. Why isn't this obvious by now?

The inference of racial elements associated with this topic is a joke. The tenant in question just doesn't get what it is all about from an urban stanpoint and whether they are black, white, brown, red, purple, or green has no bearing on that.

[suydam]

Are comments like 'they have a lot of fake hair' or 'they don't sell powdered wigs' or 'i can't fathom what a drawstring wig is' derogatory?