From the Speaking of Reality TV--or Reality, In Spite of Itself files: Among the raft of semi-scripted (Im being kind) reality genre, BRAVO TV offers some of the best, whether it be sometimes-nauseating peeks at charter boat crews plodding their way across the Caribbean with their cargo of Plutocrats or the totally-boring antics of real housewives of every town across the map... One of these shows is MILLION DOLLAR LISTING...both Los Angeles and New York (and now, God help us, Miami as well)...all of the shows offer a dizzying (or is that, also, just nauseating?) view of the world of ultra-egoists who cater to a market of ultra-egoists and their collective sense of self-entitlement... But I digress... In the latest episode of the LA version, a heavy hitter decides to open a branch office of his NYC-based enterprise in downtown Los Angeles...and the show makes a rare incursion into the commercial real estate market. The tycoon is shown a sh*t-kicking space....over 30,000 sq. ft. of open loft/airline hanger space with exposed wooden beams and exposed brick walls...all going for about $4 a sq. ft. on lease... The tycoon drools! But, he correctly points out the devil who resides in the details... Whats the parking situation?, he asks... Im gonna have 50 or so employees, and they need to park... The agent says that only 8-10 spots are available, and the rest would be (already glutted) street parking... Nope. Kabosh that deal. Ah, but heres the whole point of this posting (I thought youd never get there): See, all that urban incentive bullsh*t that makes it possible to offer you this kind of space at that price, Mr. Tycoon...all that slow and careful gentrification which went into driving out the original residential and small business occupants of that neighborhood now looking so attractive to you...that all came at the expense of things like mass transport and infrastructure repair and updating... It came at the expense of offering, in the faithful parroting of the Gospel of Trickle Down, ridiculous tax-breaks to job creators and community beautifiers, and the total and treasonous betrayal of urban populations to the oligarchic kudzu of gentrification...making a car-culture like Los Angeles a hopelessly-handicapped competitor, or driving the price of mass transit rides in NYC from a nickel to $2.50 in my lifetime, and that with no commensurate increase in the wages of the riders... So, yeah, Mr. Job-Creating-Entrepreneur, if you wanna move to LA, youre gonna have to add a parking lot to your schemes of grandeur. Tough sh*t... Everything has a price, pal...
Posted on: Thu, 30 Oct 2014 10:27:25 +0000
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