Anxious neighbors in the Point Breeze section of the city fear that a recent spike in property values — median home sale prices there jumped 35 percent (or by $29,500) between 2008 and 2009 — is pushing poor and working class families out of the neighborhood. And they’re using patrons of G-Ho’s Sidecar Bar as examples of the types of “yuppies” responsible for the debacle. According to Naked Philly, the anti-gentrification group Concerned Citizens of Point Breeze is passing out and tacking up flyers with pictures of folks dining outdoors on the sidewalk in front of the Sidecar with the message “Don’t Sell Out” to promote its Save Point Breeze campaign. Members of the group also attempted to block the forthcoming American Sardine Bar from getting zoning approval. There’s no doubt that the once dilapidated and decaying neighborhood underwent a tremendous transformation in recent years, but disintegrating commerce (the legit kind) there is partly to blame for its downfall. If anything thriving businesses like Sidecar and American Sardine Bar are just what the neighborhood needs. [Naked Philly]
Earlier: American Sardine Bar Meets Opposition From Neighbors
