capitAl hill

via

I died for your yuppie sins

You know, it's funny that my posters are getting so much attention, because I've only lived in Seattle four and a half years. I come from a perspective of only four years, but I've never seen such RAPID gentrification anywhere. It's not gradual—it's on EVERY corner. Boom! Boom! Boom! Like Dresden, Germany—A BOMBING! Boom! Boom! Boom! Cranes! Cranes! Cranes! There are so many buildings that are still empty. And all those empty units represent people—and only the people who can afford a $2,300-a-month apartment. This can't NOT change the demographic of a neighborhood.

You're from New York—did you do this kind of protest art there?

Not in my most recent history in New York, but way back in the day—in the '80s, I did all kinds of postering, more geared around bands, events, all-ages shows. My best friend Jamie just recently went back, and he found one of our posters that was still glued up—a little eight-and-a-half-by-eleven-inch flyer. It's been there 20 years, on the window of an old dilapidated building. Back then, it was more about a punk sort of idea, and free speech. I've been a painter and an artist now for a long, long time. I do paintings and film. I've been self-employed for more than 25 years. To do that, I maintain an art studio that's multifunctional, that I can do all sorts of different kinds of work in. Right now, I'm very fortunate—it took me three long years to find, but I have a great art studio on Capitol Hill. It's a struggle, though, don't get me wrong! It's not like I'm ever going to be able to move into the Sunset Electric! The other part of this late-stage gentrification is that it creates a particular malaise. It makes people feel displaced and uncertain of their futures. It's also pretty obvious, when these fancy new buildings come in, that there's no way you, or I, or most people who were already living here could open up a new business—especially a business like a record or used clothing store or, heaven forbid, a new art gallery. In these new buildings, it's like $60 a square foot.

What places have you seen disappear that you miss?

Remember across from Northwest Film Forum, there used to be a little secondhand store, the Trading Post? That's long gone. Or around the corner in that big, yellow building—which I understand had a long history in the neighborhood, including being, at one point, a gay rooming house in the late '70s and early '80s? Also in that yellow building there was the classic staple of any good gayborhood, the antique store owned by the old, queeny gay couple. Those two guys had that little store for 40 YEARS. And where are they now? Gone. Never to return. And one by one, all the places where people of modest income can shop will be gone. And eating? Forget it. That Japanese place on 12th—a bowl of ramen is $16. Maybe eventually it will reach a critical mass. Every single new business in these new buildings can't be an expensive restaurant or a fancy bar or a bank. Who even goes to a brick-and-mortar bank anymore, anyway? Don't people just do banking online? You ever notice when you walk by these banks in the bottom of all these brand-new buildings, that there's NOBODY but employees in the lobby?

Yeah, it's weird.

I think the most interesting story would be to ask some of the new people who live in these expensive new apartments how THEY see the neighborhood. Why did they choose to live here? How was it pitched to them? Was it the nightlife? Was it that it was queer-friendly? Because if you can afford a $2,300 apartment, you could easily afford to live anywhere in Seattle—you could live in Queen Anne, Ballard, downtown, you could rent a beautiful house in the CD with a yard and everything. So what was their attraction to Capitol Hill? A lot of those new buildings are microcosms unto themselves—they have parking underneath, so a person could leave their apartment, go down to their car, and go off to their job or wherever they go without ever setting foot on the actual street. A person could get Amazon Fresh to deliver their food, and they never have to go inside a local store. These people aren't leaving any sort of footprint in the neighborhood. They're never actually the person on the street. That's not what a city is about—a city like New York is about the streets. What's happening here is a suburban enclave happening on top of an urban core. People want all the amenities of living in a suburb in the ground floor of their condo—a Panera, a coffee shop, a boutique gym, a dry cleaner, a Bank of America. But they're not participating, they're not giving anything back. They underestimate urban living.

Suburbs are kind of soulless, with strip malls everywhere...

They're soul-killing—so much repetition of corporate retail. Everything's sanitized. You never arrive anywhere and there's no history. And the way Capitol Hill is becoming a sanitized suburb is wiping its history away. And even as a resident of only four years, I think this sanitation is worthy of protesting.

- John Criscitello

tale of two cities, redux

After five years of catering to creative minds, intellectuals, coffee addicts and curious foodies, the beloved cafe served its last Arabica croques, omelettes au fromage and brülée cappuccinos Sunday....Inspired by coffee and nostalgic for a favorite restaurant in his hometown of Caracas, Venezuela, Corväiá opened Arabica in 2009 to share his fascination for world cultures and travel. An architect by trade, he tore down all remnants of the preceding Supercuts in order to create a new aesthetic from the ground up. Striving to establish a hub for all kinds of artists, Corväiá focused on decorating the space with avant-garde visual art, good music and worldly flavors, including baked goods from 20 countries.

***

In December, CHS showed you inside the more than $30 million Starbucks Reserve Roastery facility for the first time. The Melrose 15,600 square-foot roasting facility, cafe, and Tom Douglas restaurant continues to pack in crowds of tourists and gawking locals.As part of the company’s enthusiasm for “premiumization,” Starbucks also announced it was starting a new subscription service for its Reserve brand beans roasted solely here on Capitol Hill — good news for the 100 or so employees including the dozen-member roasting team that works in the facility. Starbucks has said it plans to produce up to 1.4 million pounds of Starbucks Reserve-quality coffee beans in the facility’s first year. The company also plans to supply the Melrose beans to some 1,500 global Starbucks Reserve cafes by the end of fiscal year 2015.


...what the fucking fuck is happening to my city, my neighbourhood, my home

I, Anonymous: SPEAKS FOR ME

To all you studded-tire folks: If you only knew how much damage your precious studs cost us taxpayers, you probably would think twice about buying them. They don't help 99 percent of the time. The state patrol does not recommend them because they actually increase the stopping distance on wet pavement, which is 99 percent of the time in Seattle during the winter months. It's a waste of money, it's hard on the pavement, and, worst of all, I hate the sound of your stupid four-wheel-drive SUV grinding its way through a parking lot with four studded tires on bare pavement when the only snow or ice is 50 miles away on Snoqualmie Pass. You are a paranoid bunch of suburban dwellers who have never been east of the mountains where studded tires are for pussies. And if you can't drive in some inclement weather, then leave your four-wheel-drive SUV in the heated parking garage and take the bus.

—Anonymous

The other day walking to QFC I saw a woman on Broadway driving A HUMMER. AN H2 IN A FUCKING URBAN ENVIRONMENT. I wanted to slap her. Oh, suburbanites. Can't you stay off in the woods and leave my city alone?

(As someone else pointed out: people who drive with studded tires ((and have H2s! -- I am still fuming)) won't give a fuck about public roads. Which they use. Tax the fucking studded tires so the price is commensurate with the cost to the city, and their use would drop right quick. But that will never, ever, ever happen.)