Listened to There Goes the Neighborhood: Miami, Part 3 by Kai Wright and Nadege Green from The Stakes | WNYC Studios

Life and loss in Little Haiti, where residents find themselves in the path of a land rush.

Haitian migrants fled a violent dictatorship and built a new community in Miami’s Little Haiti, far from the coast and on land that luxury developers didn’t want. But with demand for up-market apartments surging, their neighborhood is suddenly attractive to builders. That’s in part because it sits on high ground, in a town concerned about sea level rise. But also, because Miami is simply running out of land to build upon. 

In the final episode of our series on “climate gentrification,” WLRN reporter Nadege Greene asks one man what it’s like to be in the path of a land rush. Before you listen, check out parts one and two.

In this episode, we hear from:

  • Louis Rosemont, artist in Little Haiti
  • Carl Juste, photojournalist for the Miami Herald
  • Ned Murray of Florida International University
  • Greg West, CEO of Zom Living development firm
  • Jane Gilbert, Chief Resilience Officer for the City of Miami

“NYC

Reported and produced by Kai Wright and Nadege Green. This is the final installment of a three-part series produced in partnership with WLRN in Miami. WNYC’s health coverage is supported in part by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Working to build a Culture of Health that ensures everyone in America has a fair and just opportunity for health and well-being. More at RWJF.org.

Overall a great series, but their narrative was weakened a bit for me in this final episode with the discussion of the myriad of other economic factors that could potentially be at play. Exactly how much do climate change and gentrification play in the displacement of Little Haiti? What percentage?
Listened to There Goes the Neighborhood: Miami, Part 2 by Kai Wright, Nadege Green and Christopher Johnson from The Stakes | WNYC Studios

The fear of mass displacement isn't paranoia for black people in Liberty City. It's family history.

Valencia Gunder used to dismiss her grandfather’s warnings: “They’re gonna steal our communities because it don't flood.” She thought, Who would want this place? But Valencia’s grandfather knew something she didn’t: People in black Miami have seen this before. 

In the second episode of our series on “climate gentrification,” reporter Christopher Johnson tells the story of Overtown, a segregated black community that was moved, en masse, because the city wanted the space for something else. If you haven't heard part one, start there first.

In this episode, we also hear from:

- Agnes and Naomi Rolle, childhood residents of Overtown

Marvin Dunn, researcher at Florida International University

- James Mungin II, co-founder of The Roots Collective

Reported and produced by Kai WrightNadege Green and Christopher Johnson. This is part two of a three-part series produced in partnership with WLRN in Miami. WNYC’s health coverage is supported in part by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Working to build a Culture of Health that ensures everyone in America has a fair and just opportunity for health and well-being. More at RWJF.org.

Listened to There Goes the Neighborhood: Miami, Part 1 by Kai Wright, Nadege Green, and Christopher Johnson from The Stakes | WNYC Studios

The sea level is rising -- and so is the rent. It's the first episode in our three part series on "climate gentrification."

In Miami’s Little Haiti neighborhood, residents are feeling a push from the familiar forces of gentrification: hasty evictions, new developments, rising commercial rents. But there’s something else happening here, too—a process that may intensify the affordability crisis in cities all over the country.

Little Haiti sits on high ground, in a city that’s facing increasing pressure from rising sea levels and monster storms. For years, researchers at Harvard University’s Design School have been trying to identify if and how the changing climate will reshape the real estate market globally. In Miami’s Little Haiti, they have found an ideal case study for what’s been dubbed “climate gentrification.”

We hear from:

Jesse Keenan, Harvard University Graduate School of Design

- Mimi Sanon-Jules, entrepreneur in Little Haiti

Reported and produced by Kai WrightNadege Green and Christopher Johnson. This is part one of a three-part series produced in partnership with WLRN in Miami. WNYC’s health coverage is supported in part by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Working to build a Culture of Health that ensures everyone in America has a fair and just opportunity for health and well-being. More at RWJF.org.

👓 In San Francisco, Making a Living From Your Billionaire Neighbor’s Trash | New York Times

Read In San Francisco, Making a Living From Your Billionaire Neighbor’s Trash (New York Times)
In a city swollen by the wealth of the tech industry, the rich and poor live very separate lives. But sometimes they connect through the garbage.

👓 Investors say ex-‘Fox & Friends’ host turned them into unwitting slumlords | Indianapolis Star

Read Investors say ex-‘Fox & Friends’ host turned them into unwitting slumlords by (Indianapolis Star)
Clayton Morris, a former Fox News co-host, is accused of selling novice investors uninhabitable rental properties.
I remember watching a couple of Clayton’s Periscope videos a few years back (about the time his wife Natali was leaving C|Net and the Buzz Out Loud podcast) and thinking he was a bit too credulous and even “off” at the time. I really couldn’t tell what he was selling at the time except for himself. This story doesn’t surprise me in the least. The piece overall is some tremendously interesting and solid journalism.

A quick Google search on “Clayton Morris” shows that this scandal hasn’t caught up with him. Only about two hits in the top twenty mention this issue, so he could potentially be profiting from his alleged scheme.

👓 Squatters’ takeover of Torrance home illustrates landlord frustrations with state law | Pasadena Star News

Read Squatters’ takeover of Torrance home illustrates landlord frustrations with state law (Pasadena Star News)
California law protects squatters who take over rental properties, drawing the ire of landlords such as Cindy Oye-Marquez, who must initiate an arduous eviction process to force out the people who …

👓 After selling off his father’s properties, Trump embraced unorthodox strategies to expand his empire | Washington Post

Read After selling off his father’s properties, Trump embraced unorthodox strategies to expand his empire by David Fahrenthold, Jonathan O'Connell (Washington Post)
In 2005, Donald Trump kicked off a decade-long buying and spending spree, vastly expanding his hotel and golf-course empire and cementing his image as a brash impresario. The un­or­tho­dox approach Trump took in making those bold bets — racing through hundreds of millions in cash and drawing loans from the private-wealth office of Deutsche Bank — came when he was on new terrain as a developer.

👓 The last Sears in Chicago is closing | MSN

Read The last Sears in Chicago is closing (MSN)
Sears is closing its final store in Chicago, the city it called home for more than a century.

Highlights, Quotes, Annotations, & Marginalia

The Six Corners store, like more than 100 other Sears locations, is owned by Seritage Growth Properties, a real estate company controlled by Sears Holdings CEO Eddie Lampert. Seritage, which is publicly traded, has a market value nearly 10 times greater than Sears Holdings.  

Interesting to see the interaction between Sears Holdings and Seritage. The value is apparently all in the real estate.

👓 As the ‘King of Debt,’ Trump borrowed to build his empire. Then he began spending hundreds of millions in cash. | Washington Post

Read As the ‘King of Debt,’ Trump borrowed to build his empire. Then he began spending hundreds of millions in cash. by Jonathan O'Connell, David A. Fahrenthold and Jack Gillum (Washington Post)
In the nine years before he ran for president, Donald Trump’s company spent more than $400 million in cash on new properties — including 14 transactions paid for in full, without borrowing from banks — during a buying binge that defied real estate industry practices and Trump’s own history as the self-described “King of Debt.”
Given the mediocrity of Trump’s business while he was doing roughly what everyone else was doing, I’m even more skeptical of his ability to float a business with the numbers presented here. Based on now better researched reports, Trump only had a fraction of the wealth he’s always said he had. Unless his political position is being heavily leveraged now, I’m not sure how he’s staying in business. These back of the envelope numbers make Trump’s concerns even more suspicious.

One of the things not being reported in the Mueller investigation is investigation into Trump’s businesses and finances. I’d have to imagine that they’re looking into his tax records and business dealings more closely than has been reported.

🎧 Season 2 Episode 1 A Good Walk Spoiled | Revisionist History

Listened to Season 2 Episode 1 A Good Walk Spoiled by Malcolm GladwellMalcolm Gladwell from Revisionist History

In the middle of Los Angeles — a city with some of the most expensive real estate in the world — there are a half a dozen exclusive golf courses, massive expanses dedicated to the pleasure of a privileged few. How do private country clubs afford the property tax on 300 acres of prime Beverly Hills real estate? RH brings in tax assessors, economists, and philosophers to probe the question of the weird obsession among the wealthy with the game of golf.

References
FORE! AN ANALYSIS OF CEO SHIRKING PDF 2.1MB
I wouldn’t say that I “hate” golf more now, but I do think that the structure holding the system up is way worse than I did before. It’s truly deplorable that the system is propping up courses in Los Angeles like this. The statistics explored here are truly painful. I love that someone has delved into open statistics to come up with the ideas underpinning this episode.

I knew that prop 13 was destroying California slowly but surely, but some of the smaller subsections are even more egregious.