Odds this was written by a white person in a hipster neighborhood?

These are boring. We need blood related submissions.

Total BULLSHIT this part of Portland has had minorities driven out!!! Of course, I speak of all the Germans and Norwegians displaced by African Americans in the 40's and 50's, but hey...

Yes, Congratulations, PAALF! Think of all the mowing jobs that will be maintained now in the neighborhood! Good luck with your "neighborhood visioning" process. Usually those events rely on Unicorn poo as the primary means for making their dreams come true.

But you know, it's so hard to slag PAALF, since PDC was just going to give away a flat, vacant, density-zoned lot for 20% of fair market value. It's really hard these days to know who to direct your ire at.

Anon isn't wise. That Trader Joe's would've been a great asset to the neighborhood. It is unreal that they fought it to the point Trader Joe's backed out. Yes, quality food at affordable prices - how evil.

Wait, a big empty lot could be a goldmine! We'll put the Belmont goats there, and sell t-shirts!

I'll support pretty much anything that wants to throw a monkey wrench into the annoying trend-seeking clusterfuck that Alberta has become. Troll away, black folks! You're pushing all the right buttons.

Yep fool...they could have had a few decent paying jobs created. Oh and by the way...a minority contractor was chosen to build it...Oh and by the way...their products are better quality and lower prices than Safeway...Oh and by the way...they pay their employees a living wage with benefits...Oh and by the way...they bring people into an area they might never go to eat lunch, visit other shops...should I go on??? But no.....we'll block them and make them withdraw because whatever it is would gentrify us. WHAT. FUCKING. BULLSHIT!!

PAALF would be a terrible name for a band

Yeah! The last thing working-class neighborhoods need is a fucking GROCERY STORE! We don't work these long minimum-wage hours just to turn around and spend our hard-earned dollars on GROCERIES, ASSHOLES!

I'd take a dozen new Trader Joes if it would somehow prevent the addition of any more New Seasons. We'll just buy some buildings back from Starbucks and put them in there.

"Oh, you want produce? This is just the deli. Produce is three blocks north, in the other old Starbucks."

@Rick I think you're projecting a bit too hard.

As Portland grows, traffic grows. Preventing businesses from opening shop (and creating jobs) just to keep traffic down sounds pretty uh... what's that word again... ahh yes, fucking stupid.

Not another mindless rant about 'gentrification' (" I likes to keep all them colors in just a few areas". ) or Californians.
This shit gets old.

heh.....seems the supposed "black leadership" has assumed the position of the new Slavemaster.

Good job asshats. Lots of douchebaggery on PAALF part.

AMEN, OP. I hate what Portland has become in the last ten years. If there were someplace less awful, I'd move there.

@ Anatta can't tell if your /s key was on, but.... reread your words carefully again. It sounds like no matter where you are, you're unhappy.

all this talk of gentrification is pointless and inane. i am a minority who grew up in NE pdx and lives there still. yes, hipsters suck but you know what sucks more? having to choose between super lame and super expensive new seasons and safeway which compared to it's brethren across the city has one of the worst product selections ever. in fact, i find that safeway absolutely insulting- oh but it's ok cos it's in the "ghetto" and we don't complain. i hate having to drive my not-suburu to hollywood to shop tj's and would much rather walk to fremont where a tj's would offer decent food at decent prices and decent paying jobs for the community. when it comes to the price of the lot, if it's worth $2.5 million then someone would pay that for it. instead now it can continue to sit empty- fantastic. lastly, i am not naive enough to think that developers and city commissioners aren't regularly up to shenanegins, so some people got some steak dinners? OMG! politics suck but sometimes it's worth it to improve a neighborhood instead of leaving it with gaping holes.

also: Trader Joe's is essentially packaged snacks and cheap booze. We've been conditioned to embrace it as a needs-meeting grocery store. BUT: it's not the commercial Messiah we wish it were. As a N Portland resident, New Seasons employee, and white guy, I am the personification of gentrification, but I did smell the stank on this deal. Something new and innovative can arise from the mess of this corporate back-out, and PAALF has a great opportunity to motivate our community forward.

mel, the only thing I smell is the stank on you.
Hip-Deep Stank at that.