Th-th-th-that’s Alta folks!
This week Worcester Magazine reports the closing of the Alta Café at the hands of the Worcester License Commission. A mixed blessing for the neighborhood to be sure, as they’re slowly running out of people to blame common bad behavior and terrible public safety oversight on.
As expected, local curmudgeon Billy Breault wins the “I’ll eat my hat” award with this line:
“I think it will make for a much safer area.”
Glad you went on the record with that Billy, now when the area is exactly the same a year from now we can completely discount you and your inane opinions.
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20 Responses to “Th-th-th-that’s Alta folks!”
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in as much as I am happy to see the joint closed-I have to agree on the multitude of folks in the hood that never took Civic 101
Why doesn’t Gilreins and One Love have these same problems??
I’ll add BuckPaxton that I do think that in one year if that joint is not replaced with like kind that the neighborhood will be better off!
Can anyone envision a Latino Cafe void of this kind of problems?? Wouldn’t a upscale Latino restaurant do wondahs for Main South? It would bring in Latino’s who have made it, provide good jobs locally, bring in folks who have been staying out of the hood and it would now be a positive to Gilreins and One Love instead of a drag on those good businesses
In my opinion Main South to Pleasant is one of the prime urban locations in the city…do you think in our lifetime it will be ever considered such - main stream?
Thanks for pointing out once again that Billy Breault is a, uh, less than together guy when it comes to making any kind of sense. Personally I think Worcester would do well to stop listening to his crazy rants right this minute, rather than waiting the full year.
I have to say that I think its unfair to put issues of violence and drugs in Main South on Alta Cafe’s shoulders. I also don’t think these are “Latino problems.” I also don’t pretend to be on the inside of whatever went on in Alta Cafe while it was open, nor do I know the owner, so I can’t really speak on that. But what I do know is that when there’s not a ton of great job options or upward mobility, when poverty is allowed to grow in a neighborhood, then the drug trade, and the violence that seems to come with it, may start to look like a viable way to make money- and right or wrong, everyone needs to make a buck.
I’m not saying this is acceptable - I’m saying, its not real useful to make a person or business out to be “the problem” in this context. It would be a lot more useful if we as a city got real about creating jobs, and helping people who already live in Worcester get out of poverty and get a leg up. Then maybe we could compete with drug pushers on Main Street for people’s labor.
There seems to be an attitude in city government these days, that the solution to our problems is to bring in upper middle class and rich people from Boston and Providence. Then, we are told, everything will change for the better and Worcester will be “a real city.” (Never mind that a lot of “real cities” out there encourage things like street vending… but thats another issue.) Maybe it would be fine to have some of those upper middle class folks come in.
But in the meantime, what about the people who live here… in neighborhoods like Main South, or my neighborhood of Green Island in the same District? The solution to issues with violence and drugs in our neighborhoods, we are told, is simple: shut down Alta Cafe, or whoever’s getting blamed for the problems this week.
But as a neighborhood resident, I don’t think this is a real solution. I see issues of poverty, racism, and our voices not getting heard by city council, at the root of some of our problems with violence and drugs. And these deeper issues seem to me to be largely not addressed.
Cha Cha;
I think you are off-base to suggest that we need to do more..we are pretty darn giving community..at some point folks have to get off the mat on their own..I got houses all around me (not one or two but dozens) off Chandler loaded with units after units of folks who recieve free housing, free food, free medical,free legal and free edication if they choose to take advantage of the opportunity (few doing so)…to say we are not doing our share is disengenuous..I’ll show you my tax bill sometime over that beer:>)
The Dunkin Donuts across the street from me is serviced by an all Albanian crew of gals..most if not all have come over to this country with little or no English speaking skills or a whole lot of money…why are they finding opportunity here?
Alta Vista is the problem..how come the same issues are not eminating from One Love? Gilreins? Moynihan’s??
I commend you for your efforts…but those being helped have to push to..I see very few doing so and I am on the street just like you..perhaps with different perspectives but nonetheless looking for a bettah Worcester.
And I’ll jump in further on the Hispanic business issue even further..why are we not seeing violence & crime from customers of Living Earth, John & Son’s..SubWay, Baba Sushi, Biaggio’s,Sazon Latino..yet we have had a ton of violence & crime at numerous Hispanic owned business on Chandler this year? Not one word from the Hispanic community either..what are those of us not involved in this violence and crime to think Cha-Cha??
The Business group I am part of on Chandler Street offered to fund English classes to the Hispanic business on Chandler with the stipulation that it be in a classroom environment and the business join our group - I do not believe they took us up on the offer but they did come to us for money…we were willing to meet halfway…
Cha Cha;
How can we go about creating real jobs if the urban population refuses to be educated-go to school? If you owned a business would you want to move it here if there is no one willing or able to work cause they have no skills nor have made an attempt to get them..also an urban population that refuses to vote even tho ballots are put in a different language??
And there may be many including the city government advocating for more middle class moving into the urban core but one can not honestly state that this is the only mantra hitting the street..we have low income housing being built all over the urban core of the city and very little else…who do you think this is being built for..me, you?? Who is paying for this-”we the people”.
After CitySquare discussion and The Mayo Group..very little happening in the way of housing and this was the case before the collapse
Blaming “racism” and “not being heard at City Hall” for crimes committed/lifestyles chosen/behaviors normalized within the Hispanic community, by the Hispanic community, is a generic cop-out. Let’s celebrate a little diversity, here. There exists a diversity between the work-ethics, acceptable standards of living, etc. in different ethnic groups. It’s not racist to point out that a “siesta” lifestyle is just not gonna cut it in the United States, not if you intend to be upwardly mobile. There’s a reason that North America became the wealthiest, freest continent on Earth in record time while South/Central America became a flea-ridden hole filled with despots and drug-lords during the same period. The reason ain’t geography.
You’re being rather selective with your time lines, Tom.
I just bought a new car that was built in Mexico and with the money I saved I can buy a house in Detroit for about $150 (American).
And never mind this Bloomberg report which makes the claim Mexico is buying Texas back ‘one yard at a time’.
Seems like just maybe, the siesta is the making of the new upwardly mobile.
Okay, let’s try to stay sane here. Mexico is no “Asian tiger” poised to financially leverage us. Calm down.
As for the main point,…Tell it to Main South, Buck.
The median per capita income in Worcester is $18,500. That ain’t the statistic of a city filled with eager workers. You can “statistics” the whole thing into submission if you want, but skin color isn’t keeping Hispanics down, Hispanics are keeping Hispanics (and, to be sociologically accurate, the city) down.
All of the breast-beating and rending of garments over “unfairness” is a smokescreen. Peer through the PC haze and you’ll see it plainly.
Correct, 18k is a pretty grim median and something rarely discussed in the city.
But with the caucasian population at 77.11%, if you’re talking medians it would seem as though whitey is keeping everyone down (in terms of median income, anyway).
Actually, the poverty rate is very close (I don’t have the stats right now, and I’m on the way out the door) to the balance of that 77%. Coincidence?
Good point, Brendan.
Paulie, thanks for responding. I should clarify a few things.
#1, no one brought it up, but just so everyone’s clear, I am absolutely NOT saying that Alta Cafe ever had ANYTHING to do with the drug trade. I don’t have that information, and I would never insinuate anything like that about a business unless I saw it with my own eyes.
#2, I know we disagree about some stuff, but thanks for saying nice things about my work, and acknowledging that we all want things to be better. That’s cool.
#3: Tom, I encourage you to examine how stereotyping an entire culture and people as a “siesta” lifestyle and an entire continent as a “flea-ridden hole filled with despots and drug-lords” might be considered, uh, a wee bit offensive and patently untrue by many of us.
#4: Returning to the conversation as hand: Paulie, I don’t think I said anything about needing to give more, in terms of charity or what have you. I was talking about how we solve a problem, if the problem is the drug trade and violence connected to it. The reason I bring these issues up is that I read about them all the time in the paper, connected to my own Green Island neighborhood and to Main South, where I used to live. I’m a resident, and a young person with a family and friends I’d like to see live and do well, and obviously these things are of concern to me.
First, tho, there’s a couple of problems with saying that violence and crime are connected only to Latino businesses. One is, its just not true. I’m not going to name all the bars and businesses where I’ve personally seen stuff happen, but I will say that the last time my band played, at one of the businesses you named, I was pushed inside by a guy at the door because somebody was shooting a gun close by. Additionally, as a young woman, I’ve experienced tons of sexual harassment/ threatening crap (and you know, I’m a pretty tough and together young lady) over the years, in all kinds of places. My cousin was held up recently in a place which, if you’re going to label businesses based on the race/ethnicity of their owners, might be termed a “caucasian” establishment (not that the papers ever talk about it this way). Nobody said jack to me about any of those incidents. Nobody had any answers.
Regarding “not one word from the Hispanic community.” I’m not going to argue about what you’ve experienced, but I will say that I’ve had a very different experience. First of all, speaking and reading Spanish, I read El Planeta and Vocero newspapers all the time, and they talk just about every issue about crime in Worcester, not just connected to Latino-owned businesses but connected to all kinds of businesses and communities. And I have had tons of conversations with all different folks about how to deal with violence in our neighborhoods, in Spanish and in English.
Tell you a short story, tho. (You may want to sit down and grab that beer
In the papers recently, there’s been all this controversy about the El Delicioso truck, and is it bad for Main South. What about the violent incident that occured at 2-something am in the morning outside of it? What went on with that? People were worried, and looking for an easy solution. Getting rid of El Delicioso was brought up by folks like Councilor Haller. No paper that I saw printed a statement by El Delicioso’s owner, Mata. It seemed like he didn’t have any answers.
A few weeks ago I went down to El Delicioso to talk to Mata, in Spanish. And guess what? He had TONS to say! He told me he had no idea who kicked off the violence in front of his truck that night, only that it was scary and then on top of that he felt like he was getting blamed for it. He told me he just wants to run his business with no trouble. He said he had supported Councilor Haller in the past.
This isn’t just an issue of “Cha-Cha speaks Spanish so its easier for her to talk to other folks who do.” Come on: how hard is it for Worcester Magazine, for example, to bring a translator and get a quote from Mata before they write an article about El Delicioso?
When things like being left out of an article like that go on, repeatedly, I can understand when folks tell me they feel left out, and unheard. This is really not the only incident, but if you really want the full list of just what I’ve seen, it’s gonna be a long night at the Vernon.
If I approach the issue from the standpoint of “violence is the Latino community’s problem and ‘they’refuse to do anything about it”… especially with sooo many great Latino activists in the city, Latino folks in social services and youth work, and doing business, well… I can understand why folks might not be too enthused about talking with me.
#5: So ultimately, what the hell is my point about the problem about drugs and violence? Look, I wasn’t writing a comprehensive essay before, but as a young adult, one issue I seriously see is that a lack of good jobs with upward mobility is a serious problem. Leaving my moral beliefs out of it for the time being, I think I can say that two things are true:
a) The everyday person selling drugs on the street in Main South or Green Island is generally not the trafficker making the Big Bucks, and
b) Selling drugs can make you some money, and sometimes you get to set your own hours so there’s some flexibility. And that’s a step up from a lot of jobs out there.
Put it another way: a lot of times we act like getting folks a job is a long term solution, when in fact, its often a short term solution. A job with upward mobility is a long term solution. Eventually, people start wanting a house and a car and a good school for the kids, and McDonald’s ain’t gonna cut it.
We also act like people sell drugs because they are bad people, and not because it makes money. This is ridiculous. Drug dealing, at a basic level, is a job with some flexibility around the hours. If you need money, and your other option is something like $7.50/hr at Micky D’s, simple self interest can make you at least think about it.
My idea is just that as a city, we should compete for our employees. Not just with jobs, but with activities and mentorship also. I’m not trying to reduce this to a youth problem either, but I am reminded of the words of K., a young person in Green Island, regarding the situation with the Crompton park pool closing. He said, “They (city officials) stereotype me as a problem all the time, then they take away the pool, my one fun healthy summer activity, and don’t help me get a job. What are kids supposed to do?”
We might answer, “Take personal responsibility, and get a job at McDonald’s.” But unfortunately, while K. happens to be a very responsible person and would do that, it doesn’t work that way for a lot of people. Temptation is always out there… and so are music videos and pop culture heroes, glorifying money and the stuff we can’t have. Whatever the reasons, not all of us were angels in our past, and I’ll be the first to say I’m standing in a glass house.
What we can do is create a climate in which upwardly mobile jobs are more available and accessible for everyone. We can create a situation in which people looking to move up in the world say to themselves, “Why the hell would I want to take unnecessary risks involved in drugs and stuff? Let me go look at this really good City Jobs Program…” We can compete with the traffickers for our workforce. And we can create a much more comprehensive solution than just closing Alta Cafe and pretending it makes much of a difference.
How do we create a job program as cool as all that? I have ideas, but I’ve ranted long enough. That, however, is a problem I’m much more interested in working on, than the problem of “whose to blame.”
Alright Paulie and everyone else, thanks for listening.
Good stuff here from everyone. Thanks for taking the time to write it all down.
I use overstatement to make my point, Cha-Cha, lighten up. When discussing issues regarding people from S. and C. America, it’s probably salient to look at WHY they fled, rather than improved, their country. And why, having fled their homes, they are not improving their lives once they get here. One major problem is a lack of education (esp. regarding English), but there’s no lack of schools or teachers. There’s simply a lack of willing, motivated students.
How many more USELESS boards, studies, commissions, task-forces, multi-culti boondoggles and just plain “gimme” political schemes are you going to tolerate before you advocate something that works? Hard-working, ethical people get ahead in America, no matter what color their skin is. The single most important element of individual success in this country is individual effort. All the rest is just noise.
I got to think about Cha Cha’s post a wee bit before commenting…regarding the per capita income issue..I am not a stat guy but I reckon that those whities that BuckPaxton speaks of may very well be a high percentage of low to mid-income retirees and elderly SS recipients who also own their own homes or perhaps do not..and are only recieving a small pension and their SS plus maybe interest on a small savings
I bet the average age in the urban core of the city is quite higher compared to other urban cities such as are located around Greater Boston…this may reflect in the $18K…..the youth flight 18-30 out of the city I’ll bet is high and they would be earning more than retirees.
Just an idea..that very well may get swatted down by the smarter stat guys out there..
“Youth Flight”
Paulie you have just coined a brand spanking new sociological term.
You have definitely coined a term that pretty much sums this city up in many many ways.
I had bettah trademark it Gabe before someone else jumps on it:>)
Many a elderly on fixed incomes in the urban core of the city that own are keeping their units vacant cause they can’t get stable tenants or they are renting to section 8’s…few are renting to working folks with higher incomes than 18K
Again, when you replace young professionals (youth flight) with folks dependant on the government aka “we the people” and the remaining population gets older and is not affluent…I think you will experience a stagnant per capita
BuckPaxton and Tom Lincoln..thats it..where are the stats??
Youth flight
If your going to trademark it add Educated to it.
Educated Youth Flight
Areaconnect.com is a good site for “up-to-date” (2006) crime stats.
Income stats mainly come from state docs, but they’re footnoted on Wikipedia, real estate sites, census-based demographic databases, etc.
None of our numbers are made up.