When Tyko and I moved to the South Bronx seven years ago, we unwittingly became gentrifiers. It's hard to think of ourselves that way, but in reality that's what we are. We are people who have moved into a poor neighborhood, not because we must, but because we can. All of our married lives we've lived in poor neighborhoods, not to make a political statement and not to make a financial killing as the neighborhood gentrifies, but because it seemed like a financially smart … [Read more...]
Does it Pay to Be a Snitch?
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I was breathing easy about Clemetin. His life was going smoothly. He hadn't been stopped by the cops in quite a while. Perhaps as a result of the change in the stop and frisk policies adopted by the city some months ago. And he's been very proud that he has stopped shoplifting -- something that for Clemetin has been a way of life since he was a child. But then, one day went by and then another without a word from him. I didn't think much about it until the phone rang … [Read more...]
