Racist neighborhood in NYC? Really?! Nooooooooooo!
Racist Neighborhood in NYC? Really? Nooooooooooo
By now we should all be somewhat aware of the little backwater town Jena, Louisiana and its population consisting mostly of racist inbred Cone Heads that go to extremes to prohibit basic civil rights for its Black citizens. Well, have you heard of Howard Beach, New York? Howard Beach is a small town in the borough of Queens not too far from JFK Airport near Long Island.
Howard Beach is prime fucking real estate okay. The homes there are mansion-like (not quite) and are mostly waterfront. If you’re walking around and someone asks you what area do you live and you respond: “Howard Beach.” They will look at you and say, “excuusssse me.” Now if you’re Black, they will look at you and say, “Yeah right. Stop putzing around. Where do you really live?” Yours truly wouldn’t live in Howard Beach. As a real estate connoisseur, wherever there is a large body of water in NYC - there are rats. Huge, HUNGRY Ben-like, red-eyed, razor sharp teeth, no respect having for your food or small pets, bullet-size caca shooting rats. I wouldn’t pay a five dollars let alone a million dollars to live with rats bigger than my dog galloping around my house. But hey, to each his own, right?
Over the years, Howard Beach has earned a nasty reputation for being a staunch racist community. In 1986, a 22-year-old Black man, Michael Griffith, was struck and killed by a car as he was being chased by a gang of Whites. Look - they were convicted, so don’t go there with the Black-Man-Running-Must-Have-Stole-Something bullshit. This is New York - not Hooterville. We have more sense than that and have the ability to see the obvious unlike some places like . . . . Hmmm starts with “J” and rhymes with EENA. In 2005, Nicholas Minucci (a Howard Beach resident) was convicted of hate crimes for a racially motivated assault and robbery with an aluminum bat of 23-year-old Black Man, Glenn Moore. Do you know what it takes to be convicted of a racially motivated Hate Crime? FBI. Okay.
So why am I ranting about Howard Beach today? Because I was reading through Caribbean Life newspaper and came across an article about a Guyanese family, The Goundens, who bought a 15,000 square foot home (fifteen freaking THOUSAND!!) in Howard Beach and their neighbors are giving them hell trying to get them to leave. WTF? At first, I thought - okay, what could my Caribbean people be doing now? (for the record, Guyana is in South America and technically not in the Caribbean, but since they speak English, they are honorary . . . Haha!) Are they cooking too much curry and smelling up the neighborhood? Minding live poultry in the yard? Paint the house with Home Depot Oops Paint making it the house that could distract planes flying overhead (oh, I guess that only happens in South Florida)? Throwing parties with very loud ethnic music? Practicing voodoo rituals with sacrifices in the front yard? (sorry, having fun playing on the old stereotypes . . .) No, this traditional American Dream Family are hard working, law abiding, tax paying citizens (Mr. Gounden a self-employed aircraft technician). The Neighborhood Welcoming Committee in Howard Beach sure has an interesting way of saying “Welcome Neighbor” to the Goundens. In lieu of delivering, a basket of baked goodies, the residents residing in million dollar homes have delivered to the Goudens’ front yard garbage. One youth (with no job) went as far as to water the bushes with his very own urine. Hey, to each his own, right? Personally, a guy pissing on my bushes on my million dollar property would be greeted with a gesture from a bow and arrow. It’s a million dollar neighborhood! The Goundens have been harassed to no end including by their local government agencies and police. They have been imposed with tickets and fines for “violations” and other frivolous bullshit such as a four foot wagon that Cherry Gounden uses for gardening as an “illegal flatbed trailer.” Ohhhhh please.
The only way I would leave my home is if a scene from Amityville Horror Story were to be reenacted before my very eyes. Murderous ghosts telling me to get out - okay. No questions asked. Neighbors pissing on my lawn and attacking my kids, local officials hitting me with fake violations will be dealt with severely. What’s it take for you?
By now we should all be somewhat aware of the little backwater town Jena, Louisiana and its population consisting mostly of racist inbred Cone Heads that go to extremes to prohibit basic civil rights for its Black citizens. Well, have you heard of Howard Beach, New York? Howard Beach is a small town in the borough of Queens not too far from JFK Airport near Long Island.
Howard Beach is prime fucking real estate okay. The homes there are mansion-like (not quite) and are mostly waterfront. If you’re walking around and someone asks you what area do you live and you respond: “Howard Beach.” They will look at you and say, “excuusssse me.” Now if you’re Black, they will look at you and say, “Yeah right. Stop putzing around. Where do you really live?” Yours truly wouldn’t live in Howard Beach. As a real estate connoisseur, wherever there is a large body of water in NYC - there are rats. Huge, HUNGRY Ben-like, red-eyed, razor sharp teeth, no respect having for your food or small pets, bullet-size caca shooting rats. I wouldn’t pay a five dollars let alone a million dollars to live with rats bigger than my dog galloping around my house. But hey, to each his own, right?
Over the years, Howard Beach has earned a nasty reputation for being a staunch racist community. In 1986, a 22-year-old Black man, Michael Griffith, was struck and killed by a car as he was being chased by a gang of Whites. Look - they were convicted, so don’t go there with the Black-Man-Running-Must-Have-Stole-Something bullshit. This is New York - not Hooterville. We have more sense than that and have the ability to see the obvious unlike some places like . . . . Hmmm starts with “J” and rhymes with EENA. In 2005, Nicholas Minucci (a Howard Beach resident) was convicted of hate crimes for a racially motivated assault and robbery with an aluminum bat of 23-year-old Black Man, Glenn Moore. Do you know what it takes to be convicted of a racially motivated Hate Crime? FBI. Okay.
So why am I ranting about Howard Beach today? Because I was reading through Caribbean Life newspaper and came across an article about a Guyanese family, The Goundens, who bought a 15,000 square foot home (fifteen freaking THOUSAND!!) in Howard Beach and their neighbors are giving them hell trying to get them to leave. WTF? At first, I thought - okay, what could my Caribbean people be doing now? (for the record, Guyana is in South America and technically not in the Caribbean, but since they speak English, they are honorary . . . Haha!) Are they cooking too much curry and smelling up the neighborhood? Minding live poultry in the yard? Paint the house with Home Depot Oops Paint making it the house that could distract planes flying overhead (oh, I guess that only happens in South Florida)? Throwing parties with very loud ethnic music? Practicing voodoo rituals with sacrifices in the front yard? (sorry, having fun playing on the old stereotypes . . .) No, this traditional American Dream Family are hard working, law abiding, tax paying citizens (Mr. Gounden a self-employed aircraft technician). The Neighborhood Welcoming Committee in Howard Beach sure has an interesting way of saying “Welcome Neighbor” to the Goundens. In lieu of delivering, a basket of baked goodies, the residents residing in million dollar homes have delivered to the Goudens’ front yard garbage. One youth (with no job) went as far as to water the bushes with his very own urine. Hey, to each his own, right? Personally, a guy pissing on my bushes on my million dollar property would be greeted with a gesture from a bow and arrow. It’s a million dollar neighborhood! The Goundens have been harassed to no end including by their local government agencies and police. They have been imposed with tickets and fines for “violations” and other frivolous bullshit such as a four foot wagon that Cherry Gounden uses for gardening as an “illegal flatbed trailer.” Ohhhhh please.
The only way I would leave my home is if a scene from Amityville Horror Story were to be reenacted before my very eyes. Murderous ghosts telling me to get out - okay. No questions asked. Neighbors pissing on my lawn and attacking my kids, local officials hitting me with fake violations will be dealt with severely. What’s it take for you?
Labels: caribbean community, family, racism, relationships
posted by Gigi James | 12:33 PM
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