By Liz Abrams, March 12, 2010 — [When I relocated] to South Philly central I felt out of place. The apartment building I live was occupied by older Americans who lived, educated, married, raised their children & grandchildren [there]. They were longtime neighbors with their own memories, schools, families, speech patterns, familiar with all things that matter, entertainment, all the events that usually keep people in their comfort zone. It would be the same for me, but unfortunately in my home neighborhood of North Philly has been devastated by the Temple University Corporation.
My home where I was born was razed and demolished. [What was] once a 3 story apartment building is now a vacant lot for abandoned cars. No homes are for sale since they were purchased in the ’80s in the city. [There was a] developers agreement sold to Temple University for Temple student housing and apartments, rentals, stadiums, and the like.
My new home in South Philly [means] getting used to my new neighbors. [It all] changed overnight. All I see today miraculously is the same people I left in the suburbs. White people, career [people], students, condos, dogs, and bikes. [There’s] no children and no folks sitting on steps conversing. Just new people for this new city called Philadelphia or The Land of the Gentry, which I guess includes me.