In a message dated 3/1/2007 2:17:14 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, MLamond writes:
<<By the way, it has been pointed out to me that Al's opposition to the new liquor store location just MIGHT have something to do with who the landlord is, since Danny DeRitis is a big supporter of the UCD's NID project.>> I happen to like and get along well with Dan DeRitis (as I do with many people who have differing views than I do on a lot of topics). I've gotten along well with Dan, in fact, for a long time. Melani apparently doesn't remember that I opposed the Brewpub on the same grounds. Namely: 1) That zoning is supposed to provide people with reasonable expectations of how the area around them will evolve. And changes in zoning take that away -- so they should be pursued with extreme care. 2) That, as a community, we give what the current discussion about people imposing their will on others makes seem like a lot of lip service to diversity. Celebrating diversity doesn't mean just saying "hi" to people dressed in funny clothes or eating in restaurants that serve food our parents wouldn't recognize as such. It means, among other things, being sensitive to their cultural mores. I've been very consistent about this -- as a look back on the archives of this forum will clearly show. And, in case nobody's noticed, it's one of my underlying reasons for opposing the NID -- which I believe is part of a gentrification effort by certain non-academic but self-anointed elements at Penn -- and will gradually cause the displacement of the people who add diversity to this community. Those who think I oppose the NID purely for the sake of my own wallet have but to look back through the archives and find that I've opposed much of what Penn and UCD have done in and (I believe) to the community long before they were talking about assessing anybody... for these very reasons. And, I have some intuition about why people like Melani ascribe covert intentions to what I say and do. But I don't throw them in her face in front of everybody, as she seems to relish doing to me. Alan Krigman KRF Management 211 S 45th St, Phila PA 19104 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6500 on-line bulletin board: _www.iconworldwide.com/krf/news_ (http://www.iconworldwide.com/krf/news) website: _www.iconworldwide.com/krf_ (http://www.iconworldwide.com/krf) <BR><BR><BR>**************************************<BR> AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.
