Yeah, okay, Pitt's a nice guy.
From the article:
During my previous trip to the Lower Ninth four years ago, I mainly saw devastation. Wrecked houses were everywhere. Now much of the debris has been cleared, and acre after acre has gone back to nature, with grass almost as high as the reconstructed levees. The main effect in much of the district is an eerie stillness.
But “Brad Pitt’s neighborhood†is a beehive of activity, with builders and landscapers vastly outnumbering residents.
uh huh.
James Dart, a Manhattan-based architect who was born and raised in New Orleans, described the houses as “alien, sometimes even insulting,†adding, “the biggest problem is that they are not grounded in the history of New Orleans architecture.†But, like other architects I spoke to, he expressed admiration for Mr. Pitt. “He deserves a great deal of credit,†Mr. Dart said, adding that Mr. Pitt had “done more for New Orleans†than any government agency.
Yep. That's about right.
Jennifer Pearl, a broker who has several houses for sale in the Lower Ninth, has a practical view. “Brad has the very best intentions,†she said. “However, had he come here with houses that looked like what had been here before, he probably could have had four times, five times as many houses up by now.â€
Okay. Yeah, let's look a gift horse in the mouth. After all, it's what we do, right?
To most residents, the construction is simply good news. “It’s hard living here now, but it’s going to be worth it,†said Melba Leggett-Barnes, a cafeteria worker, who is concerned about crime in the neighborhood. The lack of commercial activity is also disappointing. “We used to be able to go to the corner store,†she said. “Now we don’t have a grocery; we don’t have a laundry.â€
Gee. Things haven't changed too much, have they?
Looks to me like there's an awful lot of whining still going on.
"What's the gubmint gonna do fo' ME?"
