One of the saddest moments in my 22 years in JP is learning that the Hi-Lo Foods has been sold to Whole Foods. We need that like a Whole in the head. I have witnessed the near-complete decimation of the diversity I fell in love with in 1989. Middle- and lower-income residents have been driven from their homes. In my opinion this is sinister social-engineering calculated by one regime that has occupied City Hall for too long. Every inch goes to the highest bidder with complete disregard for the people that actually make this town work. Politicians have become nothing more than mouthpieces for the real estate cartel. I recall many times when chains of one sort or another have wanted to locate in JP and, oh my god, the uproar was shrill and deafening. We’ll see what happens if said yuppie chain moves in. Somehow I can’t see the double-wide strollers making a huge fuss. The people hurting the most are too satisfied being onlookers. It doesn’t have to be this way. Really. Jamaica Plain does not have to be forced to post a “for sale” sign on our neighborhood. It’s our choice.
Terrence Wells
Jamaica Plain