Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

City celebrates 50 years of Pride, finalizes plan to transform gay district into extension of Downtown

Whither Hillcrest?

Nicole Murray-Ramirez, seen here in during a somber conversation with San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria regarding the fate of the city’s gay district. The longtime San Diego activist was heard to say, “You once named a street for me in Hillcrest. Gave me an award. You all believed I’d lost the ability to understand what I’d started. So that award wasn’t for me. It was for all of you. Now it’s your turn to dealt with the consequences of your achievements. When they’ve punished you enough, they’ll serve you salmon and potato salad, make speeches, give you a medal, and pat you on the back. Just remember, it won’t be for you. It will be for them.”
Nicole Murray-Ramirez, seen here in during a somber conversation with San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria regarding the fate of the city’s gay district. The longtime San Diego activist was heard to say, “You once named a street for me in Hillcrest. Gave me an award. You all believed I’d lost the ability to understand what I’d started. So that award wasn’t for me. It was for all of you. Now it’s your turn to dealt with the consequences of your achievements. When they’ve punished you enough, they’ll serve you salmon and potato salad, make speeches, give you a medal, and pat you on the back. Just remember, it won’t be for you. It will be for them.”
Sponsored
Sponsored

“Gays, not growth!” “Dykes, not developers!” “Bis, not bike lanes!” “Trans, not transit!” The cries rang out during the city council’s final public meeting before voting on its plan to erase decades of queer history by developing the holy hell out of Hillcrest. But it was to no avail. The LGBTQIA+ forces that had rallied to stop police harassment, fight the AIDS epidemic, transform public attitudes, gain the right for gays to marry, and promote gender-affirming health care proved powerless when pitted against the combined powers of demographics and development. “This is not the end of something,” lied Mayor Todd Gloria, himself a homosexual, “but rather, the beginning. It’s true, much will be lost by the time we finish building hundreds of high rises in a neighborhood once known for its exquisitely restored bungalows and cozy apartment complexes. But think how much will be gained! When no one can find parking, think how much more walkable the neighborhood will feel! The queer community is already California’s fittest, but just imagine the toned thighs from everybody riding bikes everywhere! And the views! Trust me, you haven’t seen Balboa Park until you’ve seen it from 20 stories up. Why, it’ll be just like Manhattan! Look, we all knew this was coming. You people gentrified, and you did a great job of it. Now come the normies with the money — enough to fund a run for statewide office! This is the true American dream, Hillcrest: becoming so totally accepted by mainstream society that your neighborhood looks just like Straight Street, USA. We did it!”

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

At Comedor Nishi a world of cuisines meet for brunch

A Mexican eatery with Japanese and French influences
Next Article

Memories of bonfires amid the pits off Palm

Before it was Ocean View Hills, it was party central
Nicole Murray-Ramirez, seen here in during a somber conversation with San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria regarding the fate of the city’s gay district. The longtime San Diego activist was heard to say, “You once named a street for me in Hillcrest. Gave me an award. You all believed I’d lost the ability to understand what I’d started. So that award wasn’t for me. It was for all of you. Now it’s your turn to dealt with the consequences of your achievements. When they’ve punished you enough, they’ll serve you salmon and potato salad, make speeches, give you a medal, and pat you on the back. Just remember, it won’t be for you. It will be for them.”
Nicole Murray-Ramirez, seen here in during a somber conversation with San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria regarding the fate of the city’s gay district. The longtime San Diego activist was heard to say, “You once named a street for me in Hillcrest. Gave me an award. You all believed I’d lost the ability to understand what I’d started. So that award wasn’t for me. It was for all of you. Now it’s your turn to dealt with the consequences of your achievements. When they’ve punished you enough, they’ll serve you salmon and potato salad, make speeches, give you a medal, and pat you on the back. Just remember, it won’t be for you. It will be for them.”
Sponsored
Sponsored

“Gays, not growth!” “Dykes, not developers!” “Bis, not bike lanes!” “Trans, not transit!” The cries rang out during the city council’s final public meeting before voting on its plan to erase decades of queer history by developing the holy hell out of Hillcrest. But it was to no avail. The LGBTQIA+ forces that had rallied to stop police harassment, fight the AIDS epidemic, transform public attitudes, gain the right for gays to marry, and promote gender-affirming health care proved powerless when pitted against the combined powers of demographics and development. “This is not the end of something,” lied Mayor Todd Gloria, himself a homosexual, “but rather, the beginning. It’s true, much will be lost by the time we finish building hundreds of high rises in a neighborhood once known for its exquisitely restored bungalows and cozy apartment complexes. But think how much will be gained! When no one can find parking, think how much more walkable the neighborhood will feel! The queer community is already California’s fittest, but just imagine the toned thighs from everybody riding bikes everywhere! And the views! Trust me, you haven’t seen Balboa Park until you’ve seen it from 20 stories up. Why, it’ll be just like Manhattan! Look, we all knew this was coming. You people gentrified, and you did a great job of it. Now come the normies with the money — enough to fund a run for statewide office! This is the true American dream, Hillcrest: becoming so totally accepted by mainstream society that your neighborhood looks just like Straight Street, USA. We did it!”

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

At Comedor Nishi a world of cuisines meet for brunch

A Mexican eatery with Japanese and French influences
Next Article

San Diego beaches not that nice to dogs

Bacteria and seawater itself not that great
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader