No doubt residents across the street from the Greensboro Coliseum are bracing for this weekend’s inaugural performance at the White Oak Amphitheater featuring the Beach Boys. (Me thinks Mike Love’s had a little plastic surgery, eh?)
Not that I expect that crowd to rage, but I couldn’t help but draw a parallel as I read this NYT article on neighborhood opposition to the summer concert series at Brooklyn’s Williamsburg Waterfront:
But for Ms. Wolowacz and her daughter, Laryssa, 26, there was nothing theoretical about the concerts’ impact on their lives.
“It has to do with sound levels, trash, disrespect,” Laryssa Wolowacz said. “I like meeting new people and I like new blood. But do I like meeting them on my stoop, after four hours of drinking?”
She paused to let the question hang. “It’s like they unleash beasts at 10 p.m.”
I read the article with an open mind, and what struck me —see if you notice —- was the slightly condescending attitude of the parks official and open space advocates. They were more or less saying residents —many who have lived in the neighborhood for 50-plus years —– just don’t ‘get it.’
