A Letter to my “Neighbor”
Dear Neighbor,
In the time since you purchased the property next door, we have not had much of a neighborly relationship. Sadly, we are not in the era of Ethel Mertz walking through Lucy Ricardo’s unlocked front door for a cup of coffee and a chat. At minimum, I would be satisfied with the “I am leaving town for the weekend, if you hear any glass breaking next door, call the cops.” type of relationship. The rare times I have seen you have been cordial, but we have only had two conversations beyond the occasional sighting as you or I drive into our respective garages.
I suspect that this is because you do not actually live here. I suspect this is your investment property. As such, it appears you are not invested in the neighborhood or the needs of your surrounding neighbors. I say this because quite frankly, you do not attempt to maintain curb appeal; specifically mowing your lawn, or preventing dogs and people from coming through your broken fence (our second conversation) and onto my property.
My first clue of this was in our initial conversation. I introduced myself to you because I was receiving your mail in error. In fact, your mail was being sent to my address. It was then I discovered (in our discussion) you did not know your actual address. It further occurred to me that I have never seen a moving van, or a light in the window, and you inconsistently put out garbage for the weekly sanitation pickup.
I admit I was a little bit jealous because I actually wanted to purchase that house myself. In fact, I was trying to convince my father to purchase the home and move in or use it as an investment property. I was remorseful that I did not take the risk that you apparently took.
In lieu of current events, and discussions of privilege, I wanted to take a moment to reach out to you to express my concerns. I would have preferred to do this in person; however, you are never there.
As a white man that owns property in a predominantly black neighborhood, perhaps you are unfamiliar with what people of color have historically encountered when moving into predominately white neighborhoods.
There are the extreme cases where Black bodies are policed for “not belonging” such as the murders of Ahmaud Arbery and Trayvon Martin. Historically, when people of color move in to predominately white neighborhoods, there were instances of “white flight”, which led to redlining. Black people living in so-called White spaces are still subjected to unnecessary scrutiny even when we mow our lawns and maintain curb appeal.
Black people in predominately Black spaces are generalized as living in what the current President calls “shit-holes”. Predominately minority areas are political fodder and from a media perspective are only recognized when burning or when someone is dead in the street.
Yet, in my neighborhood you are the white albatross next door. Potential homebuyers will not look at the neighborhood and think, there is one inconsiderate white guy or the one bad apple in the bunch. You will be the reason for the generalized and unfair assumptions about a minority dominant neighborhood.
You go home to your (probably) maintained neighborhood without any consideration for what you leave behind in mine. This may be a temporary investment property for you, but this is most likely the home my husband and I will spend the remainder of our lives.
Mow your lawn; or if you would like the name of our lawn guy, let me know.
