Just a quick letter to say that I really appreciated the article on gentrification in Columbia Heights (“Gentrification and Its Discontents,” 2/4). It’s the same show on the other side of 16th Street—Mount (Un)Pleasant. I especially liked the cartoon of the new owner making love to his abode—a rat crawling in the background would have made it even more effective.
The gentrifiers think, because they were foolish enough to pay big bucks for their overhyped real estate, that the neighborhood shouldn’t disappoint. Sorry. Time to take off the rose-colored glasses and take a reality pill.
Mount Pleasant