Remember in The Untouchables when Sean Connery explains to Kevin Costner what he must do to get Al Capone? “He pulls a knife, you pull a gun. He puts one of yours in the hospital, you put one of his in the morgue. That’s the Chicago way.”
Evidently, the Raleigh way is to receive a compliment and then put plans in motion to destroy the thing you were complimented for. I wrote this bowl of Chicken Soup for the Raleigh Soul because Moore Square is a unique part of our city. Two weeks later, we get this. I’m sure the Planning Department has been mulling this over for a while and correlation doesn’t mean causation, but WTF?
But that’s okay. This is how cities operate. Propose a plan, get feedback, weigh all the factors and make decisions. The galling part is how the Moore Square redesign is being sold as something different from what it is. The redesign isn’t about patchy grass or having more things for the kids to do (thank Goodness someone is thinking of the kids!); it’s about how if we get rid of the homeless, maybe more people will have dinner at the Duck and Dumpling.
Let’s quit pussyfooting around and have a real debate. What are the ethical implications of gentrification for Raleigh? Fifteen years ago, no one wanted to be downtown, so it was okay for the homeless to hang out. But now that enough Eddie Bauer-wearing upper middle class folks want to take their leisure downtown, we have to get the bums out. Everybody cool with that?
You have to tip your hat to the city, though, since the proposed contest will make it seem like everybody is behind this great plan. Raleigh Government will look responsive and inclusive and worthy of every good thing you can say. WRAL certainly thinks so. Check it out. If the city wants to do it, it must be good! Moore Square is a hidden gem! Why not just make an infomercial with Billy Mays yelling at us about the miraculous qualities of the place? That would have been more subtle than WRAL’s story.
And David Diaz from the Downtown Alliance didn’t come across well at all. That “it’s got good bones” line was creepy. Wrong metaphor altogether. Moore Square has good bones. Do you know what has real bones? The homeless people you’re going to kick out!
I doubt the homeless people will have much of a voice if and when this moves forward. There likely won’t be many entries for the redesign from that demographic, so let me negotiate for them. City of Raleigh, when you pick your winner, move forward with your redesign and kick the homeless out of Moore Square, here are our demands for the new spot. (You are making plans for a new spot aren’t you? You don’t think the homeless folks will just evaporate because you don’t see them?)
It must be surrounded by all the services aimed at the homeless that Moore Square currently has: shelters, soup kitchens, food pantries, a place to get second hand clothes, the whole works. And a bus station.
If you had asked nicely, maybe that would have been all we want. But since you’re trying to game us on this, we have a few other items:
1. High-end Restaurant. You’ll have to offer generous financial incentive to get a fancy restaurant to open, and honestly it probably will be a failure. But you’re used to dropping lots of cash on ill-conceived restaurants.
2. Jaume Plensa Art Installation. I think the homeless folks will actually appreciate aesthetic vision and drama. We know you don’t care for all that fancy bullcrap that passes for art these days.
3. Soft Ice Cream Machine. There’s no logic to this demand. It’s just payback for bringing Charlie Daniels to town this summer.
That’s it. Let us know when you’ve got everything ready and then the homeless folks will get out of Moore Square. That’ll leave more room for pillow fights and second-rate bands, all the things Raleigh wants to be known for.


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