On Gentrification

The implications of a morning at the coffee shop.

I clicked my AirPod to pause an audiobook of Elite Capture by Olúfémi O. Táíwò so that I could hear the man in front of me on line for coffee speak. He was talking to me about my dog, Benny. “He’s well trained,” he said, as Benny allowed a woman with purple hair and purple clothes to pet him. One of those purple people, I had thought. I replied to the man with a smile, “Not really. He’s going to start barking for water soon, because we come here every day—.” “And he’s treated well here,” he said, too sure of himself.

It turned out to be the man’s second coffee, which explained his loquaciousness. Inevitably, very quickly, the conversation moved from Benny’s behavior to his wanting to buy a place in Old San Juan. I explained the usual: I’m from Long Island but moved here from Brooklyn five and a half years ago. My husband grew up in the neighborhood. Soon, we will return to New York. I’m self-employed, I say, and I need more work opportunities—it’s true if not the number one impetus.

“Will you be able to keep your property here?” he asked, which lands like a knife in my chest, considering the more pressing circumstances of our impending move: the landlord wants to sell, maybe to someone like him, and we’re on the borrowed time of her good will. “No, we rent,” I replied.

This kind of conversation with older Gen X dudes has become a very common coffee shop occurrence. They’ve done lucrative work—tech, hotels, finance—but like talking to my husband and I, and they seem to think we’re both younger and more likely to have parents who can give us a mortgage down payment than is the actual case. Most often, they’re in Puerto Rico or interested in it for tax breaks known as Act 60. I can only assume we’re attractive for conversation because we’re well educated people and, with our nose nose rings and tattoos, provide a nonthreatening bohemian color that those who’ve chosen more secure industries enjoy having around. Later in the day, I’ll read that the U.S. economy is being held up by the rich. I knew that from talking to men at the coffee shop.