Buddy Gray
Encyclopedia
Stanley "buddy" Gray was a controversial political activist and social worker who lived in the Over-the-Rhine
neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio
. Gray used 1960s-style confrontation and intimidation to persuade Cincinnati officials to pour money into his low-income housing projects. He was known for an "in-your-face, shout-them-down style of confrontation," and described himself as "a hard-nosed radical, a street fighter for street people." His allies saw him as a "charitable humanitarian friend of the homeless," but his enemies saw "a poverty pimp" who wanted to turn Over-the-Rhine into a "super ghetto." Gray's legacy continues through the Drop Inn Center
homeless shelter
and ReSTOC, a low-income housing organization that later merged with another non-profit to form Over-the-Rhine Community Housing.
in Over-the-Rhine, which provided food, clothing, and shelter but not conventional treatment for homeless alcoholics. Around the late 1970s he emerged as the leader for the rights of the poor in Over-the-Rhine, spending much of his life fighting historic preservation
ists who wanted to save Over-the-Rhine's deteriorating nineteenth century architecture. Gray believed preserving the buildings would lead to gentrification
, which would involuntarily uproot the poor and push them out of their homes and neighborhood. Gray believed that regardless of what the city government and preservationists said they ultimately wanted to run his homeless shelter
out of Over-the-Rhine and turn it into an "artsy-craftsy" neighborhood. He was not against preservation when it benefited the poor, as he was known to protest demolitions, some with acts of civil disobedience
.
, Gray rallied some 250 protesters to the event where he blasted urban renewal as "negro removal." There Gray and his allies were able to force a three year delay on the Register's decision. In 1983 Gray used powerful political allies to lobby the National Register's board members, which resulted in Over-the-Rhine being rejected from the Register by a narrow 8 to 7 vote. However, preservationists appealed the board's decision to the keeper of the National Register, Carol Shull, who favored adding Over-the-Rhine to the Register. Despite several last-minute derailment attempts by Gray, Over-the-Rhine was added to the National Register in May 1983.
The main critic of the plan was Jim Tarbell
, an Over-the-Rhine resident and entrepreneur, who after 1983 would emerge as the leading opponent of Buddy Gray. Tarbell wanted to help the poor who cared, but believed social activists like Gray were "naively sympathetic" to the "sloppy people" who "threw garbage out of windows, played loud music night and day, got drunk in the street, and let small children roam the streets unattended." Gray, on the other hand, assumed the poor had chosen a lifestyle of poverty, and for that reason should be separated from others who had not chosen a similar lifestyle. Tarbell rejected that view and argued that the 1985 plan denied the poor ready access to alternative lifestyles.
No one seriously challenged Gray's 1985 plan until 1992 when Housing Opportunities Made Equal (HOME) noted the plan did not yield balance in the composition of Over-the-Rhine's population, nor did it produce any significant commercial and industrial development in the area. HOME argued Over-the-Rhine was on path to become a "permanent low income, one-race ghetto—a stagnant, decaying 'reservation' for the poor at the doorstep to downtown." Furthermore, HOME strongly challenged Gray's assertion that the poor had all chosen their lifestyle, arguing that some wanted to move up the socioeconomic ladder. In 1993 Over-the-Rhine's housing policy was changed after several small-business owners filed a lawsuit, calling the policy "racial and economic segregation." The city settled out of court and agreed to set aside money for non-subsidized housing.
(ULI) to study Over-the-Rhine and create a plan for revitalization. ULI recommended the creation of a bi-partisan "Over-the-Rhine Coalition" to reach compromise between the polarized, deadlocked neighborhood factions. Gray refused to participate in the coalition unless specific demands were met, believing the city-funded ULI study was meant to derail his efforts to preserve low-income housing in the neighborhood. ULI panelists questioned whether Gray had too much power over City Hall, and asked the city to question whether they should continue to fund Gray—whom they considered "an impediment to revitalization." Later that year, near a critical point in negotiations, Buddy Gray was shot to death by a mentally-ill homeless man whom he had helped. After Gray's murder his allies were not able to recreate his leadership, and the Over-the-Rhine Coalition was formed.
in 2001, ReSTOC "are the owners of the most blight in Over-the-Rhine. Period." Critics of ReSTOC accused the nonprofit of stockpiling properties in order to prevent redevelopment. The Cincinnati Enquirer reported that despite receiving millions of dollars from federal, state, and local governments to develop low-income housing ReSTOC "actually reduced the number of occupied apartments." In 2002 the city forced ReSTOC to sell some of its properties and use funds from those sales to maintain and improve the other properties it owned. ReSTOC later merged with another nonprofit, Over-the-Rhine Housing Network, to form Over-the-Rhine Community Housing.
Over-the-Rhine
Over-the-Rhine, sometimes shortened to OTR, is a neighborhood in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is believed to be the largest, most intact urban historic district in the United States. Over-the-Rhine was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 with 943 contributing buildings...
neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
. Gray used 1960s-style confrontation and intimidation to persuade Cincinnati officials to pour money into his low-income housing projects. He was known for an "in-your-face, shout-them-down style of confrontation," and described himself as "a hard-nosed radical, a street fighter for street people." His allies saw him as a "charitable humanitarian friend of the homeless," but his enemies saw "a poverty pimp" who wanted to turn Over-the-Rhine into a "super ghetto." Gray's legacy continues through the Drop Inn Center
Drop Inn Center
The Drop Inn Center is a non-profit agency serving homeless individuals in Cincinnati, Ohio. Their stated mission is to be a "community of residents, staff and volunteers working together to provide basic human services for men & women experiencing homelessness with a primary commitment to...
homeless shelter
Homeless shelter
Homeless shelters are temporary residences for homeless people which seek to protect vulnerable populations from the often devastating effects of homelessness while simultaneously reducing the environmental impact on the community...
and ReSTOC, a low-income housing organization that later merged with another non-profit to form Over-the-Rhine Community Housing.
Activism
Gray operated the Drop Inn CenterDrop Inn Center
The Drop Inn Center is a non-profit agency serving homeless individuals in Cincinnati, Ohio. Their stated mission is to be a "community of residents, staff and volunteers working together to provide basic human services for men & women experiencing homelessness with a primary commitment to...
in Over-the-Rhine, which provided food, clothing, and shelter but not conventional treatment for homeless alcoholics. Around the late 1970s he emerged as the leader for the rights of the poor in Over-the-Rhine, spending much of his life fighting historic preservation
Historic preservation
Historic preservation is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance...
ists who wanted to save Over-the-Rhine's deteriorating nineteenth century architecture. Gray believed preserving the buildings would lead to gentrification
Gentrification
Gentrification and urban gentrification refer to the changes that result when wealthier people acquire or rent property in low income and working class communities. Urban gentrification is associated with movement. Consequent to gentrification, the average income increases and average family size...
, which would involuntarily uproot the poor and push them out of their homes and neighborhood. Gray believed that regardless of what the city government and preservationists said they ultimately wanted to run his homeless shelter
Homeless shelter
Homeless shelters are temporary residences for homeless people which seek to protect vulnerable populations from the often devastating effects of homelessness while simultaneously reducing the environmental impact on the community...
out of Over-the-Rhine and turn it into an "artsy-craftsy" neighborhood. He was not against preservation when it benefited the poor, as he was known to protest demolitions, some with acts of civil disobedience
Civil disobedience
Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal to obey certain laws, demands, and commands of a government, or of an occupying international power. Civil disobedience is commonly, though not always, defined as being nonviolent resistance. It is one form of civil resistance...
.
National Register controversy
In 1980, at the public hearing for Over-the-Rhine's nomination into the National Register of Historic PlacesNational Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
, Gray rallied some 250 protesters to the event where he blasted urban renewal as "negro removal." There Gray and his allies were able to force a three year delay on the Register's decision. In 1983 Gray used powerful political allies to lobby the National Register's board members, which resulted in Over-the-Rhine being rejected from the Register by a narrow 8 to 7 vote. However, preservationists appealed the board's decision to the keeper of the National Register, Carol Shull, who favored adding Over-the-Rhine to the Register. Despite several last-minute derailment attempts by Gray, Over-the-Rhine was added to the National Register in May 1983.
Low-income housing in Over-the-Rhine
Gray, having lost the National Register battle, vowed to make the expansion of low-income housing in Over-the-Rhine his top priority. In 1985 Gray pushed an "urban renewal plan" through city council that he presented as "a compromise" that would allow some upper-income residents to settle in Over-the-Rhine. However, the plan made additional low-income housing such a high priority that it was not likely to yield much mixed-income residential or commercial development.The main critic of the plan was Jim Tarbell
Jim Tarbell
James "Jim" Tarbell is an American politician of the Charter Party, who served as a member of the city council and Vice-Mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio. By mayoral proclamation, Jim Tarbell holds the title "Mr. Cincinnati" for life.- Political career :...
, an Over-the-Rhine resident and entrepreneur, who after 1983 would emerge as the leading opponent of Buddy Gray. Tarbell wanted to help the poor who cared, but believed social activists like Gray were "naively sympathetic" to the "sloppy people" who "threw garbage out of windows, played loud music night and day, got drunk in the street, and let small children roam the streets unattended." Gray, on the other hand, assumed the poor had chosen a lifestyle of poverty, and for that reason should be separated from others who had not chosen a similar lifestyle. Tarbell rejected that view and argued that the 1985 plan denied the poor ready access to alternative lifestyles.
No one seriously challenged Gray's 1985 plan until 1992 when Housing Opportunities Made Equal (HOME) noted the plan did not yield balance in the composition of Over-the-Rhine's population, nor did it produce any significant commercial and industrial development in the area. HOME argued Over-the-Rhine was on path to become a "permanent low income, one-race ghetto—a stagnant, decaying 'reservation' for the poor at the doorstep to downtown." Furthermore, HOME strongly challenged Gray's assertion that the poor had all chosen their lifestyle, arguing that some wanted to move up the socioeconomic ladder. In 1993 Over-the-Rhine's housing policy was changed after several small-business owners filed a lawsuit, calling the policy "racial and economic segregation." The city settled out of court and agreed to set aside money for non-subsidized housing.
Urban Land Institute Study
In 1996, the city invited the Urban Land InstituteUrban Land Institute
The Urban Land Institute, or ULI, is a non-profit research and education organization with offices in Washington, D.C., Hong Kong, and London...
(ULI) to study Over-the-Rhine and create a plan for revitalization. ULI recommended the creation of a bi-partisan "Over-the-Rhine Coalition" to reach compromise between the polarized, deadlocked neighborhood factions. Gray refused to participate in the coalition unless specific demands were met, believing the city-funded ULI study was meant to derail his efforts to preserve low-income housing in the neighborhood. ULI panelists questioned whether Gray had too much power over City Hall, and asked the city to question whether they should continue to fund Gray—whom they considered "an impediment to revitalization." Later that year, near a critical point in negotiations, Buddy Gray was shot to death by a mentally-ill homeless man whom he had helped. After Gray's murder his allies were not able to recreate his leadership, and the Over-the-Rhine Coalition was formed.
Death
On November 15, 1996 a mentally-ill homeless man, whom Buddy Gray had helped, shot Gray to death in his office at the Drop Inn Center. The man claimed Gray had been pumping poisonous gas into his apartment. Rumors spread among Gray's supporters that he was assassinated, but police were unable to find a connection between the shooter and a recent anti-Gray pamphlet and phone campaign. Gray's killer was found mentally incompetent to stand trial and sentenced to a psychiatric facility.Legacy
Gray's legacy lived on through the Drop Inn Center and ReSTOC, his low-income housing cooperative. ReSTOC was one of the neighborhood's largest property owners, and at one point owned 71 parcels in Over-the-Rhine. However, the non-profit had trouble keeping up with the cost and work needed to maintain all of their properties. According to former mayor Charlie LukenCharlie Luken
Charles J. Luken is an American politician of the Democratic party who was mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio and served in the Ohio's 1st congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. Luken's uncle, labor leader James T. Luken, also served as mayor of Cincinnati...
in 2001, ReSTOC "are the owners of the most blight in Over-the-Rhine. Period." Critics of ReSTOC accused the nonprofit of stockpiling properties in order to prevent redevelopment. The Cincinnati Enquirer reported that despite receiving millions of dollars from federal, state, and local governments to develop low-income housing ReSTOC "actually reduced the number of occupied apartments." In 2002 the city forced ReSTOC to sell some of its properties and use funds from those sales to maintain and improve the other properties it owned. ReSTOC later merged with another nonprofit, Over-the-Rhine Housing Network, to form Over-the-Rhine Community Housing.