Downtown landmark evicted
By Liz Allen
Asheville, North Carolina, Nov. 23 (AGR) —
Vincent’s Ear Coffeehouse, located at 68 Lexington Ave. and open
since July 1993, is set to close its doors on Dec. 18 of this year.
The owners of the shop, Joanie and Rick Morris, received a notice of
“termination of tenancy” on Nov. 6 from Rene Lantzius, stating
that she was acting on behalf of the property owner, her aunt, Dawn
Lantzius. Two days prior, tables belonging to Vincent’s Ear, which
were located in the courtyard at the shop’s entrance, were removed
by Rene Lantzius. Vincent’s Ear was told they could no longer use
the courtyard for thier patrons.
According to Joanie Morris the tables were taken “without paperwork
or warning” and put in the building across the street — 63
Lexington Ave. — which housed the Asheville Community Resource
Center (ACRC) until they were evicted in March of this year.
Rene Lantzius’ father, John Lantzius -- who resides in Asheville
and Vancouver, Canada -- owns the courtyard, the ACRC building, and
the building that until recently housed The Body, a Christian outreach
center. John and his sister Dawn Lantzius own other properties on Lexington
Avenue and throughout the Asheville area. The family also owns a parking
lot on lower North Lexington where the organization Arts2People was
planning paint a large mural on the history of western North Carolina
agriculture, but was told to stop after the Lantzius family announced
they would be building condos on the property. “Arts2People spent
hundreds of hours developing and organizing,” said a member who
attended a community meeting held at the Vincent’s Ear on Nov.
22, which was around 100 people attended.
“It’s not the tables, it’s the fact that they can take
them away without paper work, which makes us look like we did something
wrong when we haven’t,” Joanie Morris told AGR. The tables
were removed during business hours without notifying anyone working
at Vincent’s Ear. Morris said that the eviction came as a surprise
because, “Dawn loves us. She asked us never to leave.”
As of press time, AGR was only able to reach voice mail and busy signals
when attempting to contact members of the Lantzius family.
According to eyewitness accounts, two uniformed Asheville police officers
assisted in removing the tables. Asheville Police Department (APD) public
information officer John Dankle said he was not aware of such an incident.
“Why would we help a business owner move their furniture? That
is not something on-duty police would normally do.” Dankle said
the police would not be able to investigate the matter unless a complaint
with the APD department of internal affairs was filed and the complaintant
would have “nothing to fear and everything to gain” in doing
so.
Dankle reported that “no dispatch records related drug activity,”
according to an assessment taken of the last 12 months. The address
68 Lexington Ave. had a total of 45 total calls for service, ranging
from civil disturbance to EMS . The address also includes two other
businesses — Lava clothing store and Liquid Dragon Tattoo. Dankle
said he had no personal knowledge of Vincent’s Ear being under
investigation for any criminal activities, and information about such
investigations is not made public. Morris emphasized that she felt for
the most part the police have been supportive of Vincent’s Ear,
“There are cops that want us to be here and don’t want us
to leave.”
At the Nov. 22 meeting reasons for eviction were discussed. The topic
of gentrification — the displacement of one class of people to
make way for a more socially and economically privileged class —
was repeatedly brought up.
“That courtyard is one of the last places downtown you could see
the working class hanging out publicly,” commented Asheville resident
Courtney Chappell. Many dismissed the idea of moving to a different
location off of Lexington Ave. as a continutation the gentrification
process.
“I didn’t move here,” said Wyatt Kate Winfield whose
family has lived in this area for five generations. She said she is
alarmed at the trend to make Asheville “Aspen of the South —
come in, go to kitchy little places, have your fun in the mountains
and leave. That is not sustainable… What good does that do for
the people who live here?”
David McConville, a West Asheville based multi-media artist said there
is a gap between the people making the economic decisions and those
that support the Asheville economic system. “All we’ve got
is tourism, and manufacturing that is leaving; people think art is generic
pottery… These people got to understand that you can’t aspire
to have some great creative talent and quash anybody that has any artistic
talent.” He said he felt saving Vincent’s Ear involves convincing
the city council and county commission that the “authentic culture”
such as what exists around Vincent’s Ear is vital to Asheville’s
well being. Tactics for saving the businesses on Lexington Ave. were
widely discussed and debated. Calls for cooperation and unity in the
community permeated the conversation.
“Everybody overwhelmed me last night [at the meeting]. I didn’t
know that many people cared about this place and how important it is
to their arts,” said Joanie Morris. Because of the amount of money
and debt incurred in opening the establishment, they will not be able
reopen in another location. At the meeting, she rejected suggestions
of taking monetary assistance from the government or affluent art patrons.
“We started this on a shoestring and I don’t want to answer
to anybody because we never have.”
There are fundraising efforts underway, including a raffle and regular
benefit shows by local musicians. Vincent’s Ear is a hub for artists
to gather and flaunt their talents. The establishment is a nationally
known music venue. At the meeting, local writer and musician John Brinker
pointed out that the closing would hit the live rock music scene the
hardest “because of what this has and nobody else can offer.”
“A lot of us regulars are depressed.” River, who said he moved
here from Waynesville 10 years ago because of Vincent’s Ear, commented
after the meeting. “We don’t know where are people going to
go, where we’ll be able to congregate like this… I’ve
been feeling kind of in shock too. Not just people that we know —
our whole counter-culture is being threatened.”
He said he feels scared about rumors claiming that earlier this year
three Lexington Ave. property owners made plans to evict the ACRC, The
Body, Vincent’s Ear, and The Emerald Lounge. “If they mess
with the Emerald Lounge,” River said he, his fellow employees,
and the owner, who has a newborn son, are in danger of losing their
means of supporting themselves.
APD make two arrests during anti-war
march
By Finn Finneran
Asheville, NC, Nov. 23 (AGR) — On Friday,
Nov. 19 the Asheville Police Department (APD) arrested two anti-war
protesters during a 15-person march against the recent attack on Fallujah.
The march began as a small rally at Vance Monument where protesters
held a banner reminiscent of the famous massacre during the Vietnam
war, reading “Fallujah = My Lai.” About 15 people decided
to march through downtown drumming on buckets and banging spoons on
pots.
On the corner of Wall Street and Otis Street, Officer Autrey stopped
the march and pulled Sequoia McDowell to the side and placed him under
arrest. He was charged with “mutilating, injuring, and attempting
to tear down a street sign belonging to Asheville.”
Crystal Meyer, a witness and participant of the march told AGR, “He
loosely swung around the sign... There was no damage at all.”
McDowell claims he was imitating the famous scene in the film, “Singin’
in the Rain,” where Gene Kelly swings around a light pole.
Several marchers, most of whom were youth, left the scene and the remaining
8 began walking to the jail to post bond for McDowell. The group was
followed by an officer on foot and video taped by police officers in
cars.
When the anti-war activists reached Pritchard Park, Officer Loveland
pulled over, emerged from his car, and placed Najwa Lynch under arrest.
Lynch’s charge is “disorderly conduct with intent to incite
violence through gesturing.”
Or, as an unidentified officer who was video taping the crowd put it,
“for shooting the bird.”
The seven remaining participants were followed for a few more blocks,
but no further arrests were made.
Both Lynch and McDowell were released on $200 bond.
Lynch, who feels is frustrated that the APD seems bent on suppressing
political dissent, told AGR, “Our arrests show that all we have
is a facade of freedom of speech. Anyone who chooses to speak against
the government or political policies is immediately marked for possible
detainment.”
McDowell and Lynch, are both Asheville Global Report volunteers.
