Won't You Be My Neighbor

Normally I could not give a crap about celebrity gossip. If Lindsey Lohan passes out drunk at Hillary Duff's house because of one too many Bartles & James, I really couldn't care less. However, once in a while, there is a piece of celebrity news that is so huge, and hits so close to home, that I can't help but get excited about it. Just take a look at this excerpt from Usmagazine.com that my sister sent to me:

"Is Angelina Jolie looking for an apartment in NYC?

A few weeks after signing the lease on a $60 million Long Island mansion, the actress, 33, was spotted checking out a nice building in Manhattan's uptown Washington Heights neighborhood Tuesday afternoon."

To channel my inner Dick Vitale, "Are you serious??!?!!?!?!?!" In case you didn't know, I grew up in Washington Heights, and the thought of arguably the world's most famous couple buying a place there is somewhat incomprehensible. To be clear, it's not as if I lived in one of the tougher areas of the Heights. In fact, I probably lived in the least-tough section of the neighborhood, complete with security guards and rose gardens. That being said, I can still relate with the entire area, as I had to venture out of my little Ivory Tower to run errands and get to the subway. As recently as 15 years ago, it was a big deal when the Heights finally got a restaurant that didn't have plastic utensils. The next thing I knew, gay men decided it was going to be an annex of Chelsea, and suddenly the Heights had cache.

The transformation of Washington Heights is no different than the "gentrification" of other neighborhoods around New York City over the past decade, but I am not sure I will really ever get over it. For so many years, no one knew where it was, or if they did, they thought it was the Bronx. To this day, when Tim McCarver talks about Manny Ramirez, he says something to the effect of, "Ramirez, who's from the Washington Heights section of the Bronx." Yes, he's from Washington Heights, but it's not the Bronx. Represent.

The Heights has changed so much over the years, that there are now Starbucks, organic foods stores and "gift stores." You know, the places where the sell shit no one would ever actually want. And now, two of the most famous people in the world are looking for a place up there. They must have really liked "In The Heights."

It's hard to imagine Brad and Angie actually moving in, but it would probably good for property values. But then again, after seeing them at the Oscars last night, I was again reminded of how weird those two are. They might make for weird neighbors. But probably no weirder than the old Russian dude that used to stand in the middle of Bennett Park and scream "Gyna" at the top of his lungs.