You might notice a Starbucks pop up at the end of your street, then signs for a hip, new condo-loft. Before you know it, your once affordable rent has skyrocketed beyond reach.
That's the scene in many Toronto neighbourhoods, including Leslieville, which has been the site of tense stand-offs between residents and new development - including a proposed Wal-Mart. But the campaign there took an ominous turn with posters calling for people not only to boycott new stores, but also to smash windows and graffiti buildings.
The posters showed up on hydro poles, Green P parking meters and near a new loft development at Queen St. E. and the DVP. They blame yuppies for attracting new stores to the area and driving up rent.
Although many residents agree the neighbourhood is changing - and not always for the better - they are stunned by the anonymous campaign.
Many agree with the concept but not the proposed method.
"The neighbourhood's reacting pretty strongly to it and feels that they can speak out and say no big box in our neighbourhood," agrees Joanne Baker. "It's been proven that it dries up the communities and we really love this community. But to vandalize is not necessarily a way to get the message clearly across."
"A lot of the people who have been stubborn in this neighbourhood for a long time like to see the eclectic mix of people that surround here and maybe afraid of that changing,"
Baker isn't surprised that the posters have popped up in the neighbourhood. She's worked in the area for several years and says many people are upset over plans for a new development.
"It's in response to the Wal-Mart...and the neighbourhood's reacting pretty strongly to it and feels that they can speak out."
Area councillor Paula Fletcher denounced the threatening message.
"This has nothing to do with that debate. To have a poster that's calling on residents to smash the windows of people they think they don't like, or graffiti about people they say they don't like, that is bordering on very, very dangerous antisocial behaviour. It's unacceptable ... to everybody in Leslieville. It's not how we operate as a neighbourhood. I think everybody's quite disturbed about this.
"This is an anonymous poster inciting people to violence and vigilantism and that's just unacceptable."
She also argued many of the new businesses service the film industry and are important to the economic development of the area.
"I don't think everybody's been pushed out. There have been a lot of empty stores on Queen Street that have been filled by niche markets. Many service the film industry which, in Toronto, is a $700 million industry, with 25,000 people working in it. Many of them live in Leslieville."
Leslieville is bordered by Gerrard, Eastern, Coxwell and the tracks at Degrassi. Queen Street, the heart of the neighbourhood, runs through it.