Dear Ms. Moreno:
I was appalled by your recent post concerning those who do not agree with the decisions of the Hillcrest Business Association (HBA) and you. You do not respect the community that you are supposed to represent, and worse, you have hurled a gay slur.
I think your post needs to be completely deconstructed in context. First, “could the French police come take care of some folks”? The perpetrators of the Charlie Hebdo newspaper assassinations were killed in a police standoff in France Jan. 9. Anyone reading your post would get the impression that you want critics of the Hillcrest Business Association, and the community itself, killed. You suggest to those who were offended by your post that they don’t understand “nuance and sarcasm.” Unfortunately, it is you who do not understand these concepts; your heavy handed post lacked both. Please explain what fine shade of meaning and irony you were trying to convey. I can tell you, you failed. Remember, it is the reader who makes that judgment.
Ms. Moreno, if I were to say “you would be a great date for Bill Cosby, let me introduce you,” I am sure that many in our community would be rightfully outraged. Suggesting you wish bodily harm to anyone is just immature. Given the history of hate crimes within the LGBT community, it clearly illustrates you are tone deaf to the worries of many Hillcrest residents whom your restaurant serves.
You continue with “folks who obsess about tearing down the hillcrest (sic) community with their negative nelly rants.” Let’s analyze the last part first. Ms. Moreno, I hope you understand that the term nelly is considered a pejorative, or slur, for an effeminate gay man. You may have heard the word used by members of the LGBT community in certain contexts, as you might hear other communities use slurs that refer to them. I hope you know there is a difference between me using the word nelly and you using the word. Rest assured you have the right to use the term, but it is ill advised. I would counsel you not to use any slur, but your right to free speech allows you to use any term you like. Clearly you were trying to belittle and offend those who disagree with the HBA and you. Well you accomplished your task. Since you love using the French tragedy as “nuance and sarcasm,” I say to you “Je suis nelly.”
Ms. Moreno, it is not tearing down the Hillcrest community when those who disagree with the HBA, or your view of the community, express their opinion. It is their right, as it is yours. The HBA’s desire to silence dissenting voices is exactly what caused a competing Facebook page to be created for those who may have a different view of the future of Hillcrest.
The HBA Beautification Committee, which you chair, is where all of the enmity began. On your committee’s Facebook page, HBA Executive Director Ben Nicholls said, “Attacking the HBA, attacking volunteers, and being generally negative towards people’s community projects is not ok. I am going to bump any members who bring that kind of negativity to this group.” I welcome trying to create a positive interactive environment, but not at the expense of free speech. Mr. Nicholls’ post is troubling at best and total censorship at its worse. Who decides what attacking or being generally negative means? Would that be Mr. Nicholls, the Beautification Committee and you, the HBA Board? Not one of the choices is acceptable. If you do not want to hear from the community, then create a closed group and call it lemmings for the HBA. The HBA accepts public funding and is accountable to the public; all of the public, not just ones with whom it agrees.
Finally, to add insult to injury, you end with #hillcresthaterssuck. I can’t imagine anyone representing North Park, Little Italy or downtown having such a cavalier attitude toward the very people they are there to serve; your hashtag selection really says more about you than the people you find annoying. #projection.
Ms. Moreno you should apologize to the LGBT community for your post and all of its shortcomings. I will provide you with the space to do so in my publication and on our Web site. I am sure all other LGBT publishers will gladly do the same.
The HBA Board at the very least should hold you to account on the public record for your comments, as well as affirm a commitment to dialogue with all members of the Hillcrest community. If the HBA is so interested in removing people from a Facebook page for “attacking and being generally negative,” by the same token, I guess it is time for you to be bumped from the Hillcrest Business Association leadership. Let’s see if Mr. Nicholls holds true to his view he posted about public comments.
There have already been complaints about your comments, and the actions of the HBA, to the City of San Diego, law enforcement and beyond. After all, familiarity breeds contempt.
STAMPP CORBIN
PUBLISHER
San Diego LGBT Weekly
LGBTweekly.com
Thank you Mr Corbin, for taking the time to shed light on such a blatant and callous threat to the gay community. I can’t agree with you more when you say
“I can’t imagine anyone representing North Park, Little Italy or downtown having such a cavalier attitude toward the very people they are there to serve”
Thank you for standing up to a local bully..
Thank you Stampp for running this story. This is coming from the HBA Treasurer herself and Hillcrest business owner. True colors are coming out. Whats even more upsetting is Johnathan Hale is supporting her and backing her comments along with Ben Nichols. I think everyone should boycott Crest Cafe and send Cecelia a message that her threats and hatred will not be tolerated now or ever. Bullies need to go.
Cecelia Moreno Meet Marie Antoinette
Ms. Cecelia Moreno, since you have an apparent fondness for the French, I’d like to introduce you to someone who shares your apparent disdain for dissent. Though you two are removed from each other by centuries, clearly there is a natural kinship between you and Marie Antoinette. Like her, you seem to have had a little “let them eat cake” moment recently:
. . . could the French police come take care of some folks who obsess about tearing down the hillcrest community with their negative nelly rants? so over them . . .
Leaving aside that it has been a steady stream of the ‘nelly folk’ who have sustained and built your business success . . your tiff was at the very least an unfortunate choice of words that I’m sure Marie can identify with. So hopefully this introduction will help you avoid a comfortable pillow at the hands of the HBIA membership. You see, like you and your compatriots on the HBIA board, Marie was also consumed with throwing lavish parties while neglecting the needs of the little folk (citizens). If she could talk to you across the chimes of time, she would tell you something very important that seems to have eluded your ears despite the near deafening entreaties of past and current community leaders.
It is simple: you serve the HBIA, not the other way around.
Those nettlesome detractors are actually the ones you serve. Rather than mocking them, you should be seeking their consul and listening carefully. Hillcrest and its businesses are struggling, and they need something more than a Mardi Gras with chain link fences around it. When past presidents of the HBIA and community activists come to the dais and tell you to change course, you should sit up and take note rather than mocking and snickering at them.
Let’s take stock of the product of yours and Mr. Johnathan Hale’s leadership for a moment. Under your tenure, the organization’s events have ballooned to the point they now consume over 80% of staff resources. Most of them make no money, and in some cases have a direct detrimental effect on member businesses. The organization is under investigation for financial irregularities. It is rife with conflicts of interest and unilateral decision making by its president that is itself unethical, if not outright illegal. You and Hale have sought to jettison dozens of members who do not agree with you by gerrymandering the by-laws in a blatant attempt to expunge dissenters. To wit, you have be repudiated by the city for repeatedly violating your contract with them. Cityfest, the premier event of the HBIA which generated tens of thousands of dollars annually for business improvement projects, has faltered and now generates a fraction of what it did under past leadership. You have repeatedly violated the Brown Act, and the ADA and cavalierly shrug it off while exposing the business association to liabilities that could bankrupt it. A raft of no bid contracts are doled out to friends of Hale and supporters of his partners political aspirations, while siphoning off the organizations money. Ben Nicholls, who left to join an event production outfit only a short time ago, is now cozily tucked back into the HBIA after having been jettisoned for allegedly attempting to steal clients to start his own firm. He collects a salary from another local BID while being listed as a full time ED of the HBIA (well now).
This is the picture of a leadership that is detached from the needs of its membership, and consumed with its own needs and avarice. We don’t use guillotines today, and it is a fortunate thing for you Ms. Moreno. Cake may be on your menu at Crest Cafe, but I think it’s best if you avoid recommending it for a while.
I agree that the term “nelly” is often used as an insult. I do not think that the term “negative nelly” has the same conotation. I think “negative nelly” is akin to the term “chatty kathy” or “debbie downer”.
As Mr Corbin points out, “it is the reader who makes that judgment” and in this case, Mr Corbin has chosen to see a comma between the words negative and nelly. I do not see that comma. I do not think Ms Moreno has “hurled a gay slur”.
Lastly. I have read some of the FB comments posted about the HBA. Some people comment frequently. For some of those people, “negative nelly” seems like the appropriate adjective.
I agree Bob. Thanks.
Dear God, thank you for bringing this witch of Hillcrest out in the open. After working at this restaurant like France in the circa 1800 you will find 20 Rattraps full of dead rats I guess they found the Cake you were talking about. But it is the LGBT’s Own fault for patronizing the Crest Cafe. We as a community need to walk away from the 1000 calorie a plate food and boycott Ms. Moreno and her insults. This hate monger has gone off the deep end!
Time to bring back Hillcrest to what it really stands for. “No hate”
BOYCOTT CREST CAFE
Ive had very limited dealings with Ms Moreno. Many years ago I was entertained with her arguing with anyone on Yelp that gave Crest Cafe a negative review. A couple of years ago we were Facebook “friends” but after many disagreements on different topics topics she quietly removed herself from my friends list.
Most recently I have been on the HBA Beautification Facebook page and I have found her to be mostly argumentative and in fact at times a “negative nelly” herself. We had a very small back and forth conversation recently and I was very surprised to see that she searched me out on LinkedIn to view my profile???? Although I think her heart is in the right place when it comes to the Hillcrest community she has a very gruff and abrasive personality, at least online anyway. I think she is one of those people that would better serve her community if she weren’t in the public eye, or anywhere online.
The actions of this particular HBIA Board Member is nothing new. I first hand know how she operates and if it’s not her way, it’s literally the highway. I am still shocked that a Board of Directors would allow 2-3 people make all the decisions for the Board. Self serving to say the least, but mostly power based control runs their motives. The chaos and unbelievable drama that literally engulfs this organization is the most unhealthy that I’ve seen. It’s allowed and tolerated by the business owners that set on the board and the business owners in the community. Many of which don’t have the time to deal with “it” and don’t want too. It’s a crazy train to say the least… In the long run, one I was happy to shoved off.
I’ve been following this debacle (not having been personally introduced to any of those involved) and quickly came to the realization that Ms. Moreno behaves much like a high school student still carrying around her ‘slam book’ in which she feels free to publish whatever cruel and vicious thoughts she possesses, not a mature citizen/representative truly concerned about the quality and character of the place she resides/owns a business. I’m not even going to attempt to wrap my head around her statements about the French police taking care of those who disagree with her. How embarrassing for her to publish such a despicable thing. It is one thing to make a catty remark you ‘don’t really mean’ out of frustration in your own home. But to publish it? My god, this woman is a moron. And she wants her Hillcrest business to thrive after a statement like that?
Additionally, her “#hillcresthaterssuck” is one of the most socially immature things she could have published and illustrates (to me) that she exhibits some semblance of arrested development. Not being gay, I was not aware of the negative connotation of the slur ‘nelly,’ so I did not take away from her ‘negative nelly’ comment what so many others did (consider me enlightened now), but instead regarded it as a backhanded insult to redirect attention away from concerned citizens, minimizing their true and warranted concern to that of a petulant Mrs. Kravitz griping about her neighbors ugly car parked across the street and her having to look out her window and see it. And nobody listens to Mrs. Kravitz. And to me, that is the end Ms. Moreno seeks.
At any rate, as a representative of the community she supposedly serves, she should put her own feelings aside about those who question/disagree/show concern and behave in a mature, fair manner. Complain/vent/name call all you like in your own home Ms. Moreno. But do not incite violence toward those you represent, do not act like a petulant high school mean girl and act like you deserve the post you have by some miracle attained.
So is she to blame for the downward spiral of Hillcrest over the last 7-8 years? I hate to think that other members of the neighborhood boards and committees she sits on, think like her. And who are these haters she speaks of?
One thing is certain, every time I go to Hillcrest (Which is hardly, but why would I when North Park, Little Italy, University Heights, South Park, East Village, among others, are much more lively and vibrant) I can’t help but think how depressing it has become. I lived there between 1990 to 2000 and sadly, it looks almost exactly the same today, but with way more vacant spaces. It used to be that Hillcrest was the premiere Uptown neighborhood, but that ship has sailed.
I certainly hope that Cecelia Moreno and the Hillcrest Business Association take note of my observations of their once desirable neighborhood, and think of ways to infuse life and excitement back to the area.
Hmmm….a “downward spiral of Hillcrest over the last 7-8 years” — what could that be? The economy overall has improved, and businesses in adjacent neighborhoods seem to be booming while Hillcrest seems to be in a slump.
Dumb broad.
It is ironic that this despicably confrontational woman (Cecelia Moreno) is incapable of taking a jolt of her own medicine. I have seen her bark at customers at the Crest Cafe when they’ve complained about the food (both of which are common scenarios) and I’ve seen her aggressively attack people who disagree with her local politics.
But the bigger point to all of this is that Hillcrest’s downfall is in the greedy hands of Jonathan Hale and his sad little circle of patronizing cronies, like Moreno, Nicole, Ben Nicholls and the guys who made a mockery of a certain Hillcrest diner named after a certain gay rights activist. They are a nasty self-aggrandizing bunch that disguise themselves as “caring” leaders of the community even though most of us know better.
I look foward to the day when a new crop of young business activists step up to the plate in the genuine interest of everyone. Hillcrest sorely needs them right now.
My, what a tempest in a teapot!
I guess we need these kerfluffles to spice things up a bit, and I’ll admit that I find them amusing.
But when it comes to substance I would say, “Move along, folks! There’s nothing to see here.”
First things first: The Hillcrest Business Association is not a public, taxpayer supported organization or a city agency that is required to answer to and represent the community.
It is a private association of business owners. Ms. Moreno doesn’t have to cater to the whims of her critics unless they happen to be a majority of business owners who are members of the HBA. And I doubt very much that the association even has to have public meetings, much less comply with the ADA. Does the HBA accept money from the city? I don’t know. But I do know that it is not an agency of the city, and so it is not accountable to the taxpayers. If the city doesn’t like what the HBA is doing, the city can withdraw any funding it provides.
I hear so many threats about the HBA being sued and losing in court. But, hmmm, it never seems to happen, does it? It almost certainly doesn’t happen because there is nothing to these false claims, which no doubt arise out of personality conflicts within the association.
Second, the comments here about Marie Antoinette and the French Revolution demonstrate that the commenters haven’t studied the French Revolution and are just repeating what they have “heard.”
Third, a lot of the anger here is clearly based on hating Republicans, especially a gay Republican like Carl DeMaio and his significant other Jonathan Hale.
Talk about beating a dead horse to death…
You won, folks! Carl was defeated. But is that enough for you? Oooooh, nooooo!
As a gay man, I well know how spiteful and unforgiving some gay people can be, even after they’ve already defeated their supposed enemy.
And to be sure, it’s hilarious to read all of this indignation about a “negative nelly” comment by Moreno after the hateful and truly disgusting smear campaign that was directed against DeMaio by many in the gay community.
Not to mention the hatred expressed in these pages about the leaders of the business association. Cecilia is right: this kind of hatred does suck.
I happen to know Cecilia. She has always been blunt and to the point. That is her personality. Are we really so thin-skinned that we can dish it out but never take it? Grow up!
As for Hillcrest no longer being “nice,” that is a matter of opinion. Hillcrest has always had a parking problem and empty storefronts as a result. What has really changed is the condition of the streets and sidewalks, which is deplorable.
Maybe if the gay community hadn’t always gone along with Democrats and unionized city employee demands for lavish pensions, we would have had the money to fix our infrastructure.
Oh, but wait. That’s just the sort of thing Carl DeMaio would say. Never mind!
She’s lost my business. I used to eat there once or twice a week. I also heard she has a problem with bicyclists, which I am one of.
She has a right to her opinion and I support that right. But when her opinion is contrary to my beliefs, I choose not to support her financially.
Dear “Luke”:
Just wanted to give you some factual and legal background. Your statements are in quotes. Mine are in brackets.
“First things first: The Hillcrest Business Association is not a public, taxpayer supported organization or a city agency that is required to answer to and represent the community”. [Not accurate. The HBIA is a private 501(c)(6) organization that sought and obtained further legal status as a state- chartered BID. That status gives HBIA the ability to asses its membership fees via the City taxing authority. The fees are not voluntary but mandatory. Non-payment can result in a lien on real property or other assets and a termination of business licenses. BID status also gives the HBIA the right to revenues from public properties located within the BID that might otherwise go to the general fund of the City. For example, the Hillcrest Farmer’s Market, requiring no management or staffing from the HBIA, pays hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in rents to the HBIA because of its BID status. These rents are indeed ‘public’ funds.]
“It is a private association of business owners. Ms. Moreno doesn’t have to cater to the whims of her critics unless they happen to be a majority of business owners who are members of the HBA. And I doubt very much that the association even has to have public meetings, much less comply with the ADA. ” [Not accurate. As a matter of both State law and the BID contract between HBIA and the City, HBIA is bound and must comply with all provisions of the California Public Meetings and Public Records Acts. That includes holding all Board and Board committee meetings in ADA- compliant facilities. An obligation HBIA failed to follow at least 26 times under Mr. Hale’s negligent leadership.This statutory compliance and accountability is the price paid in exchange for having the quasi-municipal powers of a BID and City enforceable mandated fees.]
IF the HBIA were to surrender its BID status and survive only on fees voluntarily paid by those who choose to become members, you would be correct. HBIA would probably loose 50% or more of its current fee income, all rents from the Farmer’s Market, and other revenue sources. Total income would dive and staff and overhead would have to be greatly reduced. However, HBIA would escape any duty to comply with the Public Meetings and Records Acts.
The trade-off for having the powers and public funding sources is accountability to the public. Thus far HBIA has not been willing to abandon these powers and revenues, It wants only to not have the duty to follow the law. That’s a bargain to which HBIA is not entitled as a matter of law.
In reply to David Lundin:
Thank you for your clarification.
You are right about HBA being part of the city’s BID program.
However, the HBA’s bylaws appear to make membership voluntary. Members can even be expelled for cause. So it is unclear to me whether non-members or expelled members who retain their businesses in Hillcrest still have to pay the city’s BID charges.
If they do, then I agree that HBA is a public, not a purely private, organization.
I noticed in the bylaws that all meetings (which do have to be public and comply with the Brown Act) can take place in the HBA office, which I understand is not ADA accessible.
The HBA would be well advised to consult an attorney to resolve these issues.
As for the rest, I still suspect that a lot of the outrage here relates to Carl DeMaio…And I stand by Cecelia. She is good person, and certainly not homophic in spite of her less than tactful comment.
She has been a part of this community for decades. If she were as bad as all of that, she wouldn’t have lasted very long. So I advise people to take a deep breath and put away their daggers.
Or not. As I said, I find these dramas entertaining.
Pot always calling the kettle black on this page. First of all Corbin needs to take a chill pill. Speech is still free last time I checked. Everyone has the right to make an ass out of themselves.
and LOVE how David Lundin is bashing the lack of transparency while he has blocked me and others from the SD not Free Press as well as from seeing any of his posts on the HBIA page.
David also has a bit of a rap sheet. Seems he had his license to practice law suspended for not paying family/child support and to this day his license is still suspended which makes me wonder if he ever paid up.
The hypocrisy from this crew is epic!!!!
and Darren James you really better watch yourself. It appears that you have a pretty serious offense on your record that someone showed me today.
Chris- So Johnathan Hale isn’t the only convicted felon with an opinion in Hillcrest?