Point Breeze residents plan march against gentrification of their neighborhood

The original March on Washington was not organized so that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. could deliver his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. Rather, it was a rally for jobs.

This weekend, to mark the 50th anniversary of the historic event, residents in Point Breeze will stage their own march to protest gentrification of their neighborhood. They plan to end the march at the office of OCF realty, a developer of upscale housing.

“OCF Realty represents the most aggressive and the largest developer in Point Breeze that promotes and pushes policies we feel are not in the interest of long-term residents,” said Dina Yamus of the Point Breeze Organizing Committee, which is coordinating the march.

The committee has been tangled in an increasingly ugly fight with OCF and, in particular, the company’s president, Ori Feibush. Both have issued cease-and-desist letters to each other during a neighborhood grudge match that has become personal.

This week, an expletive-laden text-message conversation between Feibush and Point Breeze activist Gary Broderick was published online, a conversation which may or may not have be authentic. Each entity had planned a public event this weekend in physical conflict with the other’s.

Feibush could not be reached for comment, but on local real estate blogs where this battle is being waged he has written that he changed the date of his block party so that it would not conflict with the march.

In July, after the Zoning Board of Adjustment rejected his new development plan, Feibush said he would work with neighbors on a plan.