Main Street loses another ....

[Noone]

I already have the biggest smile on my face.

Do you have a bike?

I'll keep an eye on the tides and we'll Make a Scene Downtown and I'll take you to Ever bank to bank to bank to bank and we will be able to tell everyone that we are DOWNTOWN! This trip will rival a North Miami adventure.

I'll start the day with a Winn Dixie purchase that will give awareness to the administration of a Downtown Destination River Activity that we will share.

Thank you Sheclown.

We Khan Make It Happen.

[hooplady]

The bulldozers were busy over there lately...I noticed last week that another house came down at 16th or 17th and Hubbard.

[iloveionia]

With the exception of Detroit, name me another city that champions and funds demolition after demolition after demolition.  There are other solutions for abandonment and blight. 

No wait, just take a few dozen excavators, line 'em up on first and move north and plow down everything between the I95 and the MLK.  That'll wipe out the problem: Springfield.  Tell me what other area of Jacksonville besides 32206 Code Enforcement is harassing? 

[Ernest Street]

Ionia, I have been seeing them sneaking around all parts of town and the outskirts.
I was recently repainting and window re-screening by St Luke's and the same code guy drove by several times a day on several days.
Ha-Ha I got that pre-primed siding in fast!
I think you were the one that has also noticed they are like circling raptors....they see work or motion and target it.
(in that case..your father was the field mouse!)
Never mind that there are home made barn/shed structures falling down and rotting nearby.

[iloveionia]

And this is where I have difficulty.  Problem: code enforcement harassment.  Solution: ??
This is where I am at a complete loss.
I mean I have my ideas, but none of which would be appropriate to do.
Mothballing is an intervention that has helped protect our homes, but we need more.
We need council support.

They are indeed circling raptors. 
They seem to get high off of telling people what they can and cannot do and making it nearly impossible to do anything.
Code is a cancer.  Ugh.

[Ocklawaha]

With the exception of Detroit, name me another city that champions and funds demolition after demolition after demolition.  There are other solutions for abandonment and blight. 

I had heard about this some time ago and now that some of the older neighborhoods are resurging, this has become a classic case of the excrement hitting the mechanical ventilating device. I believe the program is still in place, maybe not in Strawberry Mansion but in other older, historic, and partly abandoned neighborhoods. Perhaps 'Springfielder' can update us on this tragedy.

One evening in June of 2002, several hundred residents filed into the auditorium of Strawberry Mansion High School in Philadelphia. Most were old, many were poor, and almost all were black. Many of them were tired, but they had not given up hope and were not done fighting.

Strawberry Mansion has one of the highest vacancy rates in the city, but it also retains a rich architectural and cultural heritage. In addition to its namesake, the 1789 Strawberry Mansion, the neighborhood includes a remarkable collection of Victorian houses, some designed by the firm of renowned architect Frank Furness. Jazz legend John Coltrane lived in Strawberry Mansion.

An array of planners and other city officials greeted the residents. They hoped to help these residents create a new, blight-free future. The Mayor’s proposed plan included the demolition of 84 houses in the area, as part of the first round of over 1000 demolitions citywide. As the meeting began, it became clear that the residents were not ready to plan a new beginning; instead they were there to fight the demolitions with all their might.

One planner explained, “All properties have been inspected and are deemed as health and safety hazards.” A resident replied, “We would like a second opinion on certain properties. We have done our homework.” Hours later the debate on demolitions continued. One resident asked, “Why don’t we acquire the houses and fix them up instead of demolishing them?” Another added, “I think a lot of architecturally important buildings here are marketable.” When debate became particularly contentious, Councilman Darrell Clark took the podium in an attempt to quiet the angry crowd.

A year later, during the second round of condemnations, the community continued to fight the demolition of housing. A Philadelphia Inquirer headline from June 12, 2003, reads, “More Protests To Accompany Anti-Blight Effort’s 2nd Phase: North Philadelphia Residents Say Their Properties Are Being Unfairly Taken For the City’s Neighborhood Initiative.” Such was the kickoff of Philadelphia’s long-awaited, highly ambitious, very expensive, often misunderstood, and always contentious program: NTIâ€"the Neighborhood Transformation Initiative.

Dealing with Abandonment
In April 2001, following his first election, Mayor John Street launched NTI to deal with the city’s declining neighborhoods. Thousands of abandoned houses pepper the city. Some are safety hazards; others are in rough neighborhoods where, arguably, the cost of restoring them cannot be justified. Maxine Griffith, Executive Director of the Philadelphia City Planning Commission, explains that abandonment is natural in a city that has dropped from a peak population of 2.5 million to 1.4 million today.

The premise of NTI is to accept this population loss as a fact and plan for a smaller city while providing new opportunities for redevelopment of the large, multi-block parcels that big developers crave. Through NTI, the city acquires abandoned properties and lots, demolishes the houses, and builds up a land bank of empty tracts. Then it waits for private developers to demonstrate interest in developing these tracts. Hopes for development depend on a burst of private interest in a community. NTI targets 34 neighborhoods, based on a $1.6 billion budget for its first five years.

SOURCE:  http://americancity.org/magazine/article/housing-we-want-a-victory-for-philadelphia-heller/

[iloveionia]

"The city should focus on helping neighborhoods defeat the tipping point."

"Abandoned houses are not the cause of blight; they are its physical evidence. The causes run much deeper."

"Commercial development is the key to revitalization. Aside from creating jobs, commercial development, like rehabilitated housing, gives the appearance of success and attracts people to visit the neighborhood. You create a lot of energy and excitement and bring people in when you have great restaurants and retail shops."

^^^ great article.  Very inspiring.