Episode One of "Why We Cant Have Nice Things"

[Metro Jacksonville]

Episode One of "Why We Cant Have Nice Things"



Metrojacksonville launches its first episode of a new feature examining the kind of crazy way that counterproductive and appalling stuff happens in Jville.  This Week:  Hemming Park.  Join Joshua Taylor and Amanda Morales for a painful chuckle after the jump!

Full Article
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2013-may-episode-one-of-why-we-cant-have-nice-things

[isphil]

In fact Councilwoman Lee was so distraught she was unable to attend most of the committee meetings she had appointed herself to chair which prompted committee member Bill Gulliford to remark: "I could care less, I live at the beach".  By the way, Mr Gulliford will be the new Council Prez.  #WWCHNT (Why we can't have nice things)

[I-10east]

I grit my teeth when people call it 'Hemming Park'. It hasn't been 'Hemming Park' since 1977, the year I was born. I guess that some don't have that 'outdated feeling' when calling something what it used to be called, I know I do; Can't exactly say 'University Hospital' or 'Cowford' with a straight face, but whatever be 'different' and call it something that it hasn't been referred to in 36 years...

[sheclown]

how exciting for Metrojacksonville!!  And what a great job.  Professional, informative, thank you for doing this. 

It is sort of a forum in a nutshell.

And we can't have nice things because we are not grateful for what we do have.  Thank you for illustrating this profoundly simple idea.

[Charles Hunter]

Well done.  The Facebook comments are interesting.

[coredumped]

Why only 360P?

[I-10east]

Its actually still officially Hemming Park, the name was never officially changed to Hemming Plaza, I 10.

^^^Proof? Well, coj.net recognizes that place as Hemming Plaza; If it is still officially Hemming Park, would'nt the city refer to it as such on their website? The Skyway has a station right there with signs that reads 'Hemming Plaza'. Call it Hemming Park if you want to, just a lil' knit pick, I'll be okay.

[ronchamblin]

Hemming Park, to those who walk through, around, or simply view it from a distance, offers a view of reality which, even if it involves the homeless, the unemployed, the mentally ill, or the old person resting or playing chess in the park, offers truth to the beholder, and thus, if one is able and inclined, beauty.

Just as the oak trees convey truths of nature, offering a beauty few of us would wish to be without, so too, those in the park offer truths about our society, our predicament, our city, our nation.  To carelessly force removal of these people, without addressing their predicament, is to obscure truth, is to be dishonest, is to ignore nature, is to obscure a beautiful view of the human condition.

Just as many wish to avoid a somewhat sterile park with few oak trees, benches, and tables, many wish to engage the honesty and truth about the human condition, the human predicament in our city.  Many cannot rest within a cocoon of material and spiritual comfort while the realities suffered by many in our society are ignored or removed from view.  There are indeed occasional nuisance individuals who must be dealt with, but our reaction to them must not include a careless momentum ending in the destruction of the beautiful essence of the park.

[ssky]

Let's see. You've had committees, sub committees and sub-sub committees who have met in pre-meetings, meetings and post-meetings where you've briefed and debriefed one another on topics ranging from property surveyors and Survey Monkey to RFIs, RFPs and FAQs. Half of you are hugging the very trees that the other half of you are intent on cutting down. Surely I cannot be the only one to realize that this discussion has gone in circles for so long that anyone who truly cared to make a difference when it began has gotten too dizzy and nauseated to stay on this pointless ride. Look back at the threads. It has been years of endless debates, finger pointing and mudslinging, yielding no tangible results. This Hemming Park/Plaza/Debacle issue is just a red herring distracting attention from the much bigger picture. That, in a nutshell, is why you can't have nice things. And, until someone stops the madness, you never shall.

[thelakelander]

Until the actual problems impacting the park are addressed, nothing will change. That is in a nutshell, why we can't have nice things.  All the theatre and finger pointing in the world won't change that.

[vicupstate]

Let's see. You've had committees, sub committees and sub-sub committees who have met in pre-meetings, meetings and post-meetings where you've briefed and debriefed one another on topics ranging from property surveyors and Survey Monkey to RFIs, RFPs and FAQs. Half of you are hugging the very trees that the other half of you are intent on cutting down. Surely I cannot be the only one to realize that this discussion has gone in circles for so long that anyone who truly cared to make a difference when it began has gotten too dizzy and nauseated to stay on this pointless ride. Look back at the threads. It has been years of endless debates, finger pointing and mudslinging, yielding no tangible results. This Hemming Park/Plaza/Debacle issue is just a red herring distracting attention from the much bigger picture. That, in a nutshell, is why you can't have nice things. And, until someone stops the madness, you never shall.

+1  Great post.  You can substitute "Hemming Park/Plaza'  with 'Jacksonville Landing parking', 'Convention Center', 'Brewster Hospital' , and a whole host of other substitutions and it still holds true. 

[icarus]

So true and sad .. its funny.  I often wonder if it is the Council's inability to deal with major or comprehensive issues and planning that leads them to waste so many resources and so much time addressing symptoms instead of causes.

[JayBird]

Does anyone know if this RFP is officially out or is it just a draft?  If so, what are the chances of a company actually converting Hemming Plaza/Park into something great.  Sometimes, a private entity can do much more than the city.  In NYC for example, Central Park is run by a joint NYC Parks/Central Park Conservatory, Bryant Park and Hudson River Park are both maintained by private foundations and Gramercy Park is maintained by the community which surrounds it.

http://www.coj.net/departments/jedc/docs/dia/dia-hemming-plaza-committee-05-02-2013.aspx

[thelakelander]

Weird. For some reason, it's been split. I'm away from the computer but I'll merge them back later.

[JayBird]

LoL, split - No comment.  Actually Lake the whole thread got way off track so maybe this was done solely to get it back on topic.