Springfield Nightscape Deteriorating.

[Downtown Dweller]

maybe we quit pretending there is no problem?

[fsujax]

What do we have to do to convince the police to get out of their cars and walk, bike, golf cart or use horses to patrol our neighborhoods???

[Downtown Dweller]

Yeah I have that same problem on other boards too...
I seem to remember many asking 'what is it going to take one us getting shot?" and that was LAST summer!


Interestingly enough on the SPAR forum, there was a statement stating the cops are walking or biking the downtown neighborhoods, including Springfield, although I don't know anyone who has actually seen this bike/walk patrol

[fsujax]

I haven't seen it.  I really like the idea of the mounted patrol.  Get those horses out of the stables and bring them into our neighborhoods.

[Downtown Dweller]

Those horses are HUGE and originally their stables were at 8th and main if I remember correctly.... those horses will scare these thugs and hookers to death, and all they ahve to do is ride by....

Come to the Shadco meeting, we are going to bring this up

[downtownparks]

Downtown Dweller, I know you and I have talked about this at length and dont really agree (which is fine) I think you are taking well intended PR, and read putting head in the sand. SPAR, and more specifically Louise spend many hours a week dealing with JSO and other city agencies to try to get things that Springfield needs. Sometimes it works like a charm, other times it does not.

We have all seen that the crime is cyclical, and when its up, its frustrating as hell. These are the times where trying to get neighbors active would be beneficial. As we have talked about before, and I am sure both seen though our own activism, sometimes dealing with the city, JSO, and others can be incredibly frustrating and not yield the fruit we all think it should.

We have a long way to go, but I can honestly say its still night and day from how it was when we started looking for a house in the area in 1999, and that Toms shooting, while tragic and nerve rattling is an isolated indecent (the shooting, not the robbery). I think its an opportunity for neighbors to put their differences aside, and work towards filling those gaps that we all see and feel with phone calls or feet on the street. I know it has re motivated me to do more as soon as I get back into town.

[RiversideGator]

I have your number?  I dont think so.

I am just curious about your plans.  I think this clearly fits within the context of this thread.

It may or may not River.   How would you like your address and landlord posted here?

But that isnt your address.  It is the potential address for a future restaurant.  And, if I was really planning a restaurant, I would love to have its address known by the public.

If the situation doesnt improve on main we may decide to open a restaurant or third space or we may decide to open it as an office, we don't know yet.

We might even decide that the expense and time isnt worth it.

I am confused.  Do you have a lease with Hionides and, if so, are you paying rent?  Or are you just speculating about a possible future lease on the property?  It doesnt seem to make much sense to pay Hionides, a man who you previously vilified (as did I) for bringing down Main Street, if you dont intend to ever occupy the space.

I guess the questions will not be answered then? 

BTW, I just did a drive by and this place has trash piled high in the windows with a piece of "art" in the left window which looks as if it was created by my 2 year old neighbor. 

Also, extremely downscale individuals were wandering around the block in a daze.  Some of them were homeless but some obviously reside in the upper floors of some of the buildings in this block.  Get some of them to sell to legitimate landlords and you will see the entire area turn around.

[downtownparks]

Its clearly hopeless. I think the only real solution is for all Springfielders to kill themselves.

In light of the shooting, is that really appropriate humor?

What a bizarre statement anyways.  Its only without solution if the residents decide not to solve it.

Pretending its not a real problem, unfortunately, is not a solution.

Being as I consider myself a friend of the victims, I think he would probably laugh too. He has a pretty good sense of humor. Plus, group suicide is a little different than robbery and attempted homicide, but being a quasi-lawyer Im  sure you know that.

Maybe we can sue someone to make Main St better.

Either that or schedule a few more thug nights at a random club.  That would be helpful.

As you sent me a series of harrassing emails yesterday accusing Craig Van Horn, and by extention me of being responsible for Toms shooting, I will address this. You see, I prefer to deal with you in public rather than try to bully you via email.

Were Toms shooters hanging out at 9th and Main before they shot him? Which events are thug oriented? Wednesday night Karaoke really causing a problem? Maybe its the tuesday night Reggae? Oh, is it the spoken word? They are pretty explicit, but not usually violent. Or are you talking about the bands we are bringing in? Last week we had a beautiful lady out of Orlando named Cori Yarckin along with local pop punk acts JoEveritt, Christian act Man Apart, and a band out of New Jersey called This Condition. We had a slow week, but I wouldnt exactly classify the people there as thugs.

Perhaps you are talking about the Pearl or Shantytown, and I should stop personalizing your off base and snarky remarks.

At the end of the day, Craig Van Horn and his henchmen could kick my cat and call my wife a whore, and I would still avoid you like the plague.

[Downtown Dweller]

Head meet sand...

[downtownparks]

Fair enough. We agree on enough points to put us on the same page. We dont have to agree 100% to agree on the fact that we need to band together as a community and try to get more police presense, and in better more significant ways. (Mounted, bike, foot, ect).

EDIT: Not sure why you deleted your post. It was pretty well to the point in a lot of ways.

[Downtown Dweller]

I am with you on that. I removed my post because it is really innappropriate for me to post that here. These are personal opinions, but ones shared by others in the hood, all you have to do is listen in to some conversations at local places.

[downtownparks]

Cool.

I look forward to tipping a pint, and sharing those views before we take them to those that can make a difference and getting changes implemented.

[Downtown Dweller]

You got it!

[zoo]

please go back to your corners!

cameras coming.

i'm for zombie bike guys, who i think are hanging out into late night hours even if the shop isn't "open", riding around the neighborhood in packs. maybe they can put together some type of scavenger hunt game to amuse themselves with it.

i'm also for mounted police, bike police, foot police, or any more of any kind of police!

[downtownparks]

What programming is bringing the thugs?