Trouble in Downtown?

[JC]

Maybe downtown was not ready for a barber shop since it has little population.  This letter is a bit slanderous.

I think the main clientele of a barbershop downtown would be people who live within walking or mass transit distance from its doors.  I certainly would not drive downtown to get a haircut and cant imagine too many people doing so.  Downtown NEEDS more working class residents in order to make those types of staple businesses work.  

[Jerry Moran]

I just received a telephone call from Joe Bererdino, owner of Tonsor Barber Shop.  He said that the shop is still open and the rent is current.

[finehoe]

Our city is known over the country as the best place to be if you’re homeless, because they are treated better than the tax payers that support the shelters.

Is this true?  Does Jacksonville have a national reputation as a homeless haven?

[Jerry Moran]

Jacksonville is already the most unfriendly to the homeless medium sized city in the country

According to JSO officers I speak to when they respond to vagrant related problems, and they would know best, they state that when interviewing vagrants from out-of-town, the vagrants say they came to Jacksonville for the no questions asked easy pickings to be had in Jacksonville.

I worry about electing a new mayor who believes a day center for vagrants will have any impact on the library / Hemming / Scotty's crowd.  Will smoking, drinking, drug use, profanity, spitting, gambling, weapons and fighting be allowed at such a day center?  If not, I don't think the center would have many visitors.

[fsujax]

on this topic my roomate who is from Detroit just returned back from a vacation up there and she was telling me how bad the homeless population was in downtown. She was telling me it seemed worse than anything we have here.

[Jerry Moran]

No, this is completely untrue.  In fact, the opposite is true.  Jacksonville is routinely listed as one of the meanest cities to the homeless.

Where, on Yelp, Tripadvisor or Gayot?

Seriously, consider who produces these ratings, and how they would tend to benefit from giving a city a bad rating.  City that Beats it's Wife the Most? And is a bad rating something to be ashamed about?

[coredumped]

Maybe downtown was not ready for a barber shop since it has little population.  This letter is a bit slanderous.

I think the main clientele of a barbershop downtown would be people who live within walking or mass transit distance from its doors.  I certainly would not drive downtown to get a haircut and cant imagine too many people doing so.  Downtown NEEDS more working class residents in order to make those types of staple businesses work. 

But WHY? Why do people drive to regency or southside, etc to get something instead of driving downtown. Driving is driving. Is the parking that bad downtown? Wouldn't a meter cost about $0.50 or so? (I don't really know, I'm just guessing)

[thelakelander]

on this topic my roomate who is from Detroit just returned back from a vacation up there and she was telling me how bad the homeless population was in downtown. She was telling me it seemed worse than anything we have here.

From my memory, although they have a high homeless population, they don't take over what should be the core area of downtown.  In other words, Campus Martius, Greektown, the riverfront, etc. remain virbant showcase spots.  Things get worse on side streets where dense clusters of abandonment building still remain.  On the other hand, in Jax what should be the epicenter of downtown (Hemming Plaza) is also the epicenter for vagrants.

[RockStar]

When I visited Tonsor, I was always able to get a spot on Adams. If I couldn't, I would just park in the Burrito Gallery lot for free and walk the one block.

I think a little guerrilla marketing could have helped him though. Flyers on car windows etc during the day, that kind of thing.

[CS Foltz]

Well, it is obvious that there is a problem downtown, urban outdoor people, and not too sure that a center would even be used...........current administration has no plan or vision for that particular issue and look forward to what the Mayoral candidates have to say about the issue! I feel for any downtown business that has those issue's to deal with, on top of trying to keep their doors open and their business viable! Something that might help could be as simple as correcting the downtown parking issue but what do I know!

[CDG]

When I visited Tonsor, I was always able to get a spot on Adams. If I couldn't, I would just park in the Burrito Gallery lot for free and walk the one block.

I think a little guerrilla marketing could have helped him though. Flyers on car windows etc during the day, that kind of thing.

FYI - I got a $55.00 ticket for parking in the "FREE" Burrito Gallery lot for dinner at Indochine. Not from the city...from the lot owner. If you are going to ticket, please mark the lot better, have someone or someplace to pay, and do not put trash cans in front of the the signage.

[02roadking]

When I visited Tonsor, I was always able to get a spot on Adams. If I couldn't, I would just park in the Burrito Gallery lot for free and walk the one block.

I think a little guerrilla marketing could have helped him though. Flyers on car windows etc during the day, that kind of thing.

FYI - I got a $55.00 ticket for parking in the "FREE" Burrito Gallery lot for dinner at Indochine. Not from the city...from the lot owner. If you are going to ticket, please mark the lot better, have someone or someplace to pay, and do not put trash cans in front of the the signage.

Hope you did not pay it yet.
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2007-mar-fake-look-alike-tickets-part-of-money-grab-scam

[hillary supporter]

Ive drawn the conclusion that the city leaders have conceded downtown for the social misfits, homeless, mentally ill ect. Ive done so by listening in the local talk radio and heard numerous citizens state they could care less for downtown. Also, with a large amount of real estate possessed by First Baptist Church, the citizens, voters have concluded that downtown is going in the direction they agree with.
also, such as been my personal experience when trying to move downtown. After 3 years and thousands of dollars of legal expenses, i realized and reluctantly accepted this , purchased a home in riverside and have been very happy since.
I will do what i can to support 21st century development of downtown, but Jacksonville IS a metropolitan area. Even without a cultural, economically viable center. i. e. Los Angeles ect.

[Singejoufflue]

In the March 2010 DVI plan, they stated a "long-time goal of 10K [residential] units."  Can someone put some context around "long-time" and why 10K units?

[vicupstate]

10,000 units is the rule of thumb benchmark that is needed to support the full complement of basic services required to sustain a residential area, grocery store, drug store, etc.  When Charlotte reached this milestone, there was a marked influx of such businesses. 

There are exceptions though.  Winn Dixie is in DT Jax, albeit it gets panned by many.  Also, Greenville SC has fewer than 10,000 DT residential units yet sustains a DT Publix.