The BP at 8th & Liberty . . . . "Rooms for Rent"

[Deuce]

I'm generally wary of that gas station too. My gf thought it was all great that they fixed it up but I pointed out all the beer signs in the windows. It's well known that the margins on gas are slim and most of the money is made through people coming into the store. To me that place is just another liquor store that will attract the element we don't want in the hood (no joke intended here). Selling pipes, papers, and razor blades (seriously folks, who the hell goes there to get a razor blade) and having room for rent signs on the counter, that does not sound like the sort of business we need to rehabilitate. My thought is, does a Gate or Kangaroo have those sorts of things, especially one located on the South Side.

[fsu813]

i'm just saying that if you are looking for people to rent rooms from a gas station, that gas station in particular, then that's not not part of revitalization and that's not some guy that looking for a quality roommate, like some have suggested. it hurts, not helps, the area.

[strider]

And your attitude, fsu813, along with the attitudes of some others as well,  hurts Springfield far more than that gas station ever will.  It is sad that you can't understand that. Springfield is and will be for quite some time, a low income neighborhood, regardless of all the hype. The sooner everyone accepts that and works within those boundaries, the sooner it will grow. Telling yourself something different, making unfounded accusations and holding onto ridiculously poor attitudes does nothing but prolong the revitalzation.

[Deuce]

I'm taking a side here with fsu. If you continue to perceive Springfield as a low income neighborhood then that's what it will be. It is not a low income neighborhood anymore. If you average the households out, then it's a middle income neighborhood! And we are well on our way to becoming an upper-middle income neighborhood. BTW, Stephen, the original post said razor blades not razors. I'm thinking the kind I use to scrape stickers off glass. I've got a pack that I bought years ago and I still haven't used them all. If I need more than I can bike to the nearby hardware store.

[samiam]

I have to agree with Deuce springfield is no longer a low income neighborhood. There is still work to do but even with the down turn in the economy there is quite a bit of renovation going on. What seems to be happening is the out of state investors that came to springfield and purchased 5 to 10 houses with the intent of doing no work and selling them for 100 percent profits are going into forcloser. The houses are back on the market and are being purchased by people that want to renovate them as there own home.

[downtownparks]

Why Do you hate America?

Those of who want a safe, clean place to shop are clearly wrong. Stop screwing over the neighborhood with your antiquated ideas. Safety is a figment of your imagination, and the concept of supporting businesses that support your community is out of date and racist. Just throw your money at any old business, because its not important the quality of the business, but the fact that there is one there at all.

Get it straight guys!

[Johnny]

strider, do you own the flagship apartments or maybe a check cashing joint in Springfield?

- just curious

[strider]

No, I don't.  But I once believed that Springfield was "on it's way".  Then reality stepped in.  Look at the data available.  Historic Springfield itself is far from "well off".  And to be viable on a commercial level, it must be looked at as part of the surrounding areas.  With 44% of the residents at 15K a year or more, how can you not consider this area low income? 

These people with which you have issues were here before us, were here when no one else wanted it and now are still here.  All I am trying to say is that if you don't embrace the reality of the situation, you will end up spinning your wheels and getting nowhere fast.  Look at Main Street.  What part is looking successful and what types of businesses are there? 

You want the gas stations not to sell single beers or not to have anything that might be used by the drug users.  What else do you have in mind that they might sell?  Can you get all of them to not do it at once?  If not, they all must to compete.  Do not judge a store owner based on what he must sell to compete with the others a block away. Not in this economy. 

You want better neighbors?  First, what exactly does that mean to you?  What makes Springfield a better community?  If it’s less crime, then Flagship, for one,  has been working on that, haven't they?  Less drug use?  Then promote low income places that promote themselves as drug free.  Stop grouping everyone together and try to see life as they do.  Be more realistic in what businesses should be allowed in Springfield and not expect the Starbucks or Guccis anytime soon.  We seem to be heading for a worse economy for the foreseeable future and that means more lower income residents not fewer.

You are not wrong to want less crime, less drug use on the streets and a better area.  Just be aware that low income, room renting and such does not automatically equate to the things you don’t like to see in Springfield.  It does not automatically equate to bad places or bad people.

[downtownparks]

John, Stider used to be pro-Springfield before he realized there was more money in "recovery houses" than in trying to fix up old houses. Now he has a vested interest in the status quo, because an impoverished and down trodden community is less likely to complain about his business. He makes a point of telling everyone who is intersted in Springfield that they would be much happier up in Northshore, and then tells everyone in the community that wants clean and safe businesses in the community that they are out of touch, and that gucci is out of reach, when really, we all just want a place where we dont have to wade through piles of litter, and step over drug dealers. BP is just fine, he just doesnt understand why people in the community might be upset over him selling pipes and razors. In fairness, when Matt and I spoke to him about the pipes, he took them out of plain sight.

[samiam]

strider you stated that "These people with which you have issues were here before us, were here when no one else wanted it and now are still here" They were not here prior to the middle class people that are working to improve Springfield we just came back to reclame what we built 75 to 120 years ago.

[downtownparks]

Its not a frigging "us versus them" senario anyway. I am MORE than willing to help a good neighbor who is poor. Lend them lawn equipment, help them paint a house. The vast majority of my neighbors are the same way. SOME posters are making this about race and class. It isnt. Its about crime, and a sense of safety.

[NotNow]

I've gotta go with Johhny on this..."wow".

[strider]

The "middle class" that abandoned Springfield certainly does have a right to come back, buy houses and live here.  The point is, so do the people who are here already.  You might be here for the cool houses and the coolness factor of living in an urban area.  The lower income people were/ are here because of the services available - a good public transportation system and routes, affordable housing, businesses that they can use, etc.  Either way, it is home to both of you now.  Perhaps rather than say "we are reclaiming it back", you should be saying "we are joining you".

There is a difference between having issues about race and class and worrying about safety and wanting less crime, that is very true.  The point of my posts on this thread was pointing out that not all that use the facilities here in Springfield are criminals, not all of the poor are bad and if you rent a room to someone or for that matter, if you live in a rooming house, you are not automatically up to no good. Only one poster mentioned race.  Race has nothing to do with this discussion, unless you wish it to or believe it does. It is about perceptions of certain things on the part of some and that is all I was addressing.

We can continue on our merry way, just like we have for the last twenty years or we can try something new.  In my opinion, the something new is embracing all of the residents in Springfield.  Recognizing everyone’s rights to be here and perhaps then we can work together to combat the crime issues. 

[NotNow]

Strider,  they are just concerned that the local gas station is selling drug paraphernalia and advertising rentals that appeal to the drug addled crowd in Springfield.   It's the same as not wanting the local motel to rent by the hour.  Now, you could argue that the poor can only afford to sleep for an hour at a time, or can't drive to the drug store for razors and brillo, but I would say that that argument is full of s%#t.  Anyone with half a brain knows that it is a good thing to be opposed to these kinds of behaviors in the neighborhood where you live, no matter the income level of anyone there.

[samiam]

There are a few houses here in springfield that where build by the upper class but the vast majority where built by the middle class. for example the person that built my house worked for the southern telegraph company.