Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Georgia > Atlanta
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 06-08-2012, 08:21 AM
 
Location: Downtown Atlanta
112 posts, read 171,539 times
Reputation: 133

Advertisements

Quote:
Originally Posted by JPD View Post
Sorry, but I need credible links to support these claims.
don't have any links. I just witnessed the damages myself.

Anyway, why all the bitching and complaining? The park's fence will be down within the month; the grass will be stronger and healthier to withstand events like the great Beer Festival in August; there will be a new playground for the neighborhood kids (there are actually families living in those highrises); the reading room area is always filled at lunch; the sprinkler system and water features are now tied to a new well drilled last year so they will not be shut off due to droughts anymore; a drinking fountain and bocce courts will be installed later this summer.

The park will be in better shape for all people - residents, workers, students, and tourists - to enjoy. Isn't that what we all want?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 06-08-2012, 08:35 AM
 
Location: Kirkwood
23,726 posts, read 24,885,403 times
Reputation: 5703
Quote:
The park will be in better shape for all people - residents, workers, students, and tourists - to enjoy. Isn't that what we all want?
Yes, accept those too scared to venture downtown. It is a great urban park, the skyline views are amazing.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-08-2012, 08:41 AM
 
113 posts, read 311,448 times
Reputation: 129
BroadStJudge, it sounds like you work for CAP or an entity tied to the city, which is fine. But there are several things about the way this was handled that seem strange to me.

If Occupy Atlanta was causing so much damage, as you say they were, then why were they allowed to stay in the park for so long, for month after month? They were clearly being watched by police at all times, at all hours of the day. If they had caused obvious damage, then why weren't they thrown out of the park?

The improvements sound fine, but couldn't they have been made with the park staying open and not being fenced off? I've never heard of a downtown city park just being fenced off for months. Are the police/city just afraid of the Occupy people coming back? You can't keep them away forever and the park has to be opened at some point.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-08-2012, 08:43 AM
 
Location: Kirkwood
23,726 posts, read 24,885,403 times
Reputation: 5703
Quote:
If Occupy Atlanta was causing so much damage, as you say they were, then why were they allowed to stay in the park for so long, for month after month?
People are allowed to gather for peaceful protest, but spending nights in a park is illegal. The city was planning the best way to handle the situation and not end up like NYPD.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-08-2012, 09:05 AM
JPD
 
12,138 posts, read 18,305,783 times
Reputation: 8004
Quote:
Originally Posted by cqholt View Post
People are allowed to gather for peaceful protest, but spending nights in a park is illegal. The city was planning the best way to handle the situation and not end up like NYPD.
I think it's more likely that the electrical and irrigation systems were in need of repair or replacement before anyone even heard of occupy, and the city decided occupy would be a convenient scapegoat, at the same time allowing the city to have sharper teeth for all eternity when it comes to enforcing the camping rule.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-08-2012, 09:38 AM
 
Location: Downtown Atlanta
112 posts, read 171,539 times
Reputation: 133
Quote:
Originally Posted by bernsee View Post
BroadStJudge, it sounds like you work for CAP or an entity tied to the city, which is fine. But there are several things about the way this was handled that seem strange to me.

If Occupy Atlanta was causing so much damage, as you say they were, then why were they allowed to stay in the park for so long, for month after month? They were clearly being watched by police at all times, at all hours of the day. If they had caused obvious damage, then why weren't they thrown out of the park?

The improvements sound fine, but couldn't they have been made with the park staying open and not being fenced off? I've never heard of a downtown city park just being fenced off for months. Are the police/city just afraid of the Occupy people coming back? You can't keep them away forever and the park has to be opened at some point.
I am just a small business owner who has lived and worked downtown for 15 years and is active in my community making sure CAP and the city do what they promise (which is not often). I also volunteer my time helping maintain Centennial Park, Woodruff Park, Piedmont Park, and Oakland Cemetery (a city park).

Occupy Atlanta was not thrown out of the park because the mayor's office said not to - they did not want bad press or a lawsuit. The same reason why the mayor's office won't allow the police to enforce the panhandling laws on the books - they are afraid of a lawsuit.

Piedmont Park's meadow area was closed for over a year while the irrigation system and new grass was installed. Then the ball field area was also closed for a year while its grass and irrigation system was installed. Fencing off an area to allow grass to root is common and logical.

The fence will be down soon and you can enjoy the park. Occupy Atlanta can enjoy the park too if they leave when the park closes at night, and if they do no damage to the park's equipment and amenities.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-09-2012, 01:34 PM
 
7,112 posts, read 10,139,092 times
Reputation: 1781
Quote:
Originally Posted by BroadStJudge View Post
As for GSU, they are already responsible for the maintenance of Hurt Park - disaster. And they were responsible for the maintenance of Woodruff Park years ago when it was full of bums sleeping on the grass. They gave up and turned the responsibility over to CAP and that is when the improvements started.
I think the problem is that GSU doesn't have real control of the Parks. If it was actual GSU property, they could do more. Both are public parks.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-09-2012, 01:41 PM
 
7,112 posts, read 10,139,092 times
Reputation: 1781
Quote:
Originally Posted by BroadStJudge View Post
don't have any links. I just witnessed the damages myself.

Anyway, why all the bitching and complaining? The park's fence will be down within the month; the grass will be stronger and healthier to withstand events like the great Beer Festival in August; there will be a new playground for the neighborhood kids (there are actually families living in those highrises); the reading room area is always filled at lunch; the sprinkler system and water features are now tied to a new well drilled last year so they will not be shut off due to droughts anymore; a drinking fountain and bocce courts will be installed later this summer.

The park will be in better shape for all people - residents, workers, students, and tourists - to enjoy. Isn't that what we all want?
In all my years in Atlanta, I've never seen Woodruff Park function as a park for everyone. Centennial Park does.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-09-2012, 02:48 PM
 
Location: ATL
4,688 posts, read 8,025,361 times
Reputation: 1804
Quote:
Originally Posted by JPD View Post
Sorry, but I need credible links to support these claims.
It's true. When I went to the jazz fest a few weeks ago the organizers kept telling people not to stick objects in the ground because of how much it will cost them afterwards after they inspect the park and it was damn near thousands of dollars to replace so I can only imagine the cost of them camping out daily 24/7
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-09-2012, 08:50 PM
JPD
 
12,138 posts, read 18,305,783 times
Reputation: 8004
Quote:
Originally Posted by tonygeorgia View Post
It's true. When I went to the jazz fest a few weeks ago the organizers kept telling people not to stick objects in the ground because of how much it will cost them afterwards after they inspect the park and it was damn near thousands of dollars to replace so I can only imagine the cost of them camping out daily 24/7
Not a credible link.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2022 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Georgia > Atlanta
View detailed profiles of:

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 09:51 AM.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top