Anyone know if Music Midtown damaged Piedmont Park? (Atlanta: condo, house)

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by AnsleyPark

No, they had a let's-get-drunk-and-trash-the-park-and-disrespect-the-surrounding-neighborhoods festival.

[AnsleyPark]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

It doesn't matter how respectful or disrespectful you are. If you have tens of thousands of people standing, walking, and dancing on wet grass all day long, it's going to tear it up.

But, it does matter a lot - MM generally results in damaged shrubs, park furniture, trash thrown in the lake, surrounding neighborhoods trashed, etc. Even 10,000 can be respectful and not perform intentionally disrespectful acts. Heck, last year I had to tow someone who parked on the grass in my yard! I wish they'd move MM to Lakewood. That would be a much more appropriate venue. Or Fort McPherson even.

[Gulch]

Originally Posted by AnsleyPark

Heck, last year I had to tow someone who parked on the grass in my yard! I wish they'd move MM to Lakewood. That would be a much more appropriate venue. Or Fort McPherson even.

That's not quite Midtown though...

[MathmanMathman]

Originally Posted by gerrythesnake

MM has to pay PP to use park for 2 days. The money MM pays PP includes money clean up the park/etc. They have no reason not to allow MM back. That's like asking if our airport will stop letting Delta fly from there because someone got into a fight on the airplane

[gerrythesnake]

Originally Posted by MathmanMathman

That was a stretch but you get the point lol

[AnsleyPark]

Originally Posted by Gulch

That's not quite Midtown though...

Exactly!

[gtjared]

If you're going to live in the middle of a metro of over 5 million on the largest park in the largest city in the metro you're going to have to deal with it. I live a block away from the park on Piedmont and it's to be expected with an event like this. I think it's a good thing that that many people were in and exposed to and enjoyed our neighborhood. The park doesn't even look as bad as I expected. Events like this are what makes the city alive.

[ATLTJL]

I understand how annoying it is to have a bunch of people come in and disrespect your neighborhood. That's not cool. I didn't go to MM this year, but last year I was amazingly impressed by what a great job they did. I waited in line for all of 10 minutes, I always found a port-o-potty, and I was glad to see they let all kinds of local vendors serve food instead of the lame carnival style food commonplace at such events. I was also happy that vendors weren't gouging people, I think I paid like $5.95 for a Williams Bros. pulled pork sandwich, about what I would expect to pay in the restaurant.

It was a far cry from other events I've been to where they will charge $5 for a bottled water (MM had plenty of free water stations where you could refill your bottle) and they give exclusive food rights to a horrible vendor like Domino's who will charge $7 for a slice of cheese pizza. I was very happy to see MM do it right and not force any of this garbage on the fans who paid to attend. I'm sorry to hear it wasn't great this year, I wonder what they did last year that they failed to do this year.

On the same token, though, I have to also agree with gtjared. You can't just move to a neighborhood so you can be close to Piedmont Park and then think it's YOUR park. You moved close to it because it's a great city park, and events like this keep it great. Sure, it's annoying when events get huge and out of control and there are going to be some rough rides. But it's not like you didn't know what you were getting into moving there. Like I tell arjay, don't move next door to Southern Nights or Inserection and then complain to the county trying to get rid of them. You knew they were there when you moved in. Again, I'm not saying it's not annoying, but you have to have some perspective on it.

[AnsleyPark]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

I understand how annoying it is to have a bunch of people come in and disrespect your neighborhood. That's not cool. I didn't go to MM this year, but last year I was amazingly impressed by what a great job they did. I waited in line for all of 10 minutes, I always found a port-o-potty, and I was glad to see they let all kinds of local vendors serve food instead of the lame carnival style food commonplace at such events. I was also happy that vendors weren't gouging people, I think I paid like $5.95 for a Williams Bros. pulled pork sandwich, about what I would expect to pay in the restaurant.

It was a far cry from other events I've been to where they will charge $5 for a bottled water (MM had plenty of free water stations where you could refill your bottle) and they give exclusive food rights to a horrible vendor like Domino's who will charge $7 for a slice of cheese pizza. I was very happy to see MM do it right and not force any of this garbage on the fans who paid to attend. I'm sorry to hear it wasn't great this year, I wonder what they did last year that they failed to do this year.

On the same token, though, I have to also agree with gtjared. You can't just move to a neighborhood so you can be close to Piedmont Park and then think it's YOUR park. You moved close to it because it's a great city park, and events like this keep it great. Sure, it's annoying when events get huge and out of control and there are going to be some rough rides. But it's not like you didn't know what you were getting into moving there. Like I tell arjay, don't move next door to Southern Nights or Inserection and then complain to the county trying to get rid of them. You knew they were there when you moved in. Again, I'm not saying it's not annoying, but you have to have some perspective on it.

I moved there 25 years ago when midtown really was not a happening place to be. The neighborhood was fairly quiet back then and the festivals in the area were a bit less rowdy. I know... Times change. But after serving on numerous neighborhood and local civic organization to make the area better, I just simply get frustrated with folks who take it for granted. That's all.

[ATLTJL]

Got it. Piedmont Park was always the central park of Atlanta, but it certainly used to be much more low key than now.

I remember in 1996, one of my co-workers didn't have a car, and when we got off late, I would give him a ride home. He lived in those apartments (back when they were apartments) on 14th and Piedmont. It was fine, but it wasn't the center of the city totally desirable place that it is today. I remember thinking it was actually kind of dumpy and the park was generally deserted.

As little as 10 or 12 years ago, Backstreet, which was exactly where Viewpoint is today, wasn't considered to be in a very safe neighborhood.