Dan Cathy’s plea: We must help 30314 (Atlanta: 2015, crime)

[Airforceguy]

It's a long read, but its nice to see Atlanta's corporate community stepping up....

Looking to the future when the Atlanta Falcons are playing in their new state-of-the-art $1.4 billion retractable roof stadium, the CEO of Chick-fil-A Inc. fears Atlanta will be exposed as a true tale of two cities.
"The horror that I think of is when the Goodyear blimp is flying over the new stadium with Atlanta's beautiful skyline in the background," Cathy said. "And then the blimp shows the area on the other side of the stadium and it looks like a scene out of Baghdad."
Cathy is sounding a community alarm: Atlanta has a moral responsibility to address the inequities that exist in the city and the state, he believes. The best place to target those inequities is in the communities west of the new Atlanta Falcons stadium — one the poorest areas with the highest levels of crime and lowest high-school graduation rates in the city.
"The great divide in the state of Georgia is Northside Drive," Cathy said. "I have a very deep conviction about what it says about our society; about what it says about our own backyard. This is happening on our watch. We have got to fix it."

Dan Cathy?s plea: We must help 30314 - Atlanta Business Chronicle

[Zanarkand A East]

Is this because he plans for Chick-Fil-A to be the stadium name sponsor?

[residinghere2007]

There has already been a lot of corporate and community support in the neighborhoods mentioned in the article. Nice to see that Chik-Fil-A is also looking to boost the area but IMO, commercial investment versus more charitable work is needed to turn around these neighborhoods.

He should build his sports complex IMO and I feel the city should sell him some land on the cheap to do it and I feel he should put a Chick-F il-A in the neighborhood. A good spot would be next to the Walmart on MLK as there is a huge swath of undeveloped land next to it and it is a prime location for some commercial investment.

It is nice that he states he cares, but more than "morals" needs to be taken to heart IMO. Communities are transformed by economic revitalization. They have more than enough charity on the Westside (and for those who don't know, I own a home in English Avenue and have been very involved in the goings on in the area). Community organizers have done a good job getting the area some attention and the Blank Foundation especially has already invested quite a bit of money and resources in the area with its job training center and support of community initiatives. If Cathy wants to just give some money, he should just give it to the Blank Foundation and ear mark it for that specific fund.

[HH82]

If Chick-Fil-A does end up buying the naming rights to the new stadium, will that mean we have a new "Big Chicken" in town?

[Zanarkand A East]

Originally Posted by HH82

If Chick-Fil-A does end up buying the naming rights to the new stadium, will that mean we have a new "Big Chicken" in town?

Or at least a chicken coop.

[tikigod311]

Sounds good, hopefully it will start a meaningful trend for the westside.

Considering the Beltline is in process and will touch a large part of the 30314 zip code, interest in the area has the potential to spark. There's a lot of vacant properties in the neighborhood and it's also one of it's biggest problems. If the area doesn't totally suck, people will start to fill in the cheap property near an great amenitiy like the Beltline.

I'm glad people like Dan are trying to draw attention to the human side of this and I bet more people will join in. Hasn't Arthur Blank pledged a large sum of money to go towards to the area? I hope there is a real effort to improve the life of citizens on the westside.

[ehoez]

good read

[JoeP]

It would be nice if he applied the same morals to his food. The only reason things have changed with his food is public pressure in recent years.

[cqholt]

Baghdad? Isn't that a exaggeration?