Why is downtown hollywood soo skeevy? (Miami, Orlando: renting, loft, sex offender)

[Scientifical Madness]

Originally Posted by Scientifical Madness

Ft Myers = terrible. Thugs (the kids that killed Sean Taylor - were from Ft. Myers - the trigger man was only like 15 yrs old). Drugs, prostitutes, terrible bad drivers, impatient people, rude people, hotter than hell over there... I dont see any positives to it. It's too bad too, because it could be a lot better.

I looked it up. The shooter was 17, my bad, I said 15. His name was Eric Rivera.

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by Wild Style

that would be a very simpleton view of the issue here. Fort Lauderdale and Miami are surrounding areas which all compete for local and tourist dollars. Everytime someone wakes up and decides to spend money in Miami or Fort Lauderdale or Boca or somewhere else in South Florida that is one less dollar the other areas had the chance to capatilize on. Everytime someone chooses plantation over the city of fort lauderdale or miramar over hollywood these two are lost oppurtunities. The same goes for everytime a busines relocates and on and on it goes. In light of that Hollywood does not stack up to the competition. If they were smart (which the city doesn't seem to be) it woudl differtiate itself by catering to mom and pop shops and fostering a more tight knit, sleepy town (sort of like surfside) look and feel but with more density. But reading about the things they are trying to do with the place, it seems they still want to try and run with the big boys in the area and that will be its down fall.

Well said, I agree. Hollywood needs to embrace what it is. Also, Hollywood keeps on handing out CRA money to new businesses, yet the taxes and rents are so artifically high in the downtown CRA district that businesses come and go regardless of the local social conditions. For a good example of a CRA done right and a successful revitalization of a similar (acutally worse) area, check out downtown Delray Beach. It too has rehab centers, half way houses, etc, in some areas, but they managed to at least turn it into a destination with it's own identity and clean up many of the residential neighborhoods near their downtown.

[runswithscissors]

Originally Posted by Wild Style

lets take this step by step

"It has a beach"

So does Ft. Lauderdale, Miami, Boca Raton etc. and they do it a heck of a lot better than hollywood does. That boardwalk is right next to some of the ugliest buildings and a mall that looks like something out of mad max. Hollywood is not a very attractive place.

"the broadwalk"

See above

"Tourist presence"

So do the cities of Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton etc. and they do it a heck of a lot better than Hollywood does. And Hollywood’s tourism base

YEP....My [former future] landlord's scam artist's duplex was 3 houses from that broadwalk. Around Monroe/Madison, I won't say, exactly.

Every intersecting street is really an ugly mess there. I was so disappointed but was going to rent it anyway. But imo none of the property owners on those streets have put a DIME into the properties. Just a mess.

No to mention a HUGE DIRT PIT of fill dirt at the corner of Monroe 6 houses from the broadwalk taking up almost half the block...with heavy construction all day long. That went on at least 6 months last year and the construction guy said it was going to be permanent. Just a place the city decided to dump fill.

The one thing I'll say is the Hollywood police detective was AWESOME to me about the scammer and really really went out of his way to try and charge the guy. That did surprise me. He did it on the phone long distance.

[Wild Style]

Originally Posted by compelled to reply

Well said, I agree. Hollywood needs to embrace what it is. Also, Hollywood keeps on handing out CRA money to new businesses, yet the taxes and rents are so artifically high in the downtown CRA district that businesses come and go regardless of the local social conditions. For a good example of a CRA done right and a successful revitalization of a similar (acutally worse) area, check out downtown Delray Beach. It too has rehab centers, half way houses, etc, in some areas, but they managed to at least turn it into a destination with it's own identity and clean up many of the residential neighborhoods near their downtown.

If they were smart they would really pump money to really good quality/viable mom and pop shops. Make it a bedroom city but one that is really hip and viable. I wont say it doesn't have potential. I think everything between broward to dade has potential but as you said it and very well I must add. These places need to embrace what they are and capitalize on that.

[Bizforum]

Originally Posted by fauve

yeah, but there'll be twigs and berries, man...

this may be why im still a 38 year old virgin!!if the "twig and berries" thing makes sense...but ya i dont like hollywood...i like other places

[Reptoid Humidian]

Hmm, Hollywood California... Hollywood Florida... Hollyweird.. I wonder.. Oh well!

[Wild Style]

Another article on Hollywood published today link

[runswithscissors]

^^

how's that for timing...See this is what I mean...

"Aiming to regulate the concentration of social-service agencies around downtown, Hollywood commissioners on Wednesday signaled support for a six-month moratorium on new shelters and other ''institutional uses''

Government..."aiming to regulate"...what? There's NO regulation NOW about who can open "shelters" and "where"??? wth...so we have random groups opening random shelters and other "organizations" wherever they feel like it? Apparently so....

And even with the apparent abundance of "social service agencies" they have the ween wagger on the corner. because like so many other mentally ill people he's not the least bit interested in finding an "agency" to help him...

It reads as if there's no shortage of money for organizations to establish plenty of "social service agencies" if the commissioners have to put a moratorium on opening NEW ones.

[TerriW58]

Originally Posted by Wild Style

Well that's your opinion of Hollywood, one I don't share and to each their own.

I'm a South Florida native, born in Miami, but lived in the Hollywood area since the age of 2 in the early 60s. I still live here now and I have to say, I agree with your assessments of this city. The areas that "Fauves" keeps mentioning as "hip and affordable" are two relatively small areas and that is part of the problem. Hollywood consists of a LOT larger area than the beach and the Downtown district and the rest of it is seriously neglected. Wild Style's "long post" hit the nail right on the head. I can remember when this town really WAS a vibrant place with desirable residents and lots of things to do, but no more. We used to go skating, bowling, shopping at the malls (yes, we really DID have all those things at one time)-------now, you have to leave the city limits in order to find anything like that. My goddaughter, who was born and raised here as well, went away to college at UCF in Orlando and when she comes home for breaks or holidays now, she and her friends complain how "ghetto" Hollywood is. She got away from this place and saw what an actual thriving town REALLY was so she now has something by which to judge it. She and her friends frequent Ft. Lauderdale beach more than they do Hollywood when they're home. And of course, they HAVE to leave the city if they want to shop at an actual high-end retailer and not the Dollar Store.
Oh and by the way, those "upscale" loft apartments are doing real well in Downtown Hollywood. If you take a ride down there at night, there are maybe TEN lights on in the ENTIRE Radius building! I'm all for being optimistic, but SOME of us have been waiting for those "good things" to happen to Downtown since the 1980s when it had its FIRST makeover with the cobblestone streets and lamp posts. It isn't JUST the economy, since there have been some good times, too, and that area has ALWAYS struggled.

[TerriW58]

Originally Posted by Wild Style

If they were smart they would really pump money to really good quality/viable mom and pop shops. Make it a bedroom city but one that is really hip and viable. I wont say it doesn't have potential. I think everything between broward to dade has potential but as you said it and very well I must add. These places need to embrace what they are and capitalize on that.

Amen! Kudos to both you and "Compelled To Reply". You took the words out of my mouth; Hollywood's problem is that is has been attempting (beginning with Mayor Mara's 20-year dictatorship) to be something it is NOT. This isn't a metropolitan city---it was never intended to be that. It was planned as a bedroom town---a small, quirky beach town. (We used to attract surfers and GENUINE artist/boho types.) So, all they do is keep putting on the rose-colored glasses and making horrible decisions, which, unfortunately, have to be backed up with all-too-real MONEY. And there it goes, down the drain yet again. Wild Style and Compelled To Reply need to get themselves on the commission!