Aldine: Is there any hope? (Katy, West: best neighborhood, renting, crime)

[Callo]

Yesterday I met with a friend of mine. His eldest brothers had graduated from MacArthur High School back in the mid 80s. We started talking and he mentioned how nice the ares used to be back in the 70s when they were growing up. That got me thinking: is there any hope at all for the area? We all know how screwed up and desolate it is now, but is there any way to bring it back?

[Poltracker]

I used to live there during that time period too. It was nice. As for now...not unless you outlaw all the junkyards and someone does something about the illegal street vendors and tresspassers.

[crbcrbrgv]

If you are a closeted racist/classist who is bothered by different things and different lifestyles, Aldine is no longer for you. Kind of like many neighborhoods that are spoken about on here ad nauseam.

[Poltracker]

Originally Posted by crbcrbrgv

If you are a closeted racist/classist who is bothered by different things and different lifestyles, Aldine is no longer for you. Kind of like many neighborhoods that are spoken about on here ad nauseam.

Is it racist or classist to expect folks to follow the law and our government to enforce it?
1. The junkyards - the majority of these are located illegally but the county attorney's office refuses to do anything about it. State law says that a junkyard.scrapyard must be at least 300 feet from a residence...not the case in Aldine. Most also do not comply with state environmental laws, this is documented. So they pose a health hazard to their neighbors who have shallow wells (a large portion of Aldine)
2. Trespassing - there are numerous street vendors who park on other folks property w/o permission to hustle up their business. Example: look at these guys that were setting up in the WalMart parking lot on West Rd. Every where there was an esplanade, these guys set up these booths. The property owners had to landscape the esplanades with sticky bushes to run them off and this has not worked entirely. Go down Airline between West Rd and Little York and see the street vendors parked on other's property. I have had friends try to chase them off their property and end up paying for waste disposal, etc. that these folks leave behind. The vendors are back the next weekend.
3. Sewage and waste problems - several points here:
a) homes designed to contain one family now house 3 or 4 and the septics systems (many of which are very old and failing anyway) cannot cope, so the folks send the sewage to the bayous. This is a very bad problem in Aldine and studies have been conducted to verify the problem by flood control, county and state authorities. Most of the homes w/ septic tanks also have shallow wells...can you say cross contamination problem?
b) many of the "mobile" taco stands never make it to get cleaned out as they are not really mobile. Therefore they are discharging their sewage out the back door to the roadside sitches and drains. I have seen this happening too many times to count.
c) going back to the roadside vendors, they leave behind incredible amounts of trash that the property owners and sometimes the government has to clean up. Some are also selling livestock w/ no health certificates. Heck, they even sell fighting roosters on the side of the road.
4. There is so much more...
I fail to see how expecting a decent standard of living is racist or classist in any form. Yes, I still have a very strong interest and family in the Aldine area. Despite the above and a hosy of illegal businesses, many of the neighborhoods are still not too bad, poor but not bad. There are still alot of good folks there of all races who work to try to get these issues addressed. God bless them and wish them luck.

[crbcrbrgv]

Pol, not at all. But I generally play devil's advocate to see reactions. Your response was genuine and very good. It won't let me give you another rep, so I owe you. Great post!

[crowdedmouse78]

there's no bringing it back guys.

laws only mean anything when they are ENFORCED.
the county is very lax about alot of things but especially the mobile taco stands.

look, I get it; alot of these people are trying to make a buck and feed mouths, etc.
but we need to have standards; its America for crying out loud and many people who engage in this kinda stuff (along with the junkyard etc) come from 3rd world countries where there are no standards or not high ones, at that.

people in any community need to have PRIDE AND RESPECT.
not only for yourself and your own family but your neighbors; near and far from your house.



playing excessively loud music of any language all times a day, every day isnt respectful.
its arrogant and selfish among other things and extremely disrespectful to your fellow neighbors.
I called several times back when I lived in the Aldine area; cops did NOT prioritize as it was a "small potatoes" issue on their list of things.


not having pets on a leash is another one.
Ive seen roaming packs of dogs going street to street back when I lived in the Aldine area. I called several times; the county didnt prioritize it so NOTHING WAS DONE.

parking broken-down vehicles in your front yard....again...
thats gotta go.


throwing trash into your neighbors yard, letting your half/naked children roam the streets all hours of the day/night....
have some parenting skills, folks. its not that hard. and if it is, DONT BREED.

again; it all goes back to PRIDE AND RESPECT; FOR YOURSELF AND OTHERS AROUND YOU.
and many people just dont have that, especially from latin american countries when they come here.
its not an excuse, "oh well Im from provincial Mexico"....so what???
is that an excuse?

not trying to pigeonhole hispanics cuz Im seen my share of white trash, thugged out blacks and even some ghetto asians do this as well....



as for that area getting "good" again?
once Metro and Taco Stands move in; its pretty much "gone".

[Poltracker]

Originally Posted by crowdedmouse78

there's no bringing it back guys.

laws only mean anything when they are ENFORCED.
the county is very lax about alot of things but especially the mobile taco stands.

look, I get it; alot of these people are trying to make a buck and feed mouths, etc.
but we need to have standards; its America for crying out loud and many people who engage in this kinda stuff (along with the junkyard etc) come from 3rd world countries where there are no standards or not high ones, at that.

people in any community need to have PRIDE AND RESPECT.
not only for yourself and your own family but your neighbors; near and far from your house.



playing excessively loud music of any language all times a day, every day isnt respectful.
its arrogant and selfish among other things and extremely disrespectful to your fellow neighbors.
I called several times back when I lived in the Aldine area; cops did NOT prioritize as it was a "small potatoes" issue on their list of things.


not having pets on a leash is another one.
Ive seen roaming packs of dogs going street to street back when I lived in the Aldine area. I called several times; the county didnt prioritize it so NOTHING WAS DONE.

parking broken-down vehicles in your front yard....again...
thats gotta go.


throwing trash into your neighbors yard, letting your half/naked children roam the streets all hours of the day/night....
have some parenting skills, folks. its not that hard. and if it is, DONT BREED.

again; it all goes back to PRIDE AND RESPECT; FOR YOURSELF AND OTHERS AROUND YOU.
and many people just dont have that, especially from latin american countries when they come here.
its not an excuse, "oh well Im from provincial Mexico"....so what???
is that an excuse?

not trying to pigeonhole hispanics cuz Im seen my share of white trash, thugged out blacks and even some ghetto asians do this as well....



as for that area getting "good" again?
once Metro and Taco Stands move in; its pretty much "gone".

Oh, I wouldn't blame it all on the county.
1. The county recently passed rules regarding the junkyards and is about to go into enforcement mode. Aldine may see a reduction in junkyards in the near future since many cannot meet the distance limitations.
2. The former Democratic State Rep. for that area, Kevin Bailey, was trying to do something about the taco stands legislatively and did get some rules passed (there are not many), but was then turned on by his own party and voted out.
3. One of the best neighborhood activists in the area passed away unexpectedly last year. She is responsible for a lot of the work on the junkyards as well as sewage issues in that area...she is very much missed (ask anyone). I hope someone is taking up the torch for her.
4. There is some redevelopment going on to adress the sewage issues. Hopefully the neighborhoods will benefit.
For all of that, most of the people in Aldine are good folks (of all races). I hope they can work to rebuild the community. Because most are poor, this may take awhile and the area will never look like Katy but it may get rid of some of the crime and eyesores that typically afflict poorer areas. I wish them all the luck in the world.

[SteveArmy]

no such thing as ghetto asians

[RVD26]

I've seen plenty in my time.
I've even had a couple of Asian friends that referred to themselves as "ghetto".
They're usually hanging out around Harwin.

[robertrulez]

yeah def go to bellaire chinatown and you'll see a ton of viet gangs