Is Gary, Indiana Really That Bad (Portage, Merrillville: houses, college, quality of life)

[Capt. Dan]

Originally Posted by Cal city native

This really shouldnt be a race issue at all. It seems as though many of the posts here have devolved into mudslinging. At one time Gary was a big part of the area and in most respects it still is. BUT!!!! (theres allways a but) Gary and the surrounding communities problems have EVOLVED from a few corrupt officials and politics. Face it people, the property tax hikes have been way overdue. People have been running to Indiana for years BECAUSE of the lower taxes. Does anyone out there have an idea on what that good old taxe rate did for the educational system for "the school city of" ? What quality did that provide and what have those students done with that good old education?

If you dont have the tools to succeed you won't.

If you dont do something about the crime in Gary the people who can afford to buy or build a $400,000 house WILL NOT do so in Gary. It is real estate in that price range that will pay a significant amout of property taxes. Otherwise you can keep collecting taxes on a bunch of run down $30,000 houses and try to run a school system on that! Crime in Gary is the root cause of EVERYTHING!

[zenderna]

Is Gary Indiana really that bad? Yes, in my opinion.

Had occaision to go there in the last couple of years for a project that would have promoted commerce and provided some income to a particular local business. Without going into detail, we were met with hostility at City Hall and subsequent hearings, where I would have thought we'd have been welcomed with open arms for bringing any sort of legitimate improvments/$ to the town. The project was ultimately shot down by City officials.

But that aside, the much bigger issue was trying to find any place within 10 blocks of City Hall just to stop and get a soda and/or go to the bathroom. Add to that the requirement of feeling safe at the place you stopped and the list narrowed further. How an entire downtown area with such great potential access to Chicago and a regional airport can still be so..."rundown" (to put it kindly) is beyond me. Would love to see Gary live up to its potential once more

[domergurl]

Can you share why they shot it down???

[zenderna]

the project required a zoning variance, the Gary planning folks weren't amenable to it. there were no public remonstrators as I recall. I also dont recall the specific reasons given for denial but I do remember that the client would have been justified in pursuing a battle with the city. they chose not to fight, so the project was abandoned.

just my opinion, but had the client been more willing to ... "cater" to certain officials the outcome may have been very different. but the client wanted the project to pass on its own merit, which was to their credit. bottom line, dealing with the city was a very unsettling and unprofessional experience

[artemis]

Sounds like business as usual ...... :-(

[domergurl]

Originally Posted by zenderna

the project required a zoning variance, the Gary planning folks weren't amenable to it. there were no public remonstrators as I recall. I also dont recall the specific reasons given for denial but I do remember that the client would have been justified in pursuing a battle with the city. they chose not to fight, so the project was abandoned.

just my opinion, but had the client been more willing to ... "cater" to certain officials the outcome may have been very different. but the client wanted the project to pass on its own merit, which was to their credit. bottom line, dealing with the city was a very unsettling and unprofessional experience

Too bad they didn't want to fight it ... too bad for Gary too. Seems that the Gary glitterati would rather see Gary be the same old same old.

[Capt. Dan]

Originally Posted by zenderna

the project required a zoning variance, the Gary planning folks weren't amenable to it. there were no public remonstrators as I recall. I also dont recall the specific reasons given for denial but I do remember that the client would have been justified in pursuing a battle with the city. they chose not to fight, so the project was abandoned.

just my opinion, but had the client been more willing to ... "cater" to certain officials the outcome may have been very different. but the client wanted the project to pass on its own merit, which was to their credit. bottom line, dealing with the city was a very unsettling and unprofessional experience

This has been going on at Gary city hall since Hatcher was mayor!

[ladyfree]

Tired of the gunshots. Tired of young (and not so young) men killing each other. Tired of stray bullets killing innocent people (Gary and South Side Chicago). Wish I could sit on my porch day or night. I can't because people walk down the street looking like they are about to try something.

Too much stress.


I am (for now) a Gary resident. You are so right about crime being the root cause. Don't forget the crime is a result of all the poverty, despair, lack of jobs, and corruption. Money (millions of federal dollars) were given to Mayor Hatcher to build up Gary. I was a baby then but that's what I've been told and I also researched the issue. It seems to be true. One of his projects was the Genesis convention center. It isn't that big compared to other cities, and they didn't complete the skywalk. It was to go from the Sheraton (search online for pictures of the Sheraton today - real scary) and connect to the Genesis. The city ran out of money and couldn't finish the skywalk. The article couldn't be too far off because you can go downtown right now and see the end of the skywalk, complete with stairs, on the sidewalk on Broadway.

Many of us who grew up in the 70's had parents bringing home good money from the mills. When that was over, there was a lot of poverty. In the 80's, the cheese lines wrapped around the side of my high school. A few of those people in line didn't need it. They just liked the cheese. No kidding! Not everybody was poor.

Well, since that time Gary has not improved - much. There is not much going on culturally - no museums, theatres, aquariums. Nothing much for young children and youth to do.

To be fair, there is a new Dusty's restaurant (casual dine-in soul food buffet). It seems to be pretty nice and I plan to support while I'm here. We also have a Kenny's Ribs (fast food but really good) coming soon and a Dairy Queen. All of this is surrounding the baseball stadium that has brought little to no money to the city of Gary. The baseball stadium also has a Bennigan's attached. There are mixed views about the Bennigan's. I have to dine there soon.

Someone is always asking for money at just about every gas station. A few people have been in fights because they wouldn't give any money. Scary. My husband usually gives small amounts. I do the same. We don't want to help someone feed their drug habit. We will buy sandwiches, drinks, etc. We've been burned giving a few dollars.

I love the people of Gary. We do have some very negative folks with a "Crabs in a Barrel" mentality. Too many. That's why I'm headed South. I hope to move to a city with plenty of colleges and safe neighborhoods - Atlanta, Raleigh, Gainesville, Fl., Houston, etc.

I will still come back to visit family here and hope to see that Gary is getting rid of some of the dead weight downtown and voting in people with fresh ideas.

We can vote for great people but if others keep voting in the incumbents because "I grew up with him" or "We went to Roosevelt High together" we will be forever lost. Can you say gentrification?


I hope I seemed fair in what I said but you can just search trustworthy sources online and see for yourself.

God bless Gary.

[domergurl]

Originally Posted by ladyfree

Tired of the gunshots. Tired of young (and not so young) men killing each other. Tired of stray bullets killing innocent people (Gary and South Side Chicago). Wish I could sit on my porch day or night. I can't because people walk down the street looking like they are about to try something.

Too much stress.


I am (for now) a Gary resident. You are so right about crime being the root cause. Don't forget the crime is a result of all the poverty, despair, lack of jobs, and corruption. Money (millions of federal dollars) were given to Mayor Hatcher to build up Gary. I was a baby then but that's what I've been told and I also researched the issue. It seems to be true. One of his projects was the Genesis convention center. It isn't that big compared to other cities, and they didn't complete the skywalk. It was to go from the Sheraton (search online for pictures of the Sheraton today - real scary) and connect to the Genesis. The city ran out of money and couldn't finish the skywalk. The article couldn't be too far off because you can go downtown right now and see the end of the skywalk, complete with stairs, on the sidewalk on Broadway.

Many of us who grew up in the 70's had parents bringing home good money from the mills. When that was over, there was a lot of poverty. In the 80's, the cheese lines wrapped around the side of my high school. A few of those people in line didn't need it. They just liked the cheese. No kidding! Not everybody was poor.

Well, since that time Gary has not improved - much. There is not much going on culturally - no museums, theatres, aquariums. Nothing much for young children and youth to do.

To be fair, there is a new Dusty's restaurant (casual dine-in soul food buffet). It seems to be pretty nice and I plan to support while I'm here. We also have a Kenny's Ribs (fast food but really good) coming soon and a Dairy Queen. All of this is surrounding the baseball stadium that has brought little to no money to the city of Gary. The baseball stadium also has a Bennigan's attached. There are mixed views about the Bennigan's. I have to dine there soon.

Someone is always asking for money at just about every gas station. A few people have been in fights because they wouldn't give any money. Scary. My husband usually gives small amounts. I do the same. We don't want to help someone feed their drug habit. We will buy sandwiches, drinks, etc. We've been burned giving a few dollars.

I love the people of Gary. We do have some very negative folks with a "Crabs in a Barrel" mentality. Too many. That's why I'm headed South. I hope to move to a city with plenty of colleges and safe neighborhoods - Atlanta, Raleigh, Gainesville, Fl., Houston, etc.

I will still come back to visit family here and hope to see that Gary is getting rid of some of the dead weight downtown and voting in people with fresh ideas.

We can vote for great people but if others keep voting in the incumbents because "I grew up with him" or "We went to Roosevelt High together" we will be forever lost. Can you say gentrification?


I hope I seemed fair in what I said but you can just search trustworthy sources online and see for yourself.

God bless Gary.

This is one of the best posts I've ever seen on this board. Best of luck to you. Hugs and peace.

[ladyfree]

My thoughts and prayers go out to Captain Dan's family. I enjoyed reading his posts here. They made since. God bless his family and friends.