What can be done to improve Gary? (Hammond, Schererville: amusement park, condos)

[Capt. Dan]

Originally Posted by domergurl

I guess what saddens me the most about Gary is that it used to produce some of the top high school track and field athletes in the entire country ... Terrence Duckett, Jeffrey Patrick, Angela McClatchey ... those are off the top of my head. They won state championship after state championship in the 80's and then poof, it was gone. I used to attend the Goshen Relays religiously for years just to watch Roosevelt High School blow the competition out of the water. It was a beautiful thing to watch. What in the world happened to their track program? Anyone know?

I was one of those track athletes back in the 60s. If Gary still had good track/basketball programs maybe it would bring some good news about the city to the national spotlight instead of all the terrible stuff you hear now!

[domergurl]

Originally Posted by Lt. Dan

I was one of those track athletes back in the 60s. If Gary still had good track/basketball programs maybe it would bring some good news about the city to the national spotlight instead of all the terrible stuff you hear now!

Thanks Dan ... you get it. Mayor Hatcher was a big promoter of athletics in Gary, I remember hearing about the Mayor Hatcher relays.

Who did you run for Dan?

[Capt. Dan]

Originally Posted by domergurl

Thanks Dan ... you get it. Mayor Hatcher was a big promoter of athletics in Gary, I remember hearing about the Mayor Hatcher relays.

Who did you run for Dan?

LEW WALLACE HIGH

[lillandawg]

I am a life long resident of gary, 26 yrs old. What Gary needs is to clean this city. When i say clean it, im talking about the crime, drugs, and garbage. We need to tear down old buildings and homes. We need to get rid of some of these big terrible looking trees. The trees in this city look ridiculous. If we can rid the city of unsightly trees, buildings and dilapidated houses, we would be able to to see the city for what it really is. When developers come into the city, they can see what they are working with alot better.
We need to at least keep the main streets clean and lets pave these streets. The pot holes in this city are ridiculous...some streets need to be litterally blocked off. Another problem is all the crackheads that litter broadway and many other areas of the city. Alot of people that live outside the city often travel broadway because thats the main road in gary. From 53rd all the way to 5th ave, you are bound to see at least 30 crackheads at any given time. Prostitutes up and down broadway. Gary doesnt even have the nice looking prostitutes...Our prostitutes where flannel jackes and skull caps and walk with limps...WTF? right? But this needs to change....If this coninues, people will continue to move out of the city. Then the white people and people with the real money will come right back to gary because we destroyed it. Gary is a gem. They know it and are waiting for us to mess it all up so they can have it back. Then after that, black folk gon' be stuck out in portage and everywhere else trying to come back to gary. Watch!

[LIS123]

These are good suggestions, but they require resources that the city of Gary and state of Indiana do not have (by a longshot). It's a kind of pie-in-the-sky idea. If this could be done in Gary, why not revitalize Baltimore, Detroit and other cities that are facing tough times??

[Capt. Dan]

The first thing Gary needs to do is hire a REAL city planner. Not someone who simply gave a donation to the Mayors campaign in order to get a job. Second, the ENTIRE police Dept. needs to be vetted and the corrupt ones fired and prosecuted. Third, the US Dept. of Justice needs to maintain a PERMENANT presence in Gary for at least the next 10 years to oversee the rebuilding of the citys police Dept. Fourth, allow someone like me or you to buy entire city blocks of commercial property for $300,000 or so and, working with a REAL city planner, figure out what would be best for that city block in order to bring in further investments and good paying jobs. The revitalization of Gary will only happen with a combined effort of PRIVATE investment and FEDERAL oversight. For LONG ENOUGH the citizens of Gary have been given the chance to vote for a Mayor who will initiate change but have instead kept electing corrupt, self serving people.

[domergurl]

Congratulations on your promotion Dan! Your plan sounds good. I was chatting with my Dad about this issue (it was very sad that Gary Roosevelt scored 7 points in the small school division at the Goshen Relays. They used to dominate it). He said the best thing would be to declare martial law in Gary.

[Capt. Dan]

Originally Posted by domergurl

Congratulations on your promotion Dan! Your plan sounds good. I was chatting with my Dad about this issue (it was very sad that Gary Roosevelt scored 7 points in the small school division at the Goshen Relays. They used to dominate it). He said the best thing would be to declare martial law in Gary.

Thank you!! And a good promotion it was! $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

[Hokieed]

Bring back "The Music Man" and update the lyrics to "Gary Indiana"

lyrics: Lyrics, Gary, Indiana Lyrics >>

Though my wife loves to sing it, I don't think it will generate the kind of revenue or urban development you need. *sigh*

[Mustang219]

I thought I saw a previous thread on this topic before, but can't seem to find it on this site. I am curious if anyone out there has any serious ideas on how to improve Gary, Indiana. The city has so much potential but it can't seem to get the ball moving fast enough...any thoughts and ideas?