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Solara board members have organized 311-calling campaigns about the sidewalk gatherings, spoken with the superintendent of one of the trash-chucking buildings, met with the local fire company to discuss keeping the hydrants sealed, and asked the nearest police precinct to step-up patrols on the block.At the 44th Precinct’s June community meeting, Martinez reiterated her concerns to the commanding officer, Inspector Kevin Catalina.
“We’re homeowners and we’re paying taxes, but we’re not getting justice,” Martinez said.
Catalina said he understood why the co-op owners want the sidewalk crews to relocate, but added that there is little the police can do if the crowds aren’t clearly breaking the law.
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Read more: Neighbors Struggle to Coexist on Bronx Block After New Co-Op Opens - DNAinfo.com New York
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"From an apartment building behind, trash began to rain down into the co-op's private parking lot. Last month, someone threw a wine bottle, which shattered the rear window of a car parked there."
I see many PJs in the city where moronic tenants simply eject their garbage out of the window onto the grounds of the projects.
They themselves should be ejected to go live in a trash dump society.
They are in for a long battle. That neighborhood is crap. But not for nothing though, I looked at the block on Google Street Views and it looks pretty nice. The other side of the street has nothing but new townhouses.
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"The man who sleeps on the floor, can never fall out of bed." -Martin Lawrence
This is not really too surprising.It was the not wanting to deal with these day to day quality of life issues that led me skip over many neighborhoods in Harlem and the South Bronx even though they are obviously closer to midtown.
The last couple of lines in the piece tell it all:
“It’s not that they’re losing the neighborhood,” said Gibbs, a health department supervisor who lives with her 7-year-old daughter.
“It’s that we’re trying to bring a different flavor to the neighborhood, and to raise it up.”
LOl at people who think they can can move into a neighborhood and "raise it up" like a bunch of evangelists.
The whole concept of buying in a neighborhood you don't like because you think you have the power to turn it around is pretty bizarre if you ask me.If you don't like the way a neighborhood is today then don't move there.
I agree with Seventh,these people are in for a long battle.
The co-op people probably did not realize that a new full-time occupation was given them along with the property - "helping" neighborhood people. The same happens in Harlem. Anyone designated as a "new" person then has the burden of cleaning up garbage after the ghetto people, "helping" be sure that children are supervised, etc. This is not simply something for which people rise to the occasion. There is an expectation; this bizarre entitlement.
An example: The barbecue people who fill Morningside Park each weekend are apparently incapable of cleaning up after themselves. So community groups had to organize and purchase, themselves !, garbage bags to hand out at the entries - which required more volunteers. Imagine. All because people will not move from a very basic level of decency.
Similarly ... Worried about bands of wilding teenagers at all hours on the street where you purchased your affordable co-op ? Well, then you SHOULD be volunteering, mentoring, etc. They are not the problem; you are - you are not doing enough.
The ugly, savage, disgusting, animalistic poor give those of us who are just poor a bad name. They should learn to have some shame, but then they'd probably kill themselves over their past vulgarity.
This is not really too surprising.It was the not wanting to deal with these day to day quality of life issues that led me skip over many neighborhoods in Harlem and the South Bronx even though they are obviously closer to midtown.
The last couple of lines in the piece tell it all:
“It’s not that they’re losing the neighborhood,” said Gibbs, a health department supervisor who lives with her 7-year-old daughter.
“It’s that we’re trying to bring a different flavor to the neighborhood, and to raise it up.”
LOl at people who think they can can move into a neighborhood and "raise it up" like a bunch of evangelists.
The whole concept of buying in a neighborhood you don't like because you think you have the power to turn it around is pretty bizarre if you ask me.If you don't like the way a neighborhood is today then don't move there.
I agree with Seventh,these people are in for a long battle.
If that was the case then every hood place would stay a hood place. Buying cheap and turning around the neighborhood is always a good idea. The people brave enough to do it are pretty amazing because they risk their safety.
Well here is the perspective of someone who lives this "battle" everyday. The only way for the city to move forward is to changing the economic dynamic, bring other people in who invest and care about the neighborhood, and as a result have a vested interest in making the community better. This happens everywhere, in every community, regardless of income.
This story should not be a surprise to anyone and is not unique to NYC. What is unique to NYC is that NYC allows people to loiter, blast music, and hold neighborhoods hostage..and therein lies the problem. You can complain, set-up meetings, discuss with the locals, police, etc..but until the local destitute population feels like changing, it really isn't going to happen. Take it from me!
The only option I recommend to the Solara development is to make their sidewalk unwelcoming to the loiterers. Here are my recommendations:
2. Determine the typical times that the loiterers gather, and then "clean" the sidewalks with pure ammonia. Make sure it is soaked. For effect, you can also scrub it into the sidewalk to make it seem like you really are cleaning it. Do not rinse off..just let it stay. You must do this religiously, so that they EVENTUALLY just move elsewhere..and they will. Do not do it while they are there...you must do it right before.
3. The building can do their own loitering, and by that I mean if the building residents are occupying their own sidewalk, nobody else can. You can either do that by having residents sit out and occupy the sidewalks themselves, however if you are like other normal people you work so its unlikely. The other way is to have "services" set up outside for the building....temporary fold up tables which can have some crap for the building..a fake sign-up sheet for dry cleaning pickup, food delivery, volunteer work, etc. The tables are placed strategically and have some random papers on them. There is 1 guy watching all tables and while they do not block the sidewalk, they do prevent people from loitering. If anyone comes by to ask what it is, just say its for the building residents.
4. Large planters, heavy/concreted, strategically placed can also assist. If you place enough of them, it will greatly reduce the space anyone can occupy, and will make it hard to congregate. Place as many as you can, regardless of whether it is legal so that nobody can congregate. If the city steps in to give you a fine, talk with them about it, and then see if they can stay. If they eventually must be removed for blocking the sidewalk that's ok...typically loiterers would have moved by now so it was worth the fine. Plead ignorance, pay the fine if you must....as they say...better to ask for forgiveness later than permission now. Just do it.
You can use all, one, or some of these methods. However they all work. Used in conjunction you will almost guarantee that people will simply go somewhere else, since every other building doesn't care about people hanging out.
Well here is the perspective of someone who lives this "battle" everyday. The only way for the city to move forward is to changing the economic dynamic, bring other people in who invest and care about the neighborhood, and as a result have a vested interest in making the community better. This happens everywhere, in every community, regardless of income.
I do not necessarily disagree EXCEPT - in Harlem there is the race thing. The immediate objection to any sort of response to behavior whatsoever (music, hanging out, littering, shootings) involves some sort of race-based defensiveness and objection.
Many people have left and they had the opinion that things will never change here, precisely because of that. We will leave within the next three years, back downtown. But who knows. Perhaps things will change.
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