(no subject)
Get your own valentinr
I love all the randomness associated with Valentines on LJ. Watching the anonymous valentine community is my favorite.
2008-02-01
Get your own valentinr
I love all the randomness associated with Valentines on LJ. Watching the anonymous valentine community is my favorite.
I'm sick of being unsafe downtown
http://community.livejournal.com/austincommunity/5575081.html
Summary: Patrons of the Alamo Drafthouse go to the location on 6th street, Austin's vaunted (overhyped) 'entertainment district' and have their tires slashed by a homeless guy who felt they owed him money for free parking. (They try to direct you to an empty spot, and they expect to be paid.)
This happened not very far from where Mike and I were parked last night. As in maybe a block or two away from our car.
It's strange. I walked around Prague at 3am intoxicated to the gills. I walked home from a subway stop at midnight through Spanish Harlem in NYC and was offered crack. I had drinks in a bar with a bunch of guys who were likely organized crime. I slept in the Frankfurt airport. I lived next door to a drug dealer in hooker central off I-35. But nowhere makes me feel as uncomfortable and unsafe as downtown Austin. WTF?
One of the enormous problems is that Caritas and the Salvation Army set up shop directly across the street from each other on 7th street. (Which I would like to point out that the police headquarters is three freaking blocks from this area) I feel sorry for the homeless families and legitimately hard luck folk who need their services because the area is overrun with crackheads, drug dealers and strung out psychos. They panhandle aggressively and can be threatening. They wander around intoxicated and jabbering nonsense. They piss on the sidewalk. They are a damned menace and I'm so done with ignoring it.
I am going to write letters to all the businesses down there that I probably won't go to as much in the future. I'm going to encourage others to do the same. I'm also going to write letters to the police department, the city and the news. I have little hope that just the voices of concerned citizens will do anything. But maybe the businesses downtown will get involved and lend their weight to ours.
Summary: Patrons of the Alamo Drafthouse go to the location on 6th street, Austin's vaunted (overhyped) 'entertainment district' and have their tires slashed by a homeless guy who felt they owed him money for free parking. (They try to direct you to an empty spot, and they expect to be paid.)
This happened not very far from where Mike and I were parked last night. As in maybe a block or two away from our car.
It's strange. I walked around Prague at 3am intoxicated to the gills. I walked home from a subway stop at midnight through Spanish Harlem in NYC and was offered crack. I had drinks in a bar with a bunch of guys who were likely organized crime. I slept in the Frankfurt airport. I lived next door to a drug dealer in hooker central off I-35. But nowhere makes me feel as uncomfortable and unsafe as downtown Austin. WTF?
One of the enormous problems is that Caritas and the Salvation Army set up shop directly across the street from each other on 7th street. (Which I would like to point out that the police headquarters is three freaking blocks from this area) I feel sorry for the homeless families and legitimately hard luck folk who need their services because the area is overrun with crackheads, drug dealers and strung out psychos. They panhandle aggressively and can be threatening. They wander around intoxicated and jabbering nonsense. They piss on the sidewalk. They are a damned menace and I'm so done with ignoring it.
I am going to write letters to all the businesses down there that I probably won't go to as much in the future. I'm going to encourage others to do the same. I'm also going to write letters to the police department, the city and the news. I have little hope that just the voices of concerned citizens will do anything. But maybe the businesses downtown will get involved and lend their weight to ours.