WHAT IT’S LIKE TO LIVE ON CENTER ST. From the Houston Press‘s magnum opus on the Washington Avenue scene: “Drunk people walk through the yard, pee on the house, sit on the porch swing and bark at the dogs. They scream and yell and fight until all hours every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night, and now during the day on Sunday. The music from District can be clearly heard from the driveway. ‘Right now you could go sit in my bedroom and feel how the house just thuds. The windows rattle,’ [longtime Center St. resident and property owner Helen] Espinoza said. There are constant accidents at the nearby intersection. With police focused on Washington, late-night drag racers take to Center Street. Espinoza says she has a hard time getting cops to come at all. [Neighbor Marie] Martinez, meanwhile, spends much of her time fighting new liquor licenses in court. She can’t hold them off forever, though, and while she’s fighting one bar, others pop up. Five liquor licenses are pending in the area right now. As more nightspots open, more people flood into the neighborhood to park. They block driveways or sometimes just use them, tear up the grass and get stuck in the drainage ditches. Marlene Gafrick, the director of city planning, says her department began working on the parking problems in March and has tried to bring each of the 35 to 40 bars and restaurants up to code. She too must hustle to keep pace with the development. Soon after one bar finally agreed to rent a nearby lot, for instance, the lot went under construction. . . . After a long fight, Espinoza finally won ‘No Parking’ signs on her side of the street. The factory across the way put up its own, with chicken wire, along its long and tall chain-link fence. People just cut them down.” [Houston Press]
Sign up for the Newsletter
I live near the Sandman Center, what some people erroneously call Shepherd Square (Shepherd Square is @ Westheimer; Sandman is @ Richmond), and this sort of thing is exactly what our neighborhood experienced during the heyday of the late 90s when the “in” scene was concentrated at Richmond and Greenbriar with 8.0, the Pig Live, Guava Lamp, and all the others. Drunk people wandering up and down the streets looking for their cars, unable to remember which residential street they parked on, yelling to each other, peeing in your yard, leaving their beer bottles in your yard, etc. Add to that the fun of having your cement lawn sculptures thrown through your windows, as some of my neighbors experienced.
The only remnant of the chaos of that period is the road humps on Colquitt and West Main, although at one time I believe those streets had “no parking this side of street” signs, or “no parking midnight to 6AM”, or something like that.
Be patient; in a couple of years the “in” scene will move to someone else’s neighborhood, and your property values will triple. Ours did.
But hey, I once found a $20 bill on the sidewalk while I was on my way to the post office.
I lived at The Core for about a year in an apartment overlooking Center Street. If you live on Center Street, you’re used to sleeping less than 100 feet away from a fairly active rail line. Hardly a bastion of silence.
Then, there’s what I would call the “abject beauty” feature of Center Street. On bike rides, I’ve noticed that older construction just south of the track consists mainly of tiny shotgun houses on half-lots. In the sections where those houses have not been replaced with townhome communities, life seems crowded, run down, trapped in time. There’s pickup truck on Allen Street (who knew?!) near Thompson that has been sitting in the yard for so long that tackiness has faded into charm.I don’t really know what my point is. I’m sure the people complaining have experienced a few hiccups trying to adjust to the new pace around there. But I’m guessing that those who aren’t renting were too busy cashing in to comment to the Press for this article.
Wanting to live within 1-3 blocks from arguably the most active rail line in the urban center of the 4th largest American city, but expecting a suburban life and suburban street parking is unrealistic.
GoogleMaster is right. Give it two years, things will be much better in terms of clubs. One thing is certain about them, they start and close fast. Also Drake Rare have closed on Washington Ave. But empty used park lots and drugs may not return.
Welcome to the utopian walkable urban paradise!!! Central planners could have done a worse job. Just remember that. They could have put light rail on the center of Washington so you can add more wrecks and worse traffic.
Never live near thoroughfares with existing commerical and expect peace. Even if you moved there before the boom of Washington Avenue occurred, you had to have realized that when the transformation moved forward Washington Avenue will become a busy place.
Kjb,
A (good) urban planner would direct traffic off of Washington and consider shutting the street down to vehicular traffic at night.
A “good” urban planner would first recognize that they are not God and cannot control people’s behavior in a predictable manner.
Then, a “good” urban planner would realize that Washington Ave doesn’t have alternatives close enough to divert traffic. Memorial is too far away. I-10 won’t have continuous feeders roads for another 3-4 years (the project is just starting). Also, whether you like cars or not, parking is necessary for these businesses to thrive. The first group to object to your close the street idea would be all of the businesses on Washington Avenue. Then the residents nearby will follow since it means even more of the Washington Avenue revelers would be on their streets.
So what would a “good” urban planner do?
If the city was serious about solving some of the problems it would designate several blocks as a bar/nightlife area and close it to cars from 10-3am, when most car dependent businesses have closed or are close to closing (most restaurants in that area are valet only anyway). If we really want to go crazy, we would have public transit set to run from popular nightlife areas to various points around town, particularly around closing.
I wonder if this lady is complaining about her home values going up?
Cd,
There is a specialized private/public transit running on Washington Avenue from Westcott to Sawyer. This hits all the bars and restaurants allowing patrons to park one and go many places. It is not run by the incompetent people at METRO. It was started by Super Neighborhood 22 and various other groups on Washington Avenue. I personally don’t go in the area after 9, but friends who do frequent the area say the service is good and heavily used.
Anybody else use this service?
Washington Avenue has become a popular place because it doesn’t offer the hassles of going to downtown or midtown.
Maybe I’m confused but shouldn’t the job of the City Planning Dept be to make suire these businesses are up to code before they open rather than chasing after them after they have opened.
Jimbo you’re right, but to expect the city council and mayor to spend money where they can’t get political points is just plain silly.
No poor, hungry, children, elderly, handicapped, or immigrants are helped by enforcing these codes in this area. It just a bunch of young drunks!
The reality the active neighborhood groups need to take action into their own hands. They could work with the existing establishments (nighttime and daytime operating) for assistance in hiring off duty cops to handle problems on the local streets off of Washington Avenue.
Another solution that works for Avondale Street in the Montrose (which parallels Westheimer) to keep cars off it is a permit program. You have to have a proper sticker in your car window or you get towed. This works very well. A tow truck company makes rounds every half hour or so and tags cars to get towed. I think some streets in residential areas near Rice Village have the same program (but don’t quote me on that).
This is also popular in some old neighborhoods in the New Orleans were parking is extremely limited ans streets are narrow (lets just say you better push your side mirrors in or you’ll lose them).
I live 50 feet from Washington Ave, near Sawyer. I like living near big streets, commercial businesses, industrial areas and don’t mind the train or traffic. However, the last two years have seen an explosion of a new business for our area… overserving young white people whose favorite word is a loud “Whooooo” at 2:15am. We have laws that can keep these bars at bay, but they are not strictly enforced. Parking places based upon occupancy before a permit is let, DUI, jaywalking, public intoxication, serving minors, noise ordinances, urinating in public, etc. can all be enforced and make the area less attractive to bars.
The bottom line is no one has the gumption to do this until the horse is out of the barn. I’m just holding my breath until the bullshit moves to your neighborhood.
Well,
I live really close to this area. I live in Cottage Grow just north of I-10 near TC Jester. I have the trains and the rail yard in the back, but I’m away from any street that will be a target for bars or other businesses.
So I’m very close yet very far away…
I’ll go to the restaurants prior to 9pm when the bar scene is starting to rev up.
The parking issues isn’t as simple as having enough spaces per some code. If the place was an existing building, a variance is easy to get to not have to provide parking. This is also to help business in other urban areas such as downtown, midtown, and montrose where new establishments often open up on locations where prior ones existed before parking codes existed. Also, many pay for parking lots have been established when also allows for variances to be granted. The added shuttle service also adds to this.
I still can’t figure out why no one’s built a parking garage somewhere along Washington. You could charge those monkeys $15 a pop, $20 for valet.
Nord,
I’m sure a metal parking structure could go up pretty quick.
That new building 1 block east of Shepherd has garage parking. If their businesses weren’t open at night, they could turn on charged parking after all their tenants shut down for the evening.
I’m sure the large lot 1 block west of Durham north of Washington that is pay parking could add a level (or two).
I think the business model for a parking garage should try to recoup the cost pretty quickly though since most people are thinking the area will die back down like Richmond did….
kjb434 writes:
“Even if you moved there before the boom of Washington Avenue occurred, you had to have realized that when the transformation moved forward Washington Avenue will become a busy place.”
What a ridiculous comment. Just how much realization and forward-thinking should a property owner really have to do? Consider what may happen to their surrounding area 10 years from now? 50 years from now? 200 years from now?
***
Danner writes:
“I wonder if this lady is complaining about her home values going up?”
Maybe her home values are increasing, maybe they aren’t. If they are increasing, however, I’d suspect that her taxes are as well.
And, in such an event, I’d be complaining too: not only does she get more headaches, more noise, and more hassles, she gets to pay more in taxes for it too!
***
brad writes:
“IThe bottom line is no one has the gumption to do this until the horse is out of the barn. I’m just holding my breath until the bullshit moves to your neighborhood.”
Amen.
Of course, in the apparent view of some here, such soon-to-be-impacted property owners should (have) realize(d) that their neighborhood is going to get trashed too. So no need to stock up on tissues for them. After all, everyone should have foresight equivalent to perfect hindsight.
Random Poster,
It’s not hard to see that a major thoroughfare could develop into a major business and entertainment hub. You don’t need a soothsayer to predict this.
Any 4 lane or more streets have this potential. There are many areas in the Washington Avenue corridor that don’t have the problems that are listed above. The rail road on the north side of Washington is a great barrier that prevents some of these problems from spilling over.
It’s called investigating where your are going to live. It’s only take about two hours to learn a lot about a neighborhood on the internet through searches. About 45 minutes of driving around this area (even before it developed this much) could give you an indication where you may not want to buy a home. I think this is minor upfront work for what the majority of people is the largest purchase in their lives.
As much as I have absolutely no sympathy for the young urbanites who move to an apartment or condo near Washington NOW and then complain about the noise, I have the utmost sympathy for the longtime residents in this area. Believe it or not, old folks and families actually live here and have been here long before the douchefication.
kjb434 writes:
“There are many areas in the Washington Avenue corridor that don’t have the problems that are listed above. The rail road on the north side of Washington is a great barrier that prevents some of these problems from spilling over.”
Just wait until the railroad leaves.
Surely you have realized and envisioned that this could occur, right?
Random Poster,
If you did your research, you would understand that that railroad is going nowhere. Super Neighborhood 22, the various civic associations, and TIRZ #5 (Memorial Heights) are well informed and have information on their websites regarding their neighborhood. UPRR has plans for that rail corridor that will potentially involved added a third 3rd track. METRO also sees this as their corridor of choice to have the 290 commuter rail to get to the planned downtown intermodal center. These groups will also tell you that the city, TxDOT, METRO, and UPRR are actively pursuing to close all at grade crossings except for major thoroughfares. They will also tell you there are studies underway to build grade separated crossings at Shepherd, Durham, and TC Jester. TC Jester may not happen, but Shepherd and Durham look likely.
Just like if you have children and you will look at the community and schools in the area. The civic associations are important in this research. It’s all there.
I am assuming nobody has spoken to long-time residents of the neighborhood north of the Washington Corridor (West End).
Before the Washington Boom happened, this neighborhood was INFESTED with drugs and gangs. Now, there are still a few drug dealers in the area, but the neighborhood has cleaned up exponentially.
The Washington Boom can be directly responsible for this. Now, we can all agree that any boom will have it’s headaches, no matter how well or poorly planned it is. I would rather deal with these headaches than gunshots, drug dealers and crackheads running around the neighborhood (along with plummetting property values). This article seems to paint the picture of a picturesque utopian neighborhood before the ‘Boom’. From speaking with lifelong residents, seems like it was more dystopian a decade ago.
As an example, West End Park (off of Patterson north of railroad tracks) as recent as 2003 was a staging ground for area prostitutes, crack dealers, crackheads and gang members.
I wanted to clarify that ‘staging ground’ wasn’t just one or two people at the park, we are talking dozens of people ‘running their business’ at the park.
Also, Washington Avenue has 0 chance of closing for pedestrian walking at night (ala 6th st in Austin). There are inadequate routes around the avenue to direct traffic (non-grid system).
Terry is right about that park on Patterson.
I had friends that bought a townhome at the corner of Patterson and Center which is across the tracks from where the park is located. Going down Patterson near this park is like going to the 9th ward in New Orleans prior to Hurricane Katrina. It’s was a crime and drug invested hell hole.
You would never take your child to that park. Now, the change is to the point where families may enjoy that park.
I lived off the Washington Avenue|Memorial area in the early 90’s and left in the late 90’s when I purchased a home. The area had its unique charms. I remember being chased by dogs and hearing the roosters crow on my early AM runs down Blossom. Also Terry’s comment regarding West End Park is so true. Patterson was my route to I-10 and that park always had young adult males hanging out at all hours of the day and night. Washington Avenue will continue to evolve and l agree with GoogleMaster and irfan that it will be an improvement in the long run. Any guesses as to where the next hot spot will be located after Washington Avenue?
I also live very close to Washington Avenue. We lived in the West End about 20 years ago. We moved back almost 5 years ago. When we were looking for our new home in Rice Military, one thing we knew we didn’t want was to be right next to a major thoroughfare like Washington or Shepherd, or Durham, etc. We also knew enough to not want a shared driveway so that we’d always have enough parking. This is not rocket science. It’s common sense. I am now within walking distance from several venues on Washington, yet I don’t worry about parking issues because of where we bought, because we used a little foresight. We weren’t visionaries, we just used common sense…. something that is sorely lacking in today’s society.
The people living in the run down shotgun shacks on Center street have had numerous opportunities to sell their tear downs and move to a much nicer home with money to spare.
I know the owner of the privately run jitney service and she is also one of my neighbors. Expect an article by me on The Wave here shortly. Gus and I have discussed it, as well as Lauren, the owner. The week is slipping away and Lauren and I most likely won’t get to it again this week. Someone mentioned earlier in the thread that the city should provide some form of public transit up and down the Washington Ave. corridor. Why is it people often think the government has to do everything for us? What’s with this nanny state mentality. Lauren’s jitney service is run better than any governmental operation would be, it’s more cost effective, it’s a helluvalot more fun than anything the gubmint would ever operate, gawd I could go on and on. The government is not the answer to life’s problems. It’s usually the cause of many of life’s problems. Lauren’s independent thinking and can do attitude is what made this jitney service happen in spite of the mental midgets in the way with the city. Gawd it’s so frustrating to hear people whine on and on about expecting one entitlement after another from the gubmint.
The parking permit system is alive and well in Rice Military. I don’t care for the way it’s been implemented, but it is what it is. The menial permit fees residents can voluntarily pay for street parking is not imposed on the establishments who have created the problems is what I disagree with. It penalizes the victims, instead of the entities responsible. It isn’t perfect, but residents closest to places like Taps, Brixx and 8 are experiencing some relief. The city has also come in over the last year and installed no parking signs on one side of many of the narrow neighborhood streets to try and help prevent emergency vehicle blockage by cars parked on narrow streets.
The liquor permits pending on the Washington Avenue Corridor were sort of referenced in the article, but in all actuality, I have been told there are currently over 200 pending. I’ve not verified that amount, but the source should be accurate. Needless to say, there will be much more buildup in coming months.
CK,
I figured you would jump in sooner or later. I know your resident clued into the Washington Avenue area.
I consider myself pretty conservative, but are you really equating buses with a nanny state?
Also, I bought my home near Hillcroft and Braeswood. If some of those vacant lots or businesses were turned into night clubs, should I really be expected to anticipate that?
Cd,
I think CK was getting at the mentality of people that the solution starts with someone at city hall in a government job.
“Also, I bought my home near Hillcroft and Braeswood. If some of those vacant lots or businesses were turned into night clubs, should I really be expected to anticipate that?”
I wouldn’t anticipate whether it’ll turn into a night club, but I would anticipate that it may turn into a business that would bring more people and activity near my home that I may not want. Living a little off the major thoroughfare is not just because of bar potential. It is because of potential increase activity at any time of day on the corridor.
Cd,
I would imagine that residential lots near Hillcroft and Braeswood are deed restricted lots. Rice Military and most of the West End neighborhoods have no deed restrictions. Plus, Houston does not have zoning. Prudently enforced deed restrictions should prevent comm’l buildup of unwanted businesses in a restricted residential area. However, it won’t prevent fringe properties from becoming problematic.
When I lived in the West End 20 yrs ago, it was a dump in my opinion… and crime ridden. The revitalization of Rice Military and the surrounding neighborhoods has made it a wonderful place to live.
i think if you left for a time and rturned, the whole area would look run down, because it is.
take a look- the distance between the third and forth largest city is quite large.
since the recession, building (aside from opening hole in the wall bars) has stopped over there.
there’s still a lot of streets with open drainage and no storm sewer line in place.
next hot place? Upper Kirby! Lots of open retail space since the construction went down last year, plus oodles of new d-bag residences, plus parking garages.
I live on Center right near the intersection of Fowler in a group of townhomes. When our sidewalk and grass started getting torn up by people parking illegally we put big rocks near the edge of the road. I haven’t see anyone attempt to park with that fix.
Living near Washington is great because I have a covered parking spot within walking distance of all the bars…my garage. I love walking to the bars/restaurants in the area and avoiding the mess. My guests also enjoy parking inside my gate.
The train is loud but we knew that when we bought the place. However, that is on track to change once the quiet zone gets passed.
“Also, I bought my home near Hillcroft and Braeswood. If some of those vacant lots or businesses were turned into night clubs, should I really be expected to anticipate that?â€
Yes.
When I’m looking for a home I steer clear of areas near businesses, empty lots, neighborhoods with burglar bars, apartment complexes, trails leading to convenience stores, busy streets, etc…
First, the lots and businesses I am referring to are the old Sears Hardware and the “pad site for lease”. Those are nit covered by deed restrictions.
Second if people were to avoid buying homes in Houston because they are near a major road or a vacant lot, not much real estate in town would get sold. As a general rule I am ok with no zoning, but I don’t think it is indicative of a nanny state to expect the city to do something to help homeowners.
d,
Building hasn’t stopped. I admit it isn’t as a break neck speed it was before the fall of 2008, but it hasn’t stopped.
Several new homes have been started in the area and more older homes are being slated for tear down for new homes.
The lack of curb and gutter streets and the use of road side ditches doesn’t make the place run down. There are many people who prefer the road side ditches over curb and gutter streets. I can go either way, but will tell the truth from an civil engineering that eventually the streets will have to go the a curb and gutter system to adequately handle drainage and street flooding.
Second if people were to avoid buying homes in Houston because they are near a major road or a vacant lot, not much real estate in town would get sold.
True, but I’m not thinking about that when I’m buying a house. I’m thinking about myself.
No one likes or deserves drunk f*ckfaces yelling, peeing, and puking in the wee hours in front of residences.
Thankfully for the residents that have to endure the nastiness, for the most part these places cater to a very fickle crowd – so the crowd won’t last forever and neither will the establishments.
There is still new construction going on in Rice Military, as well as other neighboring neighborhoods. In fact, I just noticed Monday a lot on Asbury that had been for sale for quite a long time, just sold. My builder is finishing up on his latest home sale. I can just about look any direction from my house and see new construction in progress.
As far as the Hillcroft and Braeswood area, I was referring to residential vacant lots, not lots that have been commercial property. Shying away from vacant comm’l property makes perfect sense. That’s another classic reason why buying out in the boonies near large areas of vacant land is so risky (even though you might be buying in a deed restricted community, the entire neighborhood is at risk if something undesirable is developed on adjacent land).
Well, thanks for the shout out. Yes everyone I live in the area and think I have solved all our problems, well not all of them, just the ones the jitney can help. I have a massive parking lot at the southwest corner of Houston & Memorial available that is FREE to park in, although not free for me to lease. Then you can catch the Waves to any/all of your favorite destinations in our neighborhood & even Midtown & part of the Heights now. With your Wave bracelet, many of the bars & restaurants are also giving discounts and added perks to encourage their patrons to ride the Wave. Follow us on facebook & twitter:
facebook.com/washingtonwave
twitter.com/washingtonwave
Lauren,
How much do you charge for the jitney rides?
It is $8 for the entire night. You can also purchase books of 10 & get 2 free which is a $16 savings. We also do some industry discounts to help the employees of the establishments to park in our Lot.
I live one block off of Washington on Lillian right near Roosevelt, Eight, Taps, and Brixx. This past weekend the city was out actively enforcing Residential Permit Parking that is now enforced in Rice Military. It was nice to see patrons driving laps looking for places to park. The city actually had people out in force on Saturday night flagging and towing illegally parked cars. So spread the word – Rice Military is NO LONGER a place for bar patrons to park. Residential Permit Parking is enforced Wed – Sun 10pm – 5am and the city and HPD are towing cars. I love it!
Good to hear MC,
The permits is good way to allow the residents and the bar patrons to co-exist.
I have no intention of co-existing with bar patrons. I am very glad to see tow companies, HPD, and city officials towing the cars away. It makes me smile to think of some drunks going back to where they thought they parked their cars and wondering around the neighborhood looking for it until they finally realize their car has been towed. Then waking up on Sunday morning getting to waste hours tracking the car down and then paying $200 – $300 in traffic tickets and towing fees.
And one more thing…make no mistake about it – Rice Military residents are ACTIVELY looking for illegally parked cars and calling HPD AND tow truck companies simultaneously to get cars towed.
I meant coexist as in the bars still exist next to the homes and they aren’t parking in your area.
I understand the bars are now using an empty lot next to CVS on Detering. There are requirements for parking lots – I guess the parking commission needs to be made aware of this. Eventually people will get sick of having no place to park and the hot spot will move on. Prediction is for Brixx to go out of business within six months, Eight will turn into a restaurant within a year and Taps will probably stay as it is. Not sure about Roosevelt – could become a restaurant as it does have a parking lot of its own.
Wow MC, you really seem to hate where you live. You also seem to want to get into other people’s business, and control how things “should” be done. Go get ’em!
I love where I live. I like having developments in the area as long as they and their patrons obey the laws like everyone else. Residents in the area finally have the city on their side and drunk idiots that go to the bars and the bars themselves are now going to suffer like we did when they first moved into the area. Myself and others love seeing cars towed away. I always wish I could be around when the owners come back looking for their cars. Makes me laugh.
I’m about 250 yards North of Washington, and I regularly have 6-8 people over to my house on weekend evenings. Plenty of parking, no drunks (other than us!), we could even walk to the d-bag bars if we wanted to.
I’m glad I had the foresight 4 years ago to buy a house farther than 40 yards off a major thoroughfare (where MC claims to live). I would hope if I was dumb enough to do that, I would be embarrassed enough to just move out to the suburbs and not lash out in a real estate blog like our belligerent friend here.
Like I said, keep paying out that righteous retribution…
40 yards? When did a full city block only become 40 yards – I have my backyard, another back yard that belongs to the home behind me, the home behind me, a common driveway for their community, another home and their front yard and a strip of land between their front gate and Washington. I would say that is at least 150 yards easily. I am not be embarrassed considering my property value has increased 20-25% in the last 4 years. This is based on my purchase price and the sale of two identical homes on my street in the last six months (1 sold in 4 days after listing) and the property value will only continue to incease a year from now so no, I am not embarrassed. I WOULD be embarrassed if I lived on the North side of Washington – ghetto.
MC,
Are you the forever affable Rice Military Civic Club President by any chance?
If you aren’t you should be! You would get my vote…
Sounds like MC knows what is what…we need some people like him/her on city council!!
MC is not the Rice Military Civic Club president. I have high expectations of Doug Jones the new RM Civic Club prez.
As far as living on the north side of Washington is concerned, once the quiet zone comes to fruition here shortly, the property values should come more in line with properties on the south side of Washington. But, the crime will still be more prevalent there with the close proximity to the tracks. As more and more of the tear downs are bought and the properties developed, the crime situation will alleviate additionally.
There is only so much a civic club can do when there are no deed restrictions or mandatory dues.
I live two blocks behind the bars Ei8ht, Brixx and whatever the PUB is called…there are parking lots next to the bars but charge $10.00…no one wants to pay so they park in front of OUR homes…URBAN LIVING is the issue…they own these properties, parkinglots etc…they also run an URBAN SPEED event in the parking lots and we have hopped up cars that race in the neighborhood…THERE ARE CHILDREN WHO LIVE HERE AND LIVED HERE BEFORE THE BARS CAME AROUND…the people like Ed Gonzales and owners of the bars that say they’re here to help…are 100% liars…there was even a car with two people having sex in front of my house…the loud bass in the bar music SHAKES my house, people peeing in the yard, garbage in my yard and ditches…blocking the driveway..etc….it doesn’t matter to the city and bar owners…so..why don’t we pick up all of the garbage from the drunks leaving it in our yards, bag it up, place it on the bar owners or city officials yard, then drive around their house from 1000pm to 300am…make sure the radio is up, pee in their yard, blow the horn, scream out the car window…the funny thing is if this happened, they would have the means to make a change right away because it’s THEIR house…connections connections connections…they lie…I’ve been to a meeting with Ed Gonzales and he is a LIAR…they do not give a damn about residents who live in the area, nor the safety of residents who have lived here for years…, they just want the income from the businesses…I do give HPD high marks because they try to come out and deal with the issues, but many times cannot come out…the neighborhood is fed up with fighting the drunks AND the city…maybe we should get the drunks on our side..at least they’re aggressive and the city doesn’t seem to be interested…people are tired of it…at least keep the cars off of our streets for parking…IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK…AGAIN???? and again…and again…and again….we fill out paperwork, talk to other residents, get signatures…and then what??? NOTHING HAPPENS…taxes are being paid and what do we receive in return? NOTHING…sound familiar? Thanks Ed Gonzales for making an appearance and doing NOTHING…nice to know we’re in good hands…I DONT THINK SO!!! no votes for you in this area of town…not if I have something to say abut it…I will make sure EVERYONE knows you’re part of the problem…
Have a nice day!