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Easier said than done, you can tear the buildings down, but that wont get rid of the problem. That idea sounds nice, but in reality it wont work. The Bluff is a notorious Heroin strip, and it's one of the only neighborhoods in the city that sells Heroin as Atlanta is mostly a Cocaine and crack town. People from as far away as Alabama and Tennessee drive to the Bluff just for that reason, so if you tear the buildings down, the drug dealing will still be going on as there is way too much money that is made in the Bluff, and the drug dealers are not going to just walk away from that much money just because a few vacant houses and apartments are torn down. Look at what happened to the McDaniel Glen projects in Mechanicsville, when it was open it was literally a multi million dollar drug spot. They tore it down and all the crackheads did was move to the side streets and a few blocks down. The drug dealers moved of course, but they would drive back to that area every day just to sell drugs like any other normal person drives to their 9-5 everyday. And lo and behold the city tore the projects down and a developer put up a new complex, and guess what? It's right back where it started because the drugs never went anywhere. The police actually road block J.P. Brawley between JE Boone and North Ave in the Bluff on a regular basis, almost every night especially in the summer. Ive been over there and seen US Marshals and DEA with full tactical gear and assault rifles posted up 5-6 deep in the middle of the day. If that hasn't put a stop to the rampant drug dealing, then you think tearing some buildings down will?
No they don't. I live two blocks from North Avenue and have lived here nearly 5 years and there is rarely road blocks. I have only been involved in one and it was the middle of the day. There were no DEA agents, just cops checking to see if you had a license and if you didn't they would arrest you. They got mostly people who weren't from the neighborhood from what I could tell.
Also JP Brawley intersects JE Boone travelling south. North Avenue crosses JP Brawley and goes toward Northside Drive to the east and Lowery Blvd to the west. So the logistics of your post don't make sense. Are you saying that they frequently block the majority of the neighborhood with DEA agents in full tactical gear and assault rifles. Methinks you have been watching too many movies. There have been a few movies also shot over here. One last year that I remember and "The Blindside" a few years ago were shot on JP Brawley at North Ave in particular. Maybe you saw a bunch of security guards or something associated with movie making.
Wanted to add that I do think it would be a good idea to tear down the buildings that are abandoned, especially the apartment complexes as I feel those are the areas where most of the drug dealing is going on. To combat the heroine dealing going on, the police could do raids and get rid of them via the justice system. Though I am not all gung ho/lovey dovey about the police, I do feel that they are doing a good job in the neighborhood and are building cases against those who are the perpetuators of the heroine trade. I remember about 18 months ago there was a huge raid on an apartment complex around the corner from my house, there were DEA agent, helicopters, it looked like an army. Those dealers never came back and the building is empty now. Tearing it down would do a world of good.
No they don't. I live two blocks from North Avenue and have lived here nearly 5 years and there is rarely road blocks. I have only been involved in one and it was the middle of the day. There were no DEA agents, just cops checking to see if you had a license and if you didn't they would arrest you. They got mostly people who weren't from the neighborhood from what I could tell.
Also JP Brawley intersects JE Boone travelling south. North Avenue crosses JP Brawley and goes toward Northside Drive to the east and Lowery Blvd to the west. So the logistics of your post don't make sense. Are you saying that they frequently block the majority of the neighborhood with DEA agents in full tactical gear and assault rifles. Methinks you have been watching too many movies. There have been a few movies also shot over here. One last year that I remember and "The Blindside" a few years ago were shot on JP Brawley at North Ave in particular. Maybe you saw a bunch of security guards or something associated with movie making.
Well you must not leave the house at night then because i've run through three roadblocks right at the Brawley/Boone intersection within the past couple of months.
Well you must not leave the house at night then because i've run through three roadblocks right at the Brawley/Boone intersection within the past couple of months.
I am frequently outside at night.
There is usually a large police presence at Brawley and Kennedy (they recently changed the name of Kennedy, can't remember it, oh Cameron something or other) in the summer since there is a lot of people who hang out at that corner, but not DEA agents with assault rifles.
No they don't. I live two blocks from North Avenue and have lived here nearly 5 years and there is rarely road blocks. I have only been involved in one and it was the middle of the day. There were no DEA agents, just cops checking to see if you had a license and if you didn't they would arrest you. They got mostly people who weren't from the neighborhood from what I could tell.
Also JP Brawley intersects JE Boone travelling south. North Avenue crosses JP Brawley and goes toward Northside Drive to the east and Lowery Blvd to the west. So the logistics of your post don't make sense. Are you saying that they frequently block the majority of the neighborhood with DEA agents in full tactical gear and assault rifles. Methinks you have been watching too many movies. There have been a few movies also shot over here. One last year that I remember and "The Blindside" a few years ago were shot on JP Brawley at North Ave in particular. Maybe you saw a bunch of security guards or something associated with movie making.
Wanted to add that I do think it would be a good idea to tear down the buildings that are abandoned, especially the apartment complexes as I feel those are the areas where most of the drug dealing is going on. To combat the heroine dealing going on, the police could do raids and get rid of them via the justice system. Though I am not all gung ho/lovey dovey about the police, I do feel that they are doing a good job in the neighborhood and are building cases against those who are the perpetuators of the heroine trade. I remember about 18 months ago there was a huge raid on an apartment complex around the corner from my house, there were DEA agent, helicopters, it looked like an army. Those dealers never came back and the building is empty now. Tearing it down would do a world of good.
You sure about that? I'm not some OTP Tourist running his mouth about something I don't know about. I'm from Newport St, lived there until I was 13 and then I moved right around the corner to Chappell Forest. I used to be one of those youngsters walking down Ashby with a royal blue Washington High School varsity jacket with SRP (Simpson Rd Playas) stitched on my jacket sleeve. You've been over there 5 years, and I've been over there either living or going to see my family since the late 80's and early 90's. I was over there when the Miami Boys war was going on. I was over there when a crew of guys pulled up in a U-Haul truck in the middle of Herdon Homes and jumped out of the back with AK-47's and sprayed literally anything that moved. I was sneaking out of the house and over to Eagan Homes as a teen to talk to girls when you wouldn't even have even dared to venture west of Northside Dr, let alone live in the Bluff. So please spare me all of that. I've seen two roadblocks in the same week on Brawley as recently as just a few months ago in the summer. If you haven't seen that then you must not go outside after dark. And I didnt see DEA agents? I'm from the westside, I'm Zone 1 thru and thru. Trust me when I say I know the difference between a local cop and an alphabet boy (DEA, FBI, ATF). And those were not local cops I saw in full tactical gear standing on the corner. And tearing down buildings will do nothing, as I said before there is way too much money over there for the drug dealers to just leave it alone. There is so much drug money that is made in the Bluff crews from other cities (New Orleans, Miami, New York) have actually come here and tried to take it over by force. Most, not all, but most of the drug dealers over there don't even live over there. They are more than likely from there but these guys have condos in Midtown and Buckhead and houses in the suburbs, if they tear the buildings down they don't care as they don't live there anyway. I know this because I'm sad to say some of them are my family and people I grew up with. The only people who live there are the junkies and crackheads, and most of them are basically homeless anyway so tearing a few buildings down wouldn't affect them anyway. I don't watch too many movies, I grew up in that area, I've seen it first hand. Just because I'm not talking to you like " yeah cuzzo 6th Ward SRP Simpson Rd to my casket drop" doesn't mean I don't know what I'm talking about. And you sound downright silly right now saying that I didn't see DEA over there when you yourself said in your very own post the DEA had to bust up an apartment complex around the corner from your house. News flash buddy, if the DEA has to kick in a door an do a drug seizure that means there is some major, major stuff going on. Local cops usually do drug busts, anytime a federal agency is involved that means there is an organized criminal element that goes above and beyond some corner boy with a couple crack rocks or vials of Heroin in his pocket. The problem over there is much bigger than tearing down some houses or getting the police to case up the drug dealers.
You sure about that? I'm not some OTP Tourist running his mouth about something I don't know about. I'm from Newport St, lived there until I was 13 and then I moved right around the corner to Chappell Forest. I used to be one of those youngsters walking down Ashby with a royal blue Washington High School varsity jacket with SRP (Simpson Rd Playas) stitched on my jacket sleeve. You've been over there 5 years, and I've been over there either living or going to see my family since the late 80's and early 90's. I was over there when the Miami Boys war was going on. I was over there when a crew of guys pulled up in a U-Haul truck in the middle of Herdon Homes and jumped out of the back with AK-47's and sprayed literally anything that moved. I was sneaking out of the house and over to Eagan Homes as a teen to talk to girls when you wouldn't even have even dared to venture west of Northside Dr, let alone live in the Bluff. So please spare me all of that. I've seen two roadblocks in the same week on Brawley as recently as just a few months ago in the summer. If you haven't seen that then you must not go outside after dark. And I didnt see DEA agents? I'm from the westside, I'm Zone 1 thru and thru. Trust me when I say I know the difference between a local cop and an alphabet boy (DEA, FBI, ATF). And those were not local cops I saw in full tactical gear standing on the corner. And tearing down buildings will do nothing, as I said before there is way too much money over there for the drug dealers to just leave it alone. There is so much drug money that is made in the Bluff crews from other cities (New Orleans, Miami, New York) have actually come here and tried to take it over by force. Most, not all, but most of the drug dealers over there don't even live over there. They are more than likely from there but these guys have condos in Midtown and Buckhead and houses in the suburbs, if they tear the buildings down they don't care as they don't live there anyway. I know this because I'm sad to say some of them are my family and people I grew up with. The only people who live there are the junkies and crackheads, and most of them are basically homeless anyway so tearing a few buildings down wouldn't affect them anyway. I don't watch too many movies, I grew up in that area, I've seen it first hand. Just because I'm not talking to you like " yeah cuzzo 6th Ward SRP Simpson Rd to my casket drop" doesn't mean I don't know what I'm talking about. And you sound downright silly right now saying that I didn't see DEA over there when you yourself said in your very own post the DEA had to bust up an apartment complex around the corner from your house. News flash buddy, if the DEA has to kick in a door an do a drug seizure that means there is some major, major stuff going on. Local cops usually do drug busts, anytime a federal agency is involved that means there is an organized criminal element that goes above and beyond some corner boy with a couple crack rocks or vials of Heroin in his pocket. The problem over there is much bigger than tearing down some houses or getting the police to case up the drug dealers.
Wow... I knew it was rough over there, but I didn't know it was that deep... (How would you suggest cleaning that area up in terms of safety and crime?)
You sure about that? I'm not some OTP Tourist running his mouth about something I don't know about. I'm from Newport St, lived there until I was 13 and then I moved right around the corner to Chappell Forest. I used to be one of those youngsters walking down Ashby with a royal blue Washington High School varsity jacket with SRP (Simpson Rd Playas) stitched on my jacket sleeve. You've been over there 5 years, and I've been over there either living or going to see my family since the late 80's and early 90's. I was over there when the Miami Boys war was going on. I was over there when a crew of guys pulled up in a U-Haul truck in the middle of Herdon Homes and jumped out of the back with AK-47's and sprayed literally anything that moved. I was sneaking out of the house and over to Eagan Homes as a teen to talk to girls when you wouldn't even have even dared to venture west of Northside Dr, let alone live in the Bluff. So please spare me all of that. I've seen two roadblocks in the same week on Brawley as recently as just a few months ago in the summer. If you haven't seen that then you must not go outside after dark. And I didnt see DEA agents? I'm from the westside, I'm Zone 1 thru and thru. Trust me when I say I know the difference between a local cop and an alphabet boy (DEA, FBI, ATF). And those were not local cops I saw in full tactical gear standing on the corner. And tearing down buildings will do nothing, as I said before there is way too much money over there for the drug dealers to just leave it alone. There is so much drug money that is made in the Bluff crews from other cities (New Orleans, Miami, New York) have actually come here and tried to take it over by force. Most, not all, but most of the drug dealers over there don't even live over there. They are more than likely from there but these guys have condos in Midtown and Buckhead and houses in the suburbs, if they tear the buildings down they don't care as they don't live there anyway. I know this because I'm sad to say some of them are my family and people I grew up with. The only people who live there are the junkies and crackheads, and most of them are basically homeless anyway so tearing a few buildings down wouldn't affect them anyway. I don't watch too many movies, I grew up in that area, I've seen it first hand. Just because I'm not talking to you like " yeah cuzzo 6th Ward SRP Simpson Rd to my casket drop" doesn't mean I don't know what I'm talking about. And you sound downright silly right now saying that I didn't see DEA over there when you yourself said in your very own post the DEA had to bust up an apartment complex around the corner from your house. News flash buddy, if the DEA has to kick in a door an do a drug seizure that means there is some major, major stuff going on. Local cops usually do drug busts, anytime a federal agency is involved that means there is an organized criminal element that goes above and beyond some corner boy with a couple crack rocks or vials of Heroin in his pocket. The problem over there is much bigger than tearing down some houses or getting the police to case up the drug dealers.
Like I stated above, the place is not as bad as it used to be. I admit it looked bad in the 90s. I went to CAU and stayed in Vine City when I went there in the 90s. It is much better than it used to be.
It is also funny to me that people play it up like it is some sort of war zone. Interesting actually maybe because I come from an area that has a high degree of real, national street gangs (GD, Vice Lords, Crips, Bloods) that will kill you for wearing the wrong color so the groups of teenagers here that are called gangs that I have never heard of do not scare me. I am not afraid of any place here in Atlanta and have never been. I have a pretty fearless spirit, but the fact of the matter remains that crime is down in the neighborhood, you won't get killed just by walking down the street, plenty of people live here who are not on drugs, or a prostitute, or a drug dealer. It is just a regular neighborhood with some bad elements, the drugs. I don't do drugs so that doesn't affect me.
Wanted to note that I did say that I saw DEA agents 18 months ago and that an apartment around the corner from my house about 1/2 mile a way was raided. They were arrested and never came back. The place is vacant now except for homeless people who go in there and burn things in barrels in the winter to stay warm. Similar goings on happen on Pelham/Griffin intersection. Homeless people got inside an apartment there and burned the place down with their barrels about 3 years ago. Through some pressuring we got that building torn down. No one has come and taken over it to sell drugs, homeless people don't camp out there, it is just a nice grassy knoll now. So getting rid of buildings that are blight does help. Another empty lot was turned into a playground not too far from the Griffin/Pelham intersection. Kids actually play there, I take my kids there, we are never accosted or victimized.
I think a lot of people like to play up how "bad" of an area that they are from. I am from a bad area crime wise but I always remember the good things about where I'm from. You are alive and well it seems. I hope you aren't on drugs or a drug dealer. If not, I guess the place wasn't all that bad since you had people that cared about you and wanted the best for you and you are doing okay. The relatives you visit, if they are drug dealers, they are contributing the mess and you should encourage them to leave. We don't want them here. If they are nice people, I hope they stay around. Unfortunately we may be moving to Chicago next year, which I don't want to do. THAT is a city that actually makes me worry about crimes because they have real gangs who are notorious and have been around for decades, that hold down many areas. My husband is from Chicago and feels the same way about English Avenue that I do. It looks bad because of blight but really is not that horrible of a place to live. We have lived in Cobb, Gwinnet, and many different parts of the city and the only difference now is the blight and the lack of shopping centers, which isn't that bad of a thing IMO.
All that to say it depends on your perspective. I stated I didn't see DEA agents at that particular intersection you mentioned and I haven't. Someone (don't know if it was you as didn't go back and read) stated that if you get rid of the drug dealers or the properties they will just come back. I used the DEA raid at the apartment and the above reference to a building that was burned down as proof that that is not true. Most of the crackheads and prostitutes around here broke into houses to live in without utilities. If those houses weren't there or if people were living in them, the homeless crackheads and prostitutes wouldn't have a place of refuge in them so they wouldn't be around. I know quite a few people who live here who are not crackheads. I have a very good paying job as does my husband, we could live practically any place we want to live. So not everyone here is the sort of person you think they are. You probably don't see us much though if you are focusing on the negative elements, plus we work so aren't sitting around for those to view who drive through or who visit their relatives every once in a while.
Last edited by residinghere2007; 11-17-2011 at 03:31 PM..
You sure about that? I'm not some OTP Tourist running his mouth about something I don't know about. I'm from Newport St, lived there until I was 13 and then I moved right around the corner to Chappell Forest. I used to be one of those youngsters walking down Ashby with a royal blue Washington High School varsity jacket with SRP (Simpson Rd Playas) stitched on my jacket sleeve. You've been over there 5 years, and I've been over there either living or going to see my family since the late 80's and early 90's. I was over there when the Miami Boys war was going on. I was over there when a crew of guys pulled up in a U-Haul truck in the middle of Herdon Homes and jumped out of the back with AK-47's and sprayed literally anything that moved. I was sneaking out of the house and over to Eagan Homes as a teen to talk to girls when you wouldn't even have even dared to venture west of Northside Dr, let alone live in the Bluff. So please spare me all of that. I've seen two roadblocks in the same week on Brawley as recently as just a few months ago in the summer. If you haven't seen that then you must not go outside after dark. And I didnt see DEA agents? I'm from the westside, I'm Zone 1 thru and thru. Trust me when I say I know the difference between a local cop and an alphabet boy (DEA, FBI, ATF). And those were not local cops I saw in full tactical gear standing on the corner. And tearing down buildings will do nothing, as I said before there is way too much money over there for the drug dealers to just leave it alone. There is so much drug money that is made in the Bluff crews from other cities (New Orleans, Miami, New York) have actually come here and tried to take it over by force. Most, not all, but most of the drug dealers over there don't even live over there. They are more than likely from there but these guys have condos in Midtown and Buckhead and houses in the suburbs, if they tear the buildings down they don't care as they don't live there anyway. I know this because I'm sad to say some of them are my family and people I grew up with. The only people who live there are the junkies and crackheads, and most of them are basically homeless anyway so tearing a few buildings down wouldn't affect them anyway. I don't watch too many movies, I grew up in that area, I've seen it first hand. Just because I'm not talking to you like " yeah cuzzo 6th Ward SRP Simpson Rd to my casket drop" doesn't mean I don't know what I'm talking about. And you sound downright silly right now saying that I didn't see DEA over there when you yourself said in your very own post the DEA had to bust up an apartment complex around the corner from your house. News flash buddy, if the DEA has to kick in a door an do a drug seizure that means there is some major, major stuff going on. Local cops usually do drug busts, anytime a federal agency is involved that means there is an organized criminal element that goes above and beyond some corner boy with a couple crack rocks or vials of Heroin in his pocket. The problem over there is much bigger than tearing down some houses or getting the police to case up the drug dealers.
Well I agree with a lot of what you say.One exception..Tearing down buildings is a start..not the end by itself.I have been here in Vine City off Spencer St between Lowery and Brawley.I have seen it get better the first 4 years and then as the economy got worse so did the crime.It seems once again they have gotten control of it again as things seem to be back to normal.
I do see foot patrols on a regular basis by the police but its mostly just on the main streets like Lowery and Boone.
Back to what I was saying about gentrifying.No matter how much drug money there is,politicians,lawyers and businessmen are making a lot more.If something gets in the way of their needs,TRUST me the drug dealers will move somewhere else.It that were not true,this country would be like Mexico by now.
Wal-Mart is taking over the old Publix.Wal-Mart does not come by itself.The crime will move somewhere else if it gets too hot.And it will.
I don't really see much hope for the area, because even if the city takes houses through eminent domain, what are they going to do with them then? Sink tons of money into them getting them ready for occupancy? It's going to take a large community of people to decide they want cheap homes in a potentially great area and just figure they'll buy a gun, get a couple of pitbulls, and see if they can make it work. I just don't think many people are THAT urban pioneering. Why would they when places like East Atlanta still have a way to go and you can get in there for cheap and the potential is much easier to see.
Probably not worth fixing most of the homes, but they could do what Baltimore and Detroit is finally wising up and starting to do: Seize the property through eminent domain, dozing the area, then selling the property to developers...
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