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^^^ EXACTLY WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT: Somebody in Virginia who thinks they're being smart passing judgment on a perfectly fine section of Atlanta. Hey! Stick to VA PLEASE!
For a little while, Buckhead started to attract more black people. More clubs started playing hip hop and you'd see a lot of young black people there. This is the REAL reason residents of the area insisted that the city shut it down.
But don't buy into the hype. I lived in Buckhead and I went out there until the very end. Even though the demographics did shift considerably toward the end and the area started getting a reputation, it never actually got dangerous. The city just needed an excuse to shut it down.
I walked around there all the time, at all hours of the night, tons of different nights (not just on weekends). Never one single problem. I'm not saying that Buckhead didn't need to change. It was heading down a not so great path where problems seemed to be lurking on the horizon....but if the area played its cards right, they could have turned it around and gone back to attracting the young professionals it traditionally had.
Destorying Buckhead was the biggest snow job this city has pulled in the past 20 years, and I don't think the area will ever fully recover. Residents of Buckhead (except for me) wanted the party district gone, and in most cases the city wouldn't have helped out because there would have been nothing in it for them....but the city had something huge to gain. The city owned Underground. If they could get rid of Buckhead, maybe they could attract revelers to city owned Underground and finally turn it around. So what did the city do? It complied with the cries of the residents of Buckhead and created a 2:30am last call for alcohol. Oh, but with one exception: a special 4am last call for, you guessed it.....the city owned Underground!!!!! Yeah, and Underground was so pathetic that even that competitive edge couldn't save it. And I'm not even talking about the other shady things the city did, like pretty much stopping ALL police patrols in Buckhead with the hopes that crime would get out of hand (it never did).
You can put in as many "high end" shops in Buckhead as you want, nobody has the money to spend in them anymore. It's not going to last. Give Streets of Buckhead, or whatever they are calling it, 2 or 3 years. By that time, it will be nothing but CVS, California Pizza Kitchen, and other things that people actually go to. Kind of seems a waste to destroy the city's best party district just so we can have more boring suburban chains, but that's what the city wanted. That's what it will get.
For a little while, Buckhead started to attract more black people. More clubs started playing hip hop and you'd see a lot of young black people there. This is the REAL reason residents of the area insisted that the city shut it down.
But don't buy into the hype. I lived in Buckhead and I went out there until the very end. Even though the demographics did shift considerably toward the end and the area started getting a reputation, it never actually got dangerous. The city just needed an excuse to shut it down.
I walked around there all the time, at all hours of the night, tons of different nights (not just on weekends). Never one single problem. I'm not saying that Buckhead didn't need to change. It was heading down a not so great path where problems seemed to be lurking on the horizon....but if the area played its cards right, they could have turned it around and gone back to attracting the young professionals it traditionally had.
Destorying Buckhead was the biggest snow job this city has pulled in the past 20 years, and I don't think the area will ever fully recover. Residents of Buckhead (except for me) wanted the party district gone, and in most cases the city wouldn't have helped out because there would have been nothing in it for them....but the city had something huge to gain. The city owned Underground. If they could get rid of Buckhead, maybe they could attract revelers to city owned Underground and finally turn it around. So what did the city do? It complied with the cries of the residents of Buckhead and created a 2:30am last call for alcohol. Oh, but with one exception: a special 4am last call for, you guessed it.....the city owned Underground!!!!! Yeah, and Underground was so pathetic that even that competitive edge couldn't save it. And I'm not even talking about the other shady things the city did, like pretty much stopping ALL police patrols in Buckhead with the hopes that crime would get out of hand (it never did).
You can put in as many "high end" shops in Buckhead as you want, nobody has the money to spend in them anymore. It's not going to last. Give Streets of Buckhead, or whatever they are calling it, 2 or 3 years. By that time, it will be nothing but CVS, California Pizza Kitchen, and other things that people actually go to. Kind of seems a waste to destroy the city's best party district just so we can have more boring suburban chains, but that's what the city wanted. That's what it will get.
Um ok, I'm pretty sure there were several shootings that happened which pretty much sent everyone in Buckhead over the edge...
"By the late 1990s crime was increasing in the Village. There were two murders on Superbowl Sunday in 2000, and Buckhead Alliance founder Robin Loudermilk claimed that there were at least 10 murders during this period related to the nightlife in the Village."
If I had money and lived in the wealthiest part of the metro area (Buckhead), I think I would be pissed too if it was turning into hood clubs and attracting idiots... not to mention all of the cruising and ridiculously traffic... it was like a mini "Freaknik" all of the time.
I personally think they didn't have to roll back last call to 230am though... that was a bad move.
For a little while, Buckhead started to attract more black people. More clubs started playing hip hop and you'd see a lot of young black people there. This is the REAL reason residents of the area insisted that the city shut it down.
The real reason the East Village club scene imploded (which is only a fraction of Buckhead) is that it became increasingly rowdy and violent. It had been a popular bar area for 15 years, but from about 1999 on the crowd changed and things went down the drain. There was massive cruising, booming stereos late at night and the streets were trashed. Liquor licenses were flagrantly violated and drug sales became common. Before long there fights, stabbings, people being run over, drive-by shootings and over a dozen murders. Gangs like BMF openly bragged that they ruled Buckhead and could do anything they wanted.
Local residents tried for years to bring things back under control. Security cameras were installed, additional police patrols and private security was added, and eventually even state and federal law enforcement had to get involved.
They're more than happy to tell you about it in their own words.
For a little while, Buckhead started to attract more black people. More clubs started playing hip hop and you'd see a lot of young black people there. This is the REAL reason residents of the area insisted that the city shut it down.
But don't buy into the hype. I lived in Buckhead and I went out there until the very end. Even though the demographics did shift considerably toward the end and the area started getting a reputation, it never actually got dangerous. The city just needed an excuse to shut it down.
I walked around there all the time, at all hours of the night, tons of different nights (not just on weekends). Never one single problem. I'm not saying that Buckhead didn't need to change. It was heading down a not so great path where problems seemed to be lurking on the horizon....but if the area played its cards right, they could have turned it around and gone back to attracting the young professionals it traditionally had.
Destorying Buckhead was the biggest snow job this city has pulled in the past 20 years, and I don't think the area will ever fully recover. Residents of Buckhead (except for me) wanted the party district gone, and in most cases the city wouldn't have helped out because there would have been nothing in it for them....but the city had something huge to gain. The city owned Underground. If they could get rid of Buckhead, maybe they could attract revelers to city owned Underground and finally turn it around. So what did the city do? It complied with the cries of the residents of Buckhead and created a 2:30am last call for alcohol. Oh, but with one exception: a special 4am last call for, you guessed it.....the city owned Underground!!!!! Yeah, and Underground was so pathetic that even that competitive edge couldn't save it. And I'm not even talking about the other shady things the city did, like pretty much stopping ALL police patrols in Buckhead with the hopes that crime would get out of hand (it never did).
You can put in as many "high end" shops in Buckhead as you want, nobody has the money to spend in them anymore. It's not going to last. Give Streets of Buckhead, or whatever they are calling it, 2 or 3 years. By that time, it will be nothing but CVS, California Pizza Kitchen, and other things that people actually go to. Kind of seems a waste to destroy the city's best party district just so we can have more boring suburban chains, but that's what the city wanted. That's what it will get.
Incorrect. You have no idea what you're talking about.
That's the biggest piece of tabloid garbage I've ever seen. If you believe that, you need another viewing of Natural Born Killers.
The fact is, Atlanta never wanted Buckhead to be safe. The city wanted to move everybody to Underground so it could profit. For years, Buckhead asked APD for more officers. By the time Buckhead met its demise, APD had reduced the number of officers assigned to the Buckhead Village beat to 12. TWELVE!!!! How are 12 officers going to keep the peace in an environment where tens of thousands of people are partying and drinking?
When I first started going out in Buckhead in the late 90s, there were officers on foot patrol everywhere to make sure things stayed under control. By the time it closed, there were no officers to be found. The few that were in the area never got out of their cruisers unless there was a problem. That's why the clubs had to hire more of their own private security officers. But club security can't control what happens on the streets outside of the clubs.
The fact is, the city WANTED Buckhead to get violent so they would have an excuse to shut it down. Otherwise, the problem wouldn't have been hard to control. All you have to do is get rid of the one or two problem clubs. Gangsters like table service, champagne, and VIP treatment. Places like Lulu's, Bar Atlanta, Coyote Ugly, Tongue & Groove, and Makos were not even offering that kind of service. Do you think a rich gangster is going to hang out on the roof of Lulu's chugging a fish bowl? If Buckhead singled out the very small number of places that attracted problems, the area would have been just fine. Trouble is, the city had no motivation to do that. They were only motivated to try to divert crowds to Underground.
It may have provided a short term solution to the immediate problem, but the long-term fallout has been severe. Young people don't want to come here anymore because there isn't a party district. I'm sure convention traffic has seen a big drop off because back in the day, conventioneers were always steered to Buckhead. I know, I met lots of them when I would go out there.
Atlanta did absolutely nothing to try to save Buckhead, their only motivation from the beginning was destroying it.
That's the biggest piece of tabloid garbage I've ever seen. If you believe that, you need another viewing of Natural Born Killers.
The fact is, Atlanta never wanted Buckhead to be safe. The city wanted to move everybody to Underground so it could profit. For years, Buckhead asked APD for more officers. By the time Buckhead met its demise, APD had reduced the number of officers assigned to the Buckhead Village beat to 12. TWELVE!!!! How are 12 officers going to keep the peace in an environment where tens of thousands of people are partying and drinking?
When I first started going out in Buckhead in the late 90s, there were officers on foot patrol everywhere to make sure things stayed under control. By the time it closed, there were no officers to be found. The few that were in the area never got out of their cruisers unless there was a problem. That's why the clubs had to hire more of their own private security officers. But club security can't control what happens on the streets outside of the clubs.
The fact is, the city WANTED Buckhead to get violent so they would have an excuse to shut it down. Otherwise, the problem wouldn't have been hard to control. All you have to do is get rid of the one or two problem clubs. Gangsters like table service, champagne, and VIP treatment. Places like Lulu's, Bar Atlanta, Coyote Ugly, Tongue & Groove, and Makos were not even offering that kind of service. Do you think a rich gangster is going to hang out on the roof of Lulu's chugging a fish bowl? If Buckhead singled out the very small number of places that attracted problems, the area would have been just fine. Trouble is, the city had no motivation to do that. They were only motivated to try to divert crowds to Underground.
It may have provided a short term solution to the immediate problem, but the long-term fallout has been severe. Young people don't want to come here anymore because there isn't a party district. I'm sure convention traffic has seen a big drop off because back in the day, conventioneers were always steered to Buckhead. I know, I met lots of them when I would go out there.
Atlanta did absolutely nothing to try to save Buckhead, their only motivation from the beginning was destroying it.
Wow, such compelling arguments you make, BringBackCobain!
I guess we should listen to you, you have so much wisdom to dispense.
Were you there? I was.
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