What's wrong with Atlantic Station? (Atlanta, Marietta: neighborhoods, malls, suburb)

[mike7586]

Originally Posted by oldschoolChevy

Sam Massell just wanted to get money and he played on the fears of the white residents of the area. I do think that Buckhead as it was back in the day could not have worked in the long run. I came of age in those last few years of Buckhead's heyday. And even then on those nights when Peachtree was a traffic jam all night, and I remember wondering how long those people in those high rises like Park Place with real money would deal with that. It just wasn't set up to handle that many people.

But the Streets of Buckhead or whatever they're calling it now will not work. I actually can't wait for them to finish so all those Buckhead Betty's can get their "just desserts". Because what they fail to realize is that element they wanted to keep out will come right back. And even worse I think some of the biggest customers will be some of that element. Lets be honest here, this isn't Miami or DC, most people from Buckhead, Alpharetta, East Cobb and other nice parts of town are fine with a North Face fleece and some khaki's. Outside of the transplants from other cities and the old blue hairs who live on Habersham Rd, the people who will shop at the stores they plan on putting there will be A) gay black males B) black entertainers or athletes C) other random black people with money who try to look like entertainers. This ain't the LA metro, when it's time for school shopping kids in Alpharetta or East Cobb aren't begging mommy and daddy for the credit card to go get some Nudie Jeans or Dior Homme jeans.

The new developers are not focusing on "Rodeo Drive of the South"... yes, there will be some upscale stores and restaurants, but there will be some moderately priced ones as well... and I'm sure most of it will be "new to the market" kind of stores (ones we don't currently have). Wealthy people from all over the South come to Atlanta to shop... it has regional draw other cities in the Southeast do not have.

Upscale stores like Dior, because their merchandise is priced so high, do not need to make the same amount of sales as say Guess, to reach their goal. And their target market is not school kids shopping for new clothes in Alpharetta...

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by oldschoolChevy

Sam Massell just wanted to get money and he played on the fears of the white residents of the area. I do think that Buckhead as it was back in the day could not have worked in the long run. I came of age in those last few years of Buckhead's heyday. And even then on those nights when Peachtree was a traffic jam all night, and I remember wondering how long those people in those high rises like Park Place with real money would deal with that. It just wasn't set up to handle that many people.

How do you figure Sam Massell made money on the closing of the East Village bars?

That had been a popular little zone for years before things blew up in the late 90s. Many locals and their guests enjoyed it, and it was touted by the local business community as one of the city's liveliest areas. I can't see any reason why it couldn't have continued that way for a long time.

Sadly, between about 1999-2003, a new group of patrons showed up, who believed it was within their purview to have massive cruising into the wee hours, conduct gun and knife fights, ignore the liquor laws, sell cocaine, and trash the streets.

And be sure to read my post above -- what went on between 1999-2003 was not about race. It was about extreme obnoxious and destructive behavior. The sort of bush league conduct that is equally unacceptable regardless of whether whites, blacks, Samoans or little green men from Mars are doing it. It's utterly disrespectful of other city residents and incompatible with urban living.

[oldschoolChevy]

Originally Posted by arjay57

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.


Black Mafia Family-Gangland P 1 - YouTube

BMF wasn't a gang as much as it was a drug crew. And don't post a youtube clip of that History channel show about BMF, because those guys on there were clowns. The real BMF dudes who didn't caught up in the indictments are not going to get on a tv show and talk about it. But even beyond that, the group behind BMF never got attention. The Feds know this, but the local media never mentioned the fact the BMF was getting all the dope from the Mexican Cartel right here in metro area. BMF wasn't the hardest crew out, they were just able to flood other cities with dope because their prices where cheaper than everybody else's thanks to the Cartel. BMF just got the most attention for it because they were so visible, but the plug is still here in the city. And putting most of the BMF members in prison isn't going to stop anything. A lot people like to ignore the fact the Sinolia and Gulf Cartel are both here. You can look at news reports from different cities across the country over the last 4-5 years and you will notice a trend of dudes from Atlanta getting caught up in drug trafficking cases in different cities. Go look up Operation Hoodtown in Pittsburgh, PA. The local cops up there busted a cocaine ring of dudes from SW Atlanta who were basically flooding Pittsburgh with dope. We may not be on the water, but believe or not Atlanta has cheaper kilo prices than Miami right now because of the Cartel. And after BMF fell off, other drug crews picked it right up where they left it and hit the road and hit other cities with the kilo's and pounds they get from the Cartel here.

[oldschoolChevy]

Originally Posted by mike7586

The new developers are not focusing on "Rodeo Drive of the South"... yes, there will be some upscale stores and restaurants, but there will be some moderately priced ones as well... and I'm sure most of it will be "new to the market" kind of stores (ones we don't currently have). Wealthy people from all over the South come to Atlanta to shop... it has regional draw other cities in the Southeast do not have.

Upscale stores like Dior, because their merchandise is priced so high, do not need to make the same amount of sales as say Guess, to reach their goal. And their target market is not school kids shopping for new clothes in Alpharetta...

I was using school kids as an example, but back to my point, per capita the average white person here does not shop at high end designers as much as other cities like DC, Miami, LA, NYC. And with Phipps Plaza right up the street already a destination for people with money from other cities in the south who want to shop high end designers, I don't see how Streets of Buckhead will work. Not enough people here who will support it, or at least not of their "desired crowd" they wish to draw.

[oldschoolChevy]

Originally Posted by BringBackCobain

About two miles south of Atlantic Station, via Northside Drive, is English Avenue, one of the most dangerous areas in the country. Georgia Tech students seemed to be robbed weekly in Home Park.

So by your logic then the area 2 miles north of AS on Northside around the Bobby Jones is a bad area? I think the residents of Springlake and Peachtree Battle would disagree with you. And Home Park is not a bad area. It's just a college in an urban area. Look at other colleges in urban areas and you will usually see the same thing such as robberies and stuff. And I can tell you're not really familiar with the area because no one would mention English Ave out of all the other streets that intersect Northside south of AS. You're sounding like an out of towner right now.

[BringBackCobain]

Originally Posted by oldschoolChevy

So by your logic then the area 2 miles north of AS on Northside around the Bobby Jones is a bad area? I think the residents of Springlake and Peachtree Battle would disagree with you. And Home Park is not a bad area. It's just a college in an urban area. Look at other colleges in urban areas and you will usually see the same thing such as robberies and stuff. And I can tell you're not really familiar with the area because no one would mention English Ave out of all the other streets that intersect Northside south of AS.

Home Park is not a bad area, but it is close (too close) to bad areas. Same with Atlantic Station.

English Avenue is the name of a neighborhood.

[muxBuppie]

Originally Posted by BringBackCobain

About two miles south of Atlantic Station, via Northside Drive, is English Avenue, one of the most dangerous areas in the country. Georgia Tech students seemed to be robbed weekly in Home Park.

Could you tell me what time of day and what day I should go to witness thugs? I keep going and looking for thugs because you and other poster say they run the area but I don't ever really see any.

[BringBackCobain]

Originally Posted by oldschoolChevy

I was using school kids as an example, but back to my point, per capita the average white person here does not shop at high end designers as much as other cities like DC, Miami, LA, NYC. And with Phipps Plaza right up the street already a destination for people with money from other cities in the south who want to shop high end designers, I don't see how Streets of Buckhead will work. Not enough people here who will support it, or at least not of their "desired crowd" they wish to draw.

And you know this how?

[mike7586]

Originally Posted by oldschoolChevy

I was using school kids as an example, but back to my point, per capita the average white person here does not shop at high end designers as much as other cities like DC, Miami, LA, NYC. And with Phipps Plaza right up the street already a destination for people with money from other cities in the south who want to shop high end designers, I don't see how Streets of Buckhead will work. Not enough people here who will support it, or at least not of their "desired crowd" they wish to draw.

Yeah sorry, I don't agree with you at all.

[oldschoolChevy]

Originally Posted by BringBackCobain

Home Park is not a bad area, but it is close (too close) to bad areas. Same with Atlantic Station.

English Avenue is the name of a neighborhood.

English Avenue is the name of a street in NW Atlanta, it is not the name of the entire neighborhood. Only someone not familiar with that area would call it English Ave because that's the sign they see when they sit at the light at Northside and Ivan Allen by the Dome when they drive thru that area once in blue moon after leaving a Falcons game. No one calls that entire area English Ave except people like you from the 'burbs. People familiar with the area call it everything but English Ave., the Bluff, Bankhead, Simpson, 6th Ward, Zone 1 all could and would be used before English Ave. That's how you can tell when someone isnt from Atlanta when they use English Ave, J.E. Boon Blvd, D.L. Hollowell Pkwy, the city can put whatever signs up they want to but English Ave will always be the Bluff, J.E. Boone will always be Simpson, and D.L. Hollowell will always be Bankhead. Even my white friends from West Midtown don't call that area English Ave