"SoNo" held back by shelter? (Atlanta, Franklin: houses, safe neighborhood)

[imb951]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who sees this stuff going on around there. It's amazing the stuff these people get away with all hours of the day because there simply isn't enough police presence. Last Friday I was at the Piedmont/Pine intersection and saw a prostitute get escorted into Renaissance park by a crack dealer. In broad daylight. What a lovely sight.

Knowing that the shelter and the lot across the street facilitates these people and their crimes while itself committing a crime by continuing to occupy the property after foreclosure is mind-boggling. Why are Atlanta Police letting them get away with this? Evict them now!

[testa50]

Originally Posted by imb951

I'm glad I'm not the only one who sees this stuff going on around there. It's amazing the stuff these people get away with all hours of the day because there simply isn't enough police presence. Last Friday I was at the Piedmont/Pine intersection and saw a prostitute get escorted into Renaissance park by a crack dealer. In broad daylight. What a lovely sight.

Knowing that the shelter and the lot across the street facilitates these people and their crimes while itself committing a crime by continuing to occupy the property after foreclosure is mind-boggling. Why are Atlanta Police letting them get away with this? Evict them now!

The police presence seems pretty adequate actually. There's a manned police booth on Pine Street, and there seem to be cars there pretty much all the time. I'm not sure what else they're supposed to do. I don't think people have a much higher chance of danger walking down Peachtree Street @ Pine than any other part of Peachtree, for instance.

How did you know it was a prostitute and a crack dealer?

[jsimms3]

Originally Posted by testa50

The police presence seems pretty adequate actually. There's a manned police booth on Pine Street, and there seem to be cars there pretty much all the time. I'm not sure what else they're supposed to do. I don't think people have a much higher chance of danger walking down Peachtree Street @ Pine than any other part of Peachtree, for instance.

How did you know it was a prostitute and a crack dealer?

You're funny you know that? I was going to submit a typical long comment breaking down everything you just said, but why waste the time.

And while Peachtree and Pine is the most blatant, open, notorious, and hostile center of illegality I have ever seen, another problem spot that should be mentioned is Cypress Street between 7th and 9th. I used to live at Post Biltmore so I became aware very quickly of all the services and product one could easily get there so long as that person wasn't a white boy that looked innocent enough for the perps to take advantage of.

You know what...while Peachtree and Pine certainly has become the most apparent spot for anyone to score some girl (and by that I mean powder) or some rock, it has become almost too popular. I mean that marketplace has to be one of the most crowded and competitive open markets I have ever seen LOLOL! If I was a dope boy then I would most certainly try to stake out a different spot. Those thugs know that they are close to home (the shelter or nearby projects/"affordable apartments"), and in a well known location, as well as the fact that their chances for being busted are slim to none at that location. When have you ever seen a lineup of paddy wagons to arrest these suckers after a successful sting attempt?

[testa50]

You should work for the APD imo.

[mike7586]

You should call the cops when you see these things happening. I would if I did.

[imb951]

Originally Posted by testa50

The police presence seems pretty adequate actually. There's a manned police booth on Pine Street, and there seem to be cars there pretty much all the time. I'm not sure what else they're supposed to do. I don't think people have a much higher chance of danger walking down Peachtree Street @ Pine than any other part of Peachtree, for instance.

How did you know it was a prostitute and a crack dealer?

I agree that the police presence seems adequate, but on a block that is overcrowded with loiterers who act as police "spotters", it's simply too difficult to catch them all in the act. What I mean by "spotters" are shelter residents that watch over the dealers backs during transactions for police and whistle blowers. I can't count the number of times I've pulled up to the intersection of Courtland and Pine and been closely watched and stared down by the spotters on the corner, ready to bail the perps out of whatever illegal activity is going on. As soon as a cop rolls by, the whole block tightens up and the criminals instantaneously turn into lawful citizens with smug faces. I've seen it happen right in front of my eyes. They need to mount infrared cameras to catch them in the act.

I knew that it was a prostitute a because the woman was clearly dressed as a prostitute. She looked washed up and had skimpy leather skirt on, and a red corset straight from a sleazy lingerie store. This was not Halloween. It may have been a man paying for her services or selling her crack. My point is that criminals use the protection of the park and also use spotters who loiter around the park sign to help secure their crimes.

[jsimms3]

Yea the spotters are definitely a problem. Everyone spots for someone for something in their lifetime (not always illegal activities), but that block takes spotting to a career level. I knew a college buddy my freshman or sophomore year who used to go over there to score powder to study/party, and he had his group that protected him, but he said since he was a rich looking white boy that everyone wanted to be his dope boy and that there would be a lot of commotion when he would go over there and competition for his business. Pretty sad really.

What's sadder is that us innocent C-D people know what goes on over there and obviously the cops do, too, but that concentration of those activities is still allowed to go on. They need to just bring a paddy wagon there one day (really it would take like 5 paddy wagons and 20 squads to prevent scattering) and just bust everyone there for loitering. I would think the cops could easily set up massive stings, too. All the cops need to do is go to Tech, find a handful of students to buy some product, and then they have their proof. There are plenty of students who would love the extra cash (I mean even $25 in this economy is worth it) and there are students who probably have some minor charges that they would love dropped in exchange for this. Basically the cops don't really use their resources wisely. They go after college kids who are still immature but who will be contributing to society and these cops' payroll someday, but they often ignore criminal hotspots.

Give DUIs a rest one night and focus on like 5-10 spots in the city where a ton of criminal activity takes place and just launch all out strikes. A couple of those would probably go a long way to dissuading many criminals who are on the fence about committing crimes.

[imb951]

^Well said. Thanks for that.

[reet4587]

Originally Posted by jsimms3

Give DUIs a rest one night and focus on like 5-10 spots in the city where a ton of criminal activity takes place and just launch all out strikes. A couple of those would probably go a long way to dissuading many criminals who are on the fence about committing crimes.

This is a good idea. It's the kind of common sense thing that needs to happen at both the spots you've mentioned -- Pines St and Cypress.

It really pisses me off about Cypress. That area has become SO much nicer over the years. I remember in the 80s when every block of Cypress was a sure-fire place to catch prostitutes and dealers blatantly in action every evening. When I was a teenager we used to cruise around and gawk at them for fun.

Now there are lots of residents and businesses (really good restaurants like Cypress St Pint & Plate and Ecco) but you still see a dealer or two lurking around at nights. You'd think the residents and business owners would get together and do a neighborhood watch kinda thing and call the cops. I don't know -- maybe they do and it isn't working.

[imb951]

I found some interesting discussion regarding how the Peachtree-Pine Shelter is hindering progress in the surrounding community in an AJC article about Atlanta transit's losing streak:
Streetcar money breaks Atlanta transit losing streak » Comment Page 2 | Jay Bookman

"If the city would help develop the area around Turner Field, and force the owners of Bedford Pine to give up their slumlord status, the city would be revolutionized. Of course, if that happened, the quality of people who would move into the city core would no longer stand for the gross mismanagement that is allowed to carry on now.
I thought that I could help out by moving down here, but have just about had all I can take."

in response,

"the city and just about everyone else wants the Peachtree-Pine shelter closed or run by people whose goal is to get the homeless help instead of catering to their own self-destruction. But we live in a nation of laws. The city can’t just walk in and do whatever it wants. If they could, they would have a long time ago. Peachtree-Pine benefits no one except the people who have been in charge of it. It’s a moot point since the shelter building has been foreclosed and it’s just a matter of time before the new owner of the building takes over."