Open Letter to Mayor Franklin
EXPLANATORY INTRODUCTION
As most of you know, the License Review Board voted to recommend approval for the applications for Spi Club, without much interest for the neighborhood that stands to be adversely impacted by this jumbo nightclub bringing numerous serious concerns. Midtown’s fate now lies in the hands of the Mayor, and we wrote an open letter to her.
We also request that Midtowners write to her (sfranklin@atlantaga.gov), urging her to either deny this application, or at least to remand it back to the License Review Board so that the problematic aspects can be more effectively addressed in detail. Please also copy us at info@midtownponce.org.
We have no idea where the Mayor stands on this proposal – she has 90 days (from the time of the LRB recommendation on October 6th) to make a decision. This is the last call to save our neighborhood from this destructive nightclub.
For background information we have the following (previously run) documents available for review:
- Midtown Stakeholders letter – http://www.midtownponce.org/news/stakeholders.pdf
- Spi dossier – http://www.midtownponce.org/news/spi.pdf
- Digest of selected letters regarding Spi applications – http://www.midtownponce.org/news/Spi_letters.pdf
THE LETTER
Honorable Mayor Franklin:
The Liquor License Applications for the SPI Club and Lounge have landed on your desk for final disposition. We ask that before you make your decision, you take a moment to read our concerns, then decide if you should approve the applications, deny the applications, or remand them back to the LRB for further review.
Peggy Harper declared that in her entire eight years on the License Review Board, she had never seen such a crowd gather for an application hearing as we did for the SPI Club; 147 of us, and all but a handful in opposition!
The application was approved by a 3:2 tie-breaking vote.
The Midtown Neighbor’s Liquor License Review Committee had to reserve a large meeting room to accommodate the crowd that came to their hearing for the SPI Club; we filled the room! And there was an equally large crowd at the NPU hearing.
The application was denied by both the neighborhood group and the NPU.
Eighty to eighty-five percent of all the attendees at these hearings came in opposition to the SPI Club, and some 1450 individuals signed an on- line petition in opposition. And there were hundreds of emails sent to the LRB and to you from Midtown residents expressing their opposition and the reasons why.
Shouldn’t this overwhelming neighborhood opposition have had a major impact on the final decision for a night club on Peachtree Street, on the Midtown Mile, which we know, from past experience with the owners, will wreak havoc in our community? It did impact the neighborhood decision and the NPU decision, but not the LRB decision. The LRB was looking for a violation of the ordinance – period.
It is not clear why we have the elaborate processes described above, if, in fact, the results carry no weight. They may just be a huge waste of citizens’ time and efforts when the results could be obtained by employing a law clerk to review documents to ensure they comply with the ordinance, at least on paper.
We were not able to speak out as questions came up during the board hearing, so we would like to point out some violations which we believe merit either your denial of the application, or that it be remanded back to the LRB for more careful consideration:
First and foremost, the shooting at Club Compound, owned by the same owners as SPI. That should be “due cause” for you to deny the application and should have been for the LRB to deny it, in our opinion.
The fact that the SPI Club is nearly 10,000 square feet of Club/Lounge space with a wall running down the middle, does not reflect the spirit of the zoning limiting such activities to 5000 square feet in Special Public Interest 16.
Then there is the parking lot which has not been brought up to code, and was not up to code when the LRB approved a 24 hour restaurant on the same block as SPI Club in Midtown, just a couple of months previous. Question 25 of the Liquor License Application specifically asks if the parking lot meets the requirement for trees, and this lot does not.
You have already received many emails outlining the issues residents have with the club – noise, cruising, litter, chaos every weekend. Imagine every single weekend 20 – 30 police officers, (we are not certain of the number), in a three block radius of the club directing traffic and attempting to control the crowds and keep the noise level down. Then imagine the rest of Midtown where there will be few, if any, police officers because the ones we have will be assisting the off-duty police at the club with arrests and providing backup.
Extraordinary situations call for extraordinary actions. This is an extraordinary situation – the possibility of a nightclub like SPI back on Peachtree Street, in the heart of Midtown, in the middle of a beautiful high rise development of residences, offices and at the front door of a luxury hotel.
We respectfully request that you deny, or send this application back to the License Review Board with your request for them to resolve all the issues they brought up at the meeting, but could not resolve. And, to let the neighborhood bring their attorneys and planners in to answer their questions as the applicant can.
Thank you for your consideration. As one of the members of the LRB stated, “this club/lounge has the potential to destroy the fragile environment of Midtown.” Please don’t let that happen.
Sincerely yours,
Board of Directors, Midtown Ponce Security Alliance
October 2009 Safety Meeting
We hosted Fulton County Sheriff Ted Jackson as our guest speaker at the October Safety Meeting on Monday October 12th. He gave us update us on his accomplishments and his plans for the jail.
Vanessa McLemore, President of the McLemore Group sponsored this safety meeting.
The MCLEMORE GROUP provides unique comprehensive consultant services on crime prevention and safety awareness which is designed to maximize the safety of our clients and the community. Our services have a strong emphasis on risks related to firearms, proper purchase, sell, transportation and storage of firearms as well as the most commonly violated firearms laws. We also provide law enforcement agencies with services in the area of analysis of firearms trace data and crime prevention strategy development.
If you would like to sponsor a meeting please let us know – the sponsorship is $100 (to cover dinner for police officers and special guests). You will get to advertise in our two meeting announcements and have the first 5 minutes on the meeting agenda.
MPSA Mailbag 10/09/2009
What our neighbors are telling us. As always, mailbag items do not necessarily reflect MPSA position.
Vagrants/day laborers - We have a growing situation occurring on the corner of Ponce and Lakeview–by the empty restaurant space (formerly Matsuri) and across the street from Eats. The crowd there is drunk at 8:00 am , publicly urinating, pushing, shoving –demonstrating drunk and disorderly conduct would sum it up (what I just saw this morning coming home). They would prevent MARTA users from feeling comfortable waiting for a bus there and are causing a traffic problem as it is becoming difficult to make right turns on to Ponce because you can’t see traffic through the growing crowd. We used to enjoy walking to Whole Foods from St Charles and now I will not walk because drunk vagrants do not make me feel safe.
Street Criminal Eishon Brinson causing trouble as usual
One of many Fulton County mugshots for Eishon Brinson
Eishon Brinson, noted for chronic trespassing and disorderly conduct, was recently released from jail as s/he (possibly transgendered/intersexed) was awaiting trial for cocaine possession. The patrol locked him up in response to a trespassing complaint, and he remains in jail as of this writing. This individual routinely generates complaints for aggressive panhandling and violent conduct. We are monitoring him closely, and will update the court watch list when we receive notices on him.
Donald Rayfield sentenced for burglary
Donald Rayfield, an area street criminal and hustler known on the street as “Ray-Ray”, has been convicted of burglary, and sentenced to ten years, to serve two in prison and the remainder probated. Because he is a recidivist (prior convictions for a number of offenses including kidnapping and robbery), he will serve every day of his sentence. He remains in the Fulton County jail awaiting pickup from the Department of Corrections.
We are very grateful to see him go back home to prison, even if only for a couple years. Like many other street criminals, he has amassed quite a collection of jail mugshots in Fulton County, starting shortly after his release from prison.
Sponsors
Many thanks for our community sponsors! While the majority of our funding comes from residents and small businesses, a significant portion of our neighborhood patrol funds comes from the following sponsors:
