MPSA Malbag 6/28/2010
Mailbag items do not necessarily represent the MPSA position
Cat lady - We noticed info in a recent Midtown news email about a neighbor’s concern with a semi-homeless female and her cat. This same person enters our property at night and leaves cat food for our cats. We are going to leave a notice on our gate asking her to stop and stating we have asked the patrol to be on the look out and help us enforce our privacy, if possible.
Parking issues – We sure miss the ticket man! All these folks from the suburbs think they can just park any damn way they please – blocking driveways and alleyways, and parking in a way where you cannot see if a car is coming. They built the parking deck at the park – why won’t they use it? Let’s get some parking enforcement around here!
New business on Ponce - [Quite a few folks have wondered] about the flurry of activity at 567 Ponce de Leon, the former site of the Phoenix Bar. We haven’t heard anything about this issue in the context of NPU M, because it turns out the new business will not require a liquor license or zoning change, but I have been able to gather some very good info, as follows. The business being set up there is NOT a fast-food restaurant, or a bar, or a check-cashing service, or any of the other undesirable types of businesses that we’ve struggled with on the Ponce corridor for years. The property has NOT been sold (and probably won’t be sold anytime soon in this difficult economy); the new business is leasing the property from the existing owners. What this IS going to be – and I know, this sounds very strange – is a business selling organic produce, like a mini-farmer’s market. ; But wait, it gets stranger: all the produce is going to be GROWN ON-SITE, inside those metal shipping containers that have been delivered to the site. That little wooden shed recently erected on the site will be the manager’s office, where they’ll handle paperwork. They’ll set up tables or kiosks for selling the produce and so forth.
Plant Thief
A resident on Charles Allen observed from his porch as someone pulled up in a car, got out with a spade, and proceded to dig up a potted plant in his landlord’s front yard. When the witness asked the guy what he was doing, the culprit got back into his car and left. The witness captured the tag number and notified the police. The car traces back to a house in Old Fourth Ward, where Sgt. Cooper saw an array of plants apparently waiting to be planted.
If plants have been stolen or gone missing from your residents, Sgt. Cooper would like to know about it to determine an appropriate course of action.
Holiday Weekend
For many, our much-deserved vacation starts this week. Members leaving town for a few days should take advantage of our vacation checks. Simply send us an e-mail (info@midtownponce.org) with the following information in the body of the message: Street address, emergency phone number and contact information, whether anyone should be at your property during your absence (housesitters, visitors, yard service, etc.), and any other pertinent information. The patrol will walk the property once per day. Please don’t forget to suspend newspaper and mail delivery. Be sure also to double-check windows both downstairs and up (we have had cat burglars come through here).
While traveling, do not leave luggage and other valuables visible in your car especially overnight at motels. If you are traveling abroad check the Department of State website (http://travel.state.gov) for any security-related advisories and personal safety information affecting your destination.. They have a detailed information page for each individual country adivising of things like areas and situations to avoid, and general conditions.
And those sticking around should keep an extra eye as much as possible given that many of our neighbors will be absent. Most importantly, have a fun and safe 4th!
SPI Club Update 6/28/2010
The SPI Club hearing that was scheduled for Thursday, July 1, at Noon, with the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) has been rescheduled to Thursday, July 8th, at Noon.
For information on the basis and rational of the Appeal, please read the document linked below.
We encourage you to go to this hearing at City Hall if you possibly can. It is very important for us to show by our attendance, that we are all opposed to this club opening in Midtown, threatening our quality of life, and that Mr. Brodie is not alone in this battle.
Related document: http://www.midtownponce.org/news/SPI_BZA_Appeall20100628.pdf
Stopping Newspaper Thieves
A very resourceful Midtowner came up with a solution to stop someone from chronically stealing newspapers from his front yard.
After having my morning paper stolen on several occasions, I re-adjusted my security camera on the front porch in order to determine the culprit. The main problem was the delivery person for the AJC kept throwing the paper at the edge of my driveway which made it too easy for anyone just walking past my house to reach down, pick it up, and move on. As in most of the petty crimes in Midtown, it is the “ease of opportunity” that seems to encourage this bad behavior in many people.
The next time my paper was stolen, I reviewed my video and to my surprise, I watched an SUV stop in the middle of 8th Street, a super-sized woman gets out of the vehicle with coffee mug still in hand as she leisurely walks over and picks up my paper and then waddles back to her ride. I was livid!
I had saved an old paper with the plastic cover for a time such as this. So I got it out and went into my back yard and retrieved a rather large and odiferous “lawn chocolate” produced by my Lab named Emma and placed it into the paper’s front page and neatly folded it back into the plastic protector. Early the next morning, I swapped the current paper with the one with the Cracker Jack surprise inside.
Sure enough, someone got it but unfortunately, my camera didn’t pick up the culprit. However, it still made my day thinking of someone going to work or Starbucks and having Emma’s smelly surprise roll out into their lap.
I cured the problem for good by having the AJC throw my paper farther up into my yard…or was it Emma’s doing?
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:
