The Stoop: Backhand to Midtown Atlanta Residents

Question, when you are thinking of places to live and say you choose to live in a big city...what are your reasons for living in a city? Let me begin with my answer; I chose to live in Atlanta because it offered a wide spectrum of opportunity from employment to entertainment. An environment that once was a haven for potential success grounded in a foundation full of nutrients that fostered life. The reason I asked this question is in response to an article that the Atlanta Journal-Constitution posted about how Midtown Atlanta residents are passing a petition around to block the opening of a new club by the previous owners of Vision Nightclub. Click here to read the article "Neighbors don't want a new Vision nightclub" by Eric Stirgus. The jist of the article is Midtown Atlanta residents do not want a new club to open up because of noise, traffic and criminal act issues. That last issue has me like wtf criminal issues did they have previously. Currently the petition has over 110 names and is growing by the day. Let me ask another idiotic question, do you think Time Square residents or business owners would be like no more new anything here? Do you think they would be like "...people staying out until the wee hours of the morning is causing me not to be able to sleep..."? Let me answer this question... HELL NO!!!! Ok let's run down the current scenario we call the City of Atlanta (not the metro area). The city has a budget deficit of nearly $200 million, the City of Atlanta's sewer system is in shambles and currently in violation of many EPA mandates, the City of Atlanta has an A bond credit rating which is comparable to near-bad credit, and the City has a underfunded civil service budget leaving many areas without direct police or fire coverage. Oh wait it does not stop there, out of the metro area the City of Atlanta has the highest property and sales tax [any further increases require approval by Georgia State Congress...but they still have a deficit of near $200 million], there is no major revenue generator in the City of Atlanta, only a small percentage of the restaurants/clubs that were open are currently open, and there are only a handful of major festivals in the City of Atlanta. Even the Atlanta Falcons have considered moving the team to sites outside of the City of Atlanta once their lease is up with the Georgia Dome. Now that the foundation has been lead let's go in. Now let's talk about what was once Buckhead. Buckhead once was frequented by high 5 to low 6 figures crowds on a weekly basis...yes folks I said weekly. The residents of Buckhead said the nightclub scene that existed there for 19 years was destroying the values of their homes and bringing unruly crowds to their neighborhoods. They closed all the clubs and opened high end retail plus upscale housing. Fast forward to today, the once bustling Buckhead strip is now a unfinished major construction site shrewed by a backdrop of uninhabited real estate and empty store fronts. Many will say the failure of this area is due to the recession however, the significant downturn began well before the current economic crisis. Now Midtown wants to follow in the same footsteps. If one were to drive down Peachtree and enter the Midtown area, you will see tall glass office buildings and condos being built. You may think "Damn Atlanta is popping", but wait look closer. Over half of the real estate is empty and even more of the office space is dark. There is no change in site since the City of Atlanta increased commercial property taxes last year by 1000% for some buildings, thus forcing new and current tenants to look elsewhere. Most of the restaurants in Midtown close at 11:00pm [on peak nights like Thursday, Friday, Saturday] only after starting service after 4:00 pm. Show me what major city has a similar strategy? Most of the establishments in the Georgetown area of DC stay open well past that time on peak days; it's just not fair to compare this city to the likes of Miami, New York or Los Angeles. Atlanta once known for its bright lights, fast city nights, and abundance of opportunity is starting to see its glow dim. If the residents of Midtown are able to keep this and other entertainment establishments out of their area, what's next? I work in the Midtown area of Atlanta and the residents are always complaining about people parking on their streets. In response to these complaints, the city has started posting signs for two hour parking and/or blocking parking on streets. I say if you want to live in a suburban like-area why not move to suburbia?