kylejack

Excellent roundup, adr.

What's the new restaurant in Skyhouse? I saw people eating but no signage with a name.

There's a lot of conflicting information in reports I've read. This article says the Pillot building is oldest, so I'm not really sure. https://www.bisnow.com/archives/newsletter/houston/houstons-oldest-buildings

It is the oldest commercial building in Houston, older even than La Carafe.

907 was Kitchen Incubator. 909 was Hong Kong Diner.

I got an answer about Salvation Army charging: For those men experiencing homelessness and looking for a place to eat, shower and sleep, our emergency shelter called Red Shield Lodge at the Harbor Light Center is open to receive them. During their stay a the emergency shelter, men have the opportunity to meet with case managers and are encouraged to transition to the Harbor Light program where they will work on the underlying issue that causes their homelessness. Men who choose to stay at the Red Shield Lodge longer than two weeks without entering Harbor Light's rehabilitation program are charged a nominal fee. The purpose of the fee is not to generate revenue, rather it is intended to be an incentive toward rehabilitation and stabilization. Men who participate in the Harbor Light Center rehabilitation program are not charged a fee to participate.

That sounds believable. Many of the shelters have a small fee. Still, I think donating the money directly to charities is safer than giving it to someone on the street who is battling a substance abuse problem.

If you'll read my post again, you'll see I never mentioned homeless. Most panhandlers in Houston and elsewhere are not homeless. You, like others in this thread, are conflating panhandling with homelessness. Some panhandlers are homeless, but most are not, and it's more about substance abuse than homelessness.

I agree with you, men and women experience street life differently, especially with the added component of street harassment.

Again, we are talking about completely different things. Public urination is a crime that can be enforced on, panhandling is free speech that cannot. You can't just go down and clear out all the panhandlers. People can only be enforced on when they're actually breaking laws.

This is what I mean by overblown... people getting paranoid about someone asking for money. Simply tell them no and keep walking, the vast majority leave it at that. The 5% is the type of thing you're referring to, like stealing sodas and harassing people on patios. There's laws against that, and the police enforce when they can.

Living downtown for seven years, I've never been approached by a prostitute. 95% of the panhandler paranoia is overblown. The other 5% can be handled by enforcing existing laws.

Most of the panhandlers aren't homeless, they're people with homes who have substance abuse problems. Violent crime in Downtown is actually quite rare, probably partly because of all the police cameras in Downtown. It's true that HPD is understaffed right now due to budget problems. We probably have to either fix the pension problems or raise taxes.

Nightingale Room has some cool shows.

Go check out the Magnificent Mile in Chicago. Lots of high end stores, and plenty of panhandlers. All cities deal with this problem, and there's no law you can pass to prevent people from asking someone a question on a public sidewalk. We have the First Amendment, after all.

Yes, I lived downtown at St Germain for 7 years until moving to Montrose last year, and I don't own a car, so I was a frequent pedestrian. Every time I would simply say no and keep walking. Almost every single one just went about their business and asked the next person. The few that didn't would just say, "Aw come on man, you can afford it, bla bla bla" The fact of the matter is that asking people for money is protected free speech. They're allowed to do it, and the police can't make them leave public property. The only exception is that there's a city ordinance that they can't bug people on patios. I'll let you in on a little secret: The best way to get rid of them is to simply say no. Don't say you don't have any spare change, don't say you're in a hurry, just say No. It doesn't provide any opportunity for reply or negotiation. Just one word: No.

Awful: Having to tell someone no when they ask for money. What a nightmare!

I checked it out. Most of the stores look way out of my price range, but it was pretty cool to see. I did try on and order some pants at Bonobos. Cool Guideshop.

Is converting a parking garage back to a retail building harder than converting it into a parking garage? Maybe there's logistical concerns.

Well, they have BCBG and Forever 21. Lids didn't work out.

They could be arrested for trespassing if they refused to leave their property, but the public sidewalk is fair game.

Loitering is only illegal in Houston for prostitution. Panhandling is protected free speech. As long as they're not bugging people on patios they are allowed to do it.

The iPic pod movie experience is really cool, but $28 for a ticket for one person is crazy talk.

Slow-Roasted Ham & Swiss on Croissant Bun $5.23 http://www.fastfoodmenuprices.com/starbucks-prices/ Sounds slightly different if it had egg, though.

Lots of small businesses failed, including my Dad's shoe stores.