Marksmu

I recently ate the new Ruggles on 11th...and though a bit pricey for a chicken sandwhich, it was probably the best chicken sandwhich I have ever had...the fries were superb as well.  The entire experience was excellent.  Ordered, and food arrived maybe 7 minutes later, exactly as ordered and everything was great..thats pretty fast for 2 adult entrees and 1 kids one.

 

I could have eaten another sandwhich it was so good.  Also very happy that they worked out a lease on that parking lot.  Even though 11th street cafe was terrible, I would have gone sometimes if it were not such a pain to park....In summary....The new Ruggles was excellent!

Anti-ordinance rhetoric always keeping it classy.

 

Ill take rhetoric over crony-take it or leave politics all day long.  Private property rights were stolen without any possible chance for an individual to opt out or have any recourse against a vocal, well connected, well financed minority of snotty know it all, nitty's.

 

If it takes a little name calling to get enough people fired up so that we can repeal the ordinance and put each one of these crooks out on their ass then so be it!

 

We at least have a 100% honest, intellectually accurate, argument.  The pro-ordinance people lied, cheated, stole their way to victory....If you look at our arguments and you look at your arguments, our arguments are accurate, concise, and consistent.  Your "arguments" throughout this thread have evolved so many times into so many things, that the only thing that we can be certain of is that despite overwhelming evidence of abuse, cronyism, and dirty underhanded tricks, you still blindly support your comrades at the HAHC.

You shot nothing down.  I quoted you directly and you obviously have no substantive response to your own words.  That is fine because you and the few others in this anti-Heights echo chamber are the only people in the Heights that think that 19th street is something negative that should be demo-ed in favor of more retail from the burbs.

 

Please tell me where anyone said lets demo 19th street and bring in chain retail.  Please quote it b/c nobody, not one soul, especially me has said that.  You have mischaracterized everything I have said.

 

What I said, what I will repeat again, for the third or fourth time - is that the niche stores suck, and that they do pathetic business for the demographics of our area...that does not mean replace them with a pottery barn - what it means is replace them with stores that dont suck!   Also, nobody said to demo the existing buildings - the buildings themselves are nice looking - I can see how folks are attracted to the look, and I am not advocating demolishing them.  I am advocating for restaurants, wine bars, and retail that normal folks shop at....that does not have to mean Chilis/Pottery Barn/Outback

 

So just to be clear, b/c your reading comprehension has shown some area for improvement.

1.  I do not want to tear down the existing buildings on 19th to replace them with new buildings.

2.  I do not want to create a bar/night club area

3.  I do not want to replace the existing stores with national chains and "more retail from the burbs"

4.  I do want to get rid of shops that few people in the area shops at.

5.  I do want to get more restaurants and family friendly places on 19th - see Menchi's & Collinas as examples of success.  These can be chef driven places like Shade.  I like Shade, though I do think it is over priced for what you get.

6.  I do want to see 19th street become a street that has a night life - places open past 5, places where you can have dinner, walk down somewhere for a drink, coffee and walk home.

7.  I do want those places to serve alcohol b/c if they don't they will not succeed.

 

19th street looks nice, unfortunately its current tenants mostly suck.  It IS a matter of time before the niche is replaced with actually successful stores/restaurants.....I'd like to see that happen sooner rather than later....I can assure you with absolute certainty that less than 1% of the population of the Heights moved to the Heights b/c of 19th street and its shops.  They may think they are cute/quaint but almost nobody, if anyone at all, would have moved to the Heights b/c of 19th.

Quite to the contrary, 19th street is an example of something old becoming new again.  It is one shop away from being fully leased.  Ainbinder's strip mall on 19th still has two empty pads.  People like 19th street because it is different.  Houston has miles of retail strip malls with national retail chains and restaurants.  19th street is one of the few places in Houston where you can find unique gifts, home decor, boutique and resale clothing and other interesting things all in one walkable area.  Peolpe come in from the burbs to shop 19th street because it is so unique.  Braun Enterprises understood this and turned down a national restaurant chain in favor of Torchy's because of the character of 19th st. 

 

Nobody is advocating tearing down the buildings and replacing the stores with national chains.  Rather - what is going to happen over time - I am certain - is that places that people go on a more regular basis are going to move in.  Torchy's is a great example.  Its a normal person place and its somewhere folks will actually go regularly.  Just like Collina's, normal folks go there regularly....Collina's business is booming....Menchi's may be a national chain, but its locally owned, and its business is booming.  These are all welcome additions to 19th.  What is not needed on 19th?  A record place...antiques, knick knack jewelry, another check cashing place, etc.

 

The stores currently on 19th are niche - and niche gets pushed out of desirable areas as the rents rise.  They just flat can't keep up.  19th can be destined for greatness as soon as it sheds the worthless retail and replaces it with destination restaurants....until then, its dying...whether you care to admit it or not.

19th Street is a relic of another time. This is why some residents like it. They can take friends or relatives to look at it from time to time. It is a museum, not a retail area. As such, it has no real use in its current state. Progress will eventually steamroll the old 19th Street in favor of something useful. Its supporters will be left to lament its decline and fall, likely blaming other Heights residents and "big box" stores for its demise.

 

I agree 100%.  The fate of 19th is already established, its just a matter of when the systematic replacement of stores is complete.  While the stores will become something normal people shop at, I do believe that most places will try to work with the buildings already there.  I doubt that 19th will just be bulldozed into modern shopping centers. 

According to Mint.com Menchis received $450 of our targeted Heights expenditures. Can't seem to locate any money spent at the bohemian trinket shop. Penzy's took in around $300 for gifts and whatnot. Again, can't seem to locate any for musty antique stores. Rather odd... Then again these businesses do stay open later to accommodate demand, rather than shutting down at 420.

There is no question that Menchi's is decimating all the silly niche shops. The bigger question is how everyone on this thread sees the exact same thing except for one person who apparently only is capable of seeing what they want to see.

19th IS in a steady state of decline when compared to the constantly improving demographics of the area. Success for these stores would mean improving sales, not stagnant just enough to get by sales.

Stores like Menchi's will take over, it's not a matter of if, but rather just when.

There is plenty of industry and trains in the Heights.  There is a chicken plant and two large warehouses on my side of the Heights.  There is also the Shepherd tote-the-note automile.  And we have major highways on three sides of the neighborhood. 

 

There are no big petrochem plants near Eastwood.  You cannot see any of them from Eastwood at night. 

 

The Heights was held together through the bad times and pushed in the direction of redevelopment by many of the artists who kept 19th street going through the years.  None of that happened in Eastwood.

 

Without addressing the veracity of your statement, I will just say that even if 19th street and its eclectic thrift stores was the binding that held the heights together through the rough times (and I am not conceding that it did) the Heights is now significantly gentrified to the point that we no longer need these stores and old fashioned binding.

 

I am not advocating that we go out to the mall and see if we cant get us a cell phone stores, another GNC, or a sbarros, but I am advocating stores that dont suck.  Nearly every place on 19th sucks, and is useless for most day to day people.  Sure, they are serving a niche, but that niche population has mostly moved on, and whats left probably wont be able to afford their taxes in the next few years.... Now the Heights is now full of normal people who actually want places that they can goto  more than once a year. 

 

Im not saying bars, Im not saying clubs, Im saying restaurants - maybe even chef driven - a couple of patios a wine bar maybe - Heck, I don't know but we sure as heck don't need what is there currently.  The only thing worth going to on 19th is Collinas and Thai Spice, Penzys, Menchis and...maybe a bank....everything else is dead to 90% of the Heights population.  Look at the success of Menchi's if you are looking for an example of what the majority of the population of the Heights wants.  Drive by Menchis at any open hour of the day and I bet 10:1 that it has three times more customers than any thrift or other heights store.

It's the lack of curb/gutter streets that keep the heights appreciating! And here I mistakingly thought that curb/gutter was a good thing. I must retreat to the burbs now...

Those stores are there because they make $$$. Even the Label Wharehouse. Why do you hate free market capitalism?

 

I love free market capitalism.  The stores may make money, but I can think of tons of places that would be better.  I would not kick them out if I were the landlord - but as a resident I can sure wish that something that normal folks went to would go in.

 

My evict them statement was more just puffing - I would never tell someone what to do with their own property.  But I can also wish for something that did not suck...I drive by the stores on 19th frequently, and they are always empty.  I really am not sure how they make money b/c they are always empty.  Rent must be dirt cheap.

The leasing agent for 19th St. is a big for profit broker (Fidelis?) not some hipster/preservationist collective.  Those "junk" shops are making them good money.  If 19th street was full of stores from the mall, people wouldn't be beating each other over the head to buy a house in the Heights. 

 

Nobody wants mall stores - heck nobody even wants retail.  People want casual restaurants that cater to families....People are beating themselves over the head for houses in the Heights for one reason.  LOCATION.  If people wanted the feel of the heights and location did not matter they would live in historic Alvin, it makes the heights look brand new.

The good news is that Mr. Ainbinder has got you covered.  Add the Yale St. Markets 250k sq ft of strip mall/suburban retail and you will have a hipster free zone in the Heights.  19th street is actually very successful.  What you think are junk shops and hipster trash bins are actually very successful antique shops and boutiques that attract people from the suburbs on the weekends.  The big thrift store and "fire sale" store on the far east end of 19th by Yale will not be there much longer.  But the rest of 19th st. is just fine as it is.

 

But, oddly, we are actually in agreement on restaurants.  I am all for more restaurants in and around 19th St.  I do not want large bars or a live music venue. 

 

The area outside of I-10 is not the Heights.  I would rather replace the worthless stores with something useful to people everyday....There is an antique, junk stuff, community near waco somewhere...we can just relocate those businesses there.

 

Your definition of very successful and my definition of very successful are VERY different.  If everyday people dont go to a place, its a niche store, and in a highly desirable area like the Heights, its a failure.  The Heights has the demographics to do big business, unfortunately that ability is constrained by those who still think its 1920.

Shade has had no trouble packing them in after 6 pm even though the rest of 19th is dead.  The tea house failed because the food wasn't good enough to get anyone to eat there except out of convenience and tea houses never really caught on in Houston.  Restaurants in Houston that are counting on foot traffic to drive sales are restaurants that will be short lived.  If the food is good, people will come.  Places like Mockingbird Bistro, La Fisheria, and Roost are completely out of the way and would only be found if you were either were specifically looking for it or got lost and stumbled across it.  Just Dinner doesn't even have a sign. 

 

19th doesn't need nightlife if that term is to mean live music venues or large bars.  Neither will do anything for the retail on 19th street.  None of the few retail spots on White Oak are open after 6 pm on the weekends.  That is because no one going to bars or live music clubs is looking to shop.  They come into the neighborhood to drink and party.  That is it. 

 

19th does not need retail - it needs popular restaurants.  The retail on 19th is abysmal... not just bad, its terrible.  Its full of junk that NOBODY wants...I havent a clue how any place there is in business at all....that is why there is never anyone there, ever.  Shade does fine b/c its a destination restaurant....down house does ok b/c there is not a whole lot of competition until you get to white oak, or cedar creek.

 

19th would take off if we could just get rid of all the junk/niche/stupid retail...let the image of the heights being a liberal, hipster utopia go, and accept the fact that the Heights is being completely inundated with young families who are completely taking over.  I would love 19th to be a street of nice places for casual dinners.  There is a rapidly increasingly high number of young 30's parents with kids who would love to have a few more places to go eat dinner other than just Collinas....really Collinas has the family market locked up tight.  Go there any Friday/Saturday before 6, and its all families.  They have 10 or so highchairs and if your not there early, your SOL on the high chair front.

 

Evict the junk retail that NOBODY wants and lets move some family places in...the heights isnt just changing, its evolving.  Though the census data does not definitely confirm the family increases, just walking around talking to folks does.  The era of the hipster heights is over.  Families are invading, and invading at a pace that just about nobody can compete with...the historic ordinance, tried to slow down the family invasion, but its only been successful at shifting the bulk of the invasion west....which has driven up the values on the west side quite nicely.

btw,  what i'm considering glass flow is not the same as Marksmu...   the glass does not actually "flow" but due to the nature of the glass becomes more wavy and distorted.  Glass is not a liquid, that is a myth.

 

Glass is actually something between a solid and a liquid.  Its not a myth.  I've seen shows on glass, and we studied it in strength of materials when I was getting my engineering degree in undergrad....I wasnt trying to start a debate on it, but its worth knowing.  Our textbook considered it closer to a liquid than a solid b/c the atoms never stop moving.

 

You can look it up - ahh what the heck - here:

 

Glass, however, is actually neither a liquid—supercooled or otherwise—nor a solid. It is an amorphous solid—a state somewhere between those two states of matter. And yet glass's liquidlike properties are not enough to explain the thicker-bottomed windows, because glass atoms move too slowly for changes to be visible.

 

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=fact-fiction-glass-liquid

My next move (aftertheroof) is windows.  I'm not in the district, but after the Planning Commission ruling on April 25th (based on past HAHC rulings and Gafrick's words during her 2010 sales pitch) , those in the district should have a much easier time with window CoA.   I have 29 including French doors etc.  The six vinyl windows in the 1990 add-on are absolute crap and will be replaced.  I would say 12 are from the1920's original house and the rest from undated additions.  The twelve are inoperable and you really can't see through those with melted glass.  Glass drips after so many years and must be replaced if you care to see through it.  I would love to have working windows with screens, but for that kind of money, I'm going with new, high tech....double pane with alarm-armed screens.  I gave all my original screen frames away to someone with handy skills years ago knowing full well they were in better hands.  Lots to think about.

 

Little known fact - glass is actually a liquid...not a solid.  Its just an extremely slow flowing liquid.

Truly disgusting that we are even debating whether or not a person can have F*ING permission to replace their OWN DARN WINDOWS.

 

I would do it and raise my middle finger to the snotty busy bodies who complain about it.  This is an absolute TRAVESTY!  It literally makes me sick. 

 

 

Here's the deal; just because you don't do something doesn't mean that others don't as well.

 

I am typing this as I wait for my date to get ready. We're going to walk to dinner tonight.

 

I've used my bike/feet to get to tons of places since I moved back. Granted, I don't do it in the heat of the summer unless we're day drinking outside and I'm going to be sweating regardless.

 

I walk to Collinas on 19th from 11th along Nicholson all the time...every time of the year.  Its nice in the evening and I get a Menchi's to go on the way home.  Its a weekly event in my house - the kids love it and I dont have to park.  But at the same time - Collina's is a responsible neighbor - their parking lot does not spill into the neighborhood.  Nobody complains about Collina's being a good neighbor.  At least I have not heard of it.

You can call 311 and have ROW maintenance remove them or at least fine the homeowners. Putting boulders next to the ditch would be like someone with curb and gutter putting permanent orange cones out.  Another version of this are those people who illegally fill up their ditch with rocks to make an unpermited parking pad and then think that means nobody else can park there. A neighbor of mine once called a tow truck and threw a fit that somebody would have the audacity to park in his parking pad! waaaah!

 

We must live on the same street.  I had an across the street neighbor screaming at the top of his lungs that a pizza delivery person parked in front of his house in the ROW that he put rocks over....the guy was there for maybe 2 minutes to walk to my house and deliver a pizza - literally just long enough to cross the street and hand me a pizza...he was irate...

 

I don't have any problems at all with street parking (other than I think its ugly) so long as its not inconveniencing others...Really everything were talking about here is a matter of common courtesy....if people used common sense and were polite and courteous things would be fine...problem is that there are not alot of intelligent people...and the ones who are smart enough to know they are causing a problem, are just too selfish to care.  The 1% of us who pay attention to others are usually the ones that are already being inconvenienced.

If you deliberately purchased a house on a narrow street bordered by ditches that are clearly too steep to allow cars to pull fully over when parking on a public thoroughfare and then try to access your driveway in a vehicle that is clearly too large for the circumstances then whose fault is that?

That's not the price you pay for "living in the city", it's the price you pay for making some lousy decisions.

 

When I bought the house the street was narrow - but getting into my driveway was not a problem.  Still isn't a problem.  However, last year the new house across the street from me was completed and he (presumably required by the city) dug the ditch deep....when I bought the house I could have parked in his ditch without a problem as it was only a few inches deep....now, its at least 3' deep - something I am guessing the city requires of new construction as my ditch is also quite deep, and so is the ditch of the only other new construction on my block....everyone else has basically no ditch, or one thats only a few inches deep.

 

As to the vehicle being too large for the circumstances - nope - its big but its not too big unless something new changes the current circumstances...I have been blocked in my driveway 1 time where I had to get someone to move their truck (concrete pumping truck)...It was an inconvenience - nothing more.  If it was daily I would address the problem...its not....my previous arguments are for people that are actually having to deal with this problem. 

 

I don't consider any of my choices of house/driveway/street/truck lousy.  Given that Im not rich, and I need a big truck, it was the cheapest thing I could get to commute/work in - I made good decisions that were all based on my current circumstances.  Since I'm moving soon anyway - and there is nothing in the works for bar/resistant anytime soon, I'm not worried about.  The House has appreciated 30+%, the street has improved, the large lot/driveway are an asset, not a liability - so ya - I don't see any lousy decisions on my end - I am merely sympathizing for people who do have to deal with the BS of bar/restaurant parking on their streets... - Its not "the price you pay" to live in the city.  

 

Houston isnt NY - the Heights was a suburb - its now considered the city - but it was never intended to be a parking lot like NY, and it never should be.  That would truly ruin the attractiveness of the neighborhood.  

Residents who don't purchase or build adequate parking accommodations at their residence get "inconvenienced" by other people parking on a public street. If they want more parking, let them build it. The public street is paid for by all of us.

 

Thats not really the issue here.  I have a driveway that goes 100' front the front of the property to my garage on the rear lot line.  The garage faces the street.  If someone legally parks in the street behind my driveway I can not get out of my driveway b/c the street is too narrow. 

 

I have enough parking to park 10 cars in my driveway - but it only takes one "legally" parked idiot to block all 10 in.  Do you not see the problem here?  The street is too narrow for trucks to get out of the driveway when people park on the street behind driveways - People parking on the street cant park with 2 wheels off the road and in the grass b/c my street has deep ditches that start not more than 6" from the white line....they would slide in the ditch if they got their wheels off the road....I cant fill the ditch across the street from me b/c I don't own it, and I doubt any neighbor wants to allow me to fill it so cars can park in what used to be his front ditch.

 

I have tons of parking - and its not a problem for me 99.99% of the time, but if a bar were to open up that expects 100 people a night in 60 cars every night, but only have 15 parking spots - then it could be a huge problem - and I am absolutely going to side with the homeowner when that problem arises....They have a legal right to access their driveway.

 

Getting locked in your driveway is not a price you pay for "living in the city"

Why not just park there yourself on the busy days? I had a problem with folks parking in front of my house and blocking the mailbox. When I did't get any mail for a few days I called the Post Office and was told that the mailman doesn't have to deliver the mail if your mailbox is blocked. After that, I started leaving my garbage can at the curb for a while and people got the hint.

 

I normally don't have a problem, but I have no bar/restaurant on my street....as to me parking there - I don't park on the street ever.  I keep far too much in truck to ever park it on the street overnight in the Heights....the car breaks in are rampant and occur every night.  I have not had my car broken into in my driveway b/c Im behind a gate....all of my non-gated neighbors have had their cars broken into.  All of them.  The guy across from me has had it happen 4 or 5 times since I've lived there.  Opportunity crime is far too prevalent in the area for me to risk the break in...no - I would far rather whine/complain on an anonymous web forum about the 2 or 3 times its ever happened.

 

But I would go crazy if it happened all the time b/c of a bar or restaurant.  For people who think that parking is not a legitimate complaint for the houses who are near bars are just flat out stupid...nobody tolerates non-residents continually inconveniencing residents...nobody...its not a realistic expectation.  If bars can do it, why not just let Tommie Vaughn park all their super duty inventory up and down neighborhood streets until they sell or get stolen? 

Blocking driveways is illegal and tow trucks are happy to oblige.

 

But are they considered blocking the driveway when they are just legally parked behind it on a very narrow street?  I have wondered this question for a very long time.  My particular street has ditches (some dont) and the ditch starts at most 6 inches from the white line on the road, so even running off in the grass is not feasible. 

 

MOST vehicles can easily navigate in/out of the driveway - but I can not.  The turning radius on my truck is too wide and the driveway, though wide, is not wide enough to turn a truck around in.

 

That said - I have no restaurants on my street so its only an occasional problem when a neighbor has a party, or there is construction on a house.  I would go out of my mind crazy if a bar/restaurant opened up that did not have enough parking, and the cars going to/from the restaurant made it impossible for me to get in my driveway.  If it happened daily I would be the type to invest in a tow dolly and move the offending parker a block or ten away....Is that considered stealing?

Not in that big old truck you're always boasting about.

 

I fell off the driveway in my truck one time...it was an ordeal....My truck needs quite a bit more area to turn...so getting in/out of my driveway is indeed impossible in my truck if someone parks behind my driveway.

 

I can do it in my wife's car, but it is actually physically impossible in my truck....Its more than just an inconvenience when someone blocks you in your driveway....Ive been tempted to just put in 4wd and back them off into the ditch, but alas I'm a reasonable person.

So you don't want the area dry, but you want to make sure bars don't move in... and that isn't trying to tell people to do with their property how?

 

 

The number of loud motorcycles pales in comparison to the number of loud tow trucks, big trucks with exhaust, import "sporty" cars with coffee can sized exhaust tips, and people blasting spanish polka that drive by my house...   I think your disdain for motorcycles might be trickling over from your disdain for bicyclist...

 

You must have a completely flat driveway to be able to push such a huge truck.  (I could barely push a shopping cart out of my driveway.)

 

My driveway slants towards the street the whole way...its all paved  But that truck, though heavy, is very easy to roll...especially slightly downhill.

 

On topic though - I dont much prefer for the late night folks to be mixed into neighborhoods...but without zoning there is nothing to prevent it.

 

So - While I am against most restrictions to property in general, I am actually not against reasonable restrictions that are intended to keep a residential area residential....though even that argument is not very good here when referring to the area in question...its actually a perfect area for commercial/restaurant/bar, etc...that is if they can keep their cars out of the neighborhood...just like the historic ordinance - I was against that, but I am for establishing minimum lot sizes...

 

I don't think a neighborhood should have to be inconvenienced with a bunch of cars parked on their street all the time so that some bar owner does not have to pay to buy sufficient parking.

Since when does Montrose have terrible parking issues?

 

Some of you folks need to travel a bit. Parking in Houston is still very, very easy.

 

The only problems with parking in this town are for two reasons;

 

1) People are lazy and wont walk more than 13 feet.

2) People are entitled and think no one should ever be parked in front of their house.

 

3)  The street is only 16 feet wide, and its not possible to back out of your driveway if another car is parked behind it.

So its okay to tell others what to do with their property when it is in line with your agenda? 

 

There is a big difference here - The area has been dry for a long time - this is not a new restriction.  I do not support the taking of property rights when a person has no say and its done retroactively....That is a big difference....To be clear, I do not want the area to be dry but conversely I do not want it to turn into a bar scene.  While the area between Shepherd/Durham can arguably support the noise/etc of a bar and seems to be a great location - the area can't accommodate the parking.  With property values where they are - the bars are just going to depend on the patrons parking in the neighborhood, which will in turn create the problems that all bars in neighborhoods create.  Can't we just have a nice place that is not only a bar? 

 

 

I would love a nice IceHouse between shepard and durham somewhere between 11th and 18th.  The motorcycle complaint should be moot since it is already between two 4 lane oneway streets.  Not every motorcycle rider has loud pipes, and some of them that do have loud pipes try not to rack the exhaust around homes late at night...  your "dip-wad" neighbor reminds me of this jack-wagon schmuck down the street from me with a big F-250 4x4 diesel with a stack pipe running out of the bed... he comes home at 3 am and revs his truck up while doing a 7 point turn to back into his driveway... 

I hate the inconsiderate folks no matter who they are and what they drive - but a disproportionate number of motorcycle riders are inconsiderate dip-wads...when you talk to them they always say they are not inconsiderate...."they require loud pipes to be safe on the road" so the jerk car drivers dont kill them.  To that I believe they should have to push their bikes home at 2am when driving through a neighborhood.

 

For the record... I ride a beast/monster of a bike which is why I take offense...  a Vespa ET2 (50cc) with completely stock everything.  (about as wimply as it gets)

I've got a completely stock F250 diesel and I actually push it out of my driveway on weekends when I leave very early b/c I am aware that my driveway is 3' from my neighbors bedroom window and it is loud when it starts.  There is no way to make it any quieter than it currently is...I don't have to do that, and she has never asked me to do it - but I know its loud when it first starts and if I am leaving at 3 or 4 in the morning I think its rude to start it up right in her window....Especially when its cold outside.