gazhomme

The only people I ever encounter yelling and screaming are the people from the shelter at Crawford & Tuam. I wish that place would be torn down, but no one asked for my opinion.

That shelter is the #1 source of non-Midtown resident foot traffic east of Main St.

And before someone argues that they too are residents, $7-10 a night for a bed does not make you a resident.

According to the Texas DPS, 3 registered Sex Offenders are using 2910 Crawford St as their permanent address.

Given the condition of the "Midtown Lodge" I'm sure a city inspector could find numerous citable circumstances. I

Oh, and if you see a black charcoal grill being rolled down the street there is a guy around 2800 Austin that had his stolen Monday evening. He thinks it was they guy that has been knocking on doors asking if you want your street numbers painted on the curb. (the guy reportedly mentioned something about his BBQ grill during his sales pitch)

I drove by 2518 La Branch (see Streetview) today during lunch, and there was an entire crew outside with power saws and hard hats. The past couple of days on my way home for lunch, I've noticed trucks at the place... so I'm hoping they are going to rehab it.

Anyways... does anyone know the history behind this house (and the creepy one next to it)? There is an old metal sign out front that I assume used to advertise whatever store it used to be. I've always been curious about these two properties but could never find any info on them. Thanks!

It was up for sale a while ago. I think they were asking $240k for it.

Power saws and hard hats sound more like tools you use to cut out the load bearing studs.

I agree with you on this place. The flop houses around do drive me crazy. Is there anything we can have the city or MMD do about them?

The Bristol Center is a combination of various rehabs. (including drug treatment) 2627 Caroline Street

Their Safe Haven "business" is advertised as being a 24hr operation. It is located at 1215 Dennis Street

http://www.mhmraharris.org/mapapi.asp?q=12...uston,+TX+77004

You can contact the MMD, Council Member James Rodriguez, District I - (832) 393-3011 Office, and the MHMRA Board of Directors: http://www.mhmraharris.org/Board-Of-Trustees.asp

I am 100% in agreement that there are down and out people that need to be helped, rather than moved to another neighborhood. But if you are a so-called caregiver agency/business then you need to, no you have the responsibility to exemplify the order and progress that you are trying to instill in your clients. If you furnish someone a trashcan, then by all means dump it when it overflows!

The area you are referring to only has about seven town homes on one side of the street. The other side has the run down house on the corner. I'm not familiar with the people that live along that stretch... but me being a block away... I experience none of what you are seeing, and at night it's very, very quiet.

Yes, but its on the Perry Town Home side of Tuam.

Anita@Austin is a great deal cleaner than a block down. (With exception of that old metal works shed, but thats not much of an issue)

At the last Midtown Management District meeting one of the owners of 13 Celsius let it be known publicly that their have been 8 vehicle break-ins during business hours in the past 30 days in his parking lot. They caught a few and they were mostly homeless folks. So much for the benevolent homeless guy theory.

Have you reported these to the HOA? Are they falling off? I haven't seen any gates that look bad.

The gates cannot be latched shut. And yes we have reported these in the past, and will continue to do so. However best of luck with Principle Management Service.

If anything, I would argue that our neighborhood is getting better...

Hmm, I suggest you vary your time of day/night when you survey the neighborhood.

- There are less homeless people walking around (and those that do are actually very nice... like the one old guy that rides his bike around pulling a cart).

Quite the opposite. The Harris County MHMRA Bristow Resource Center on 1301 Dennis has pretty much rolled out the red carpet to homeless folks that want to crash on their sidewalks (Dennis&Caroline sides) as well as allowed them to sleep in the doorway nook on Dennis. Now they have even placed a trashcan (now overflowing) on Dennis so that the folks that call the Dennis sidewalk home can dispose of their litter.

- The amount of shady people walking around has diminished

Note the break-ins mentioned above and massive appearances of graffiti.

And that run down house on Tuam @ Austin you mentioned now appears to have a guy dealing drugs out of it. He will stand out on the road or sidewalk to have "conversations" with a variety of cars that stop by.

I've reported it already, but it would help tremendously if others would. There is a big difference between having someone dealing on the corner and setting up shop in a neighborhood.

And speaking of corners... Have you ever noticed a day/night go by when the Tuam & Fannin corner did not have a dealer or hustler standing there? Heck their more reliable at that corner than Metro is!

- Our neighborhood probably recovered quicker from IKE than any other neighborhood around town

It sure did, proof positive that people can make a difference!

- Discovery Green, Houston Pavilions, OPP, etc. are coming online and bringing more people into our part of town.

Thank you DOWNTOWN Houston for that one. The fact that Discovery Green exists is a miracle given how things occur in Houston. Simply amazing.

... or walk 5 minutes to the new restaurants and development occurring over on Fannin.

Are you referring to Fannin downtown, or Fannin in Midtown? I'm not aware of any restaurants on Fannin, though I'm sure the Midtowne Spa on Elgin & Fannin probably has a vending machine inside!

Focusing on the positive is great, but it does not automatically fix the negative aspects of the neighborhood. A year ago a bunch of neighbors got together and formed a citizen’s patrol group, which was a positive step in the right direction. Not sure what ever came of it, but it formed initially because residents witnessed first hand what was going on vs. moving through the neighborhood with eyes wide shut. I recommend you walk around the area, even approach the guys hanging out on the street corners and asking them "whats up, what are you doing?"

Some of the answers you will receive will keep you laughing into you old age, but others will be enough to get you moving rather quickly in the opposite direction. Either way it will clear up any doubts you have about what really goes on in the neighborhood.

I'm an owner/resident in the area and I'm totally confused as to what you are talking about. I hate to be so blunt, but I have not encountered any of the things you mention (and I routinely jog around the Baldwin Square area). Plus, the items you list as examples of a "declining spiral" are normal for any neighborhood... especially one in the middle of everything.

Trust me they exist, but what is really important is the speed, or lack thereof in how these issues are being addressed.

A "dog barking" from an open window? Are you kidding me?!? That happens everywhere... just go politely ask the owner if they could close the window if it is really bothering you. Remember, we've had some nice weather lately... and people tend to open the windows when it feels nice outside.

I'm not kidding. While it sounds trivial, I spoke with a resident nearby, and apparantly there is some sort of pissing contest between the individuals and his neighbors over who can be most annoying.

I live 2 blocks away. It goes on for 8 hours, are you telling me that no one within Baldwin Square is disturbed by this?

Cigarette butts thrown from a patio/broken glass? Yes, it was probably from a party. You are living in one of the hottest places in town. Ask the owner to please clean it up (or talk with the homeowner's association about it if it's a recurring problem).

Its a party alright, one that exists 365 days a year. Walk up and down Tuam between Caroline and Austin. You will see. I am well aware of what area I live in, and for the past 8 years I have watched the area progress and improve. However for the past year it appears that the progress has apexed and we are starting to see the a new breed of ownership that is more suited for apartment living rather than homeownership.

Broken gates/fences... go to the HOA meeting and tell them. I don't have any around me.

1316 Tuam is the address of the unit with a broken gate. (The gate is actually on Austin, but the house has a Tuam address)

There are also several on La Branch, not sure of the addresses.

I'm sorry, but your post really angered me because I love our area and am not ashamed to say that I love it more than West U, Montrose, and the Heights.

Good, but don't apologize for it. Your love for the neighborhood will help make a difference in its success or failure. As long a people "tolerate" the elements of decay, i.e. trash, disrepair, drug dealers, hustlers, daycare centers that don't paint over graffiti, etc, then a message will be created that its okay for this to exist in the neighborhood and quality of life and values will go down.

Out of curiousity, what areas are in a "declining spiral"?

A declining spiral is a situation where disrepair and elements of blight are not addressed in a timely manner causing them to infect the mindset of other owners or inhabitants of an area. (i.e. "If their not going to fix it, why should I", or "Its not on my property, so its not my problem!")

The November 22nd-28th 2008 edition of the Economist featured an article in which they actually tested the old "Broken Window Theory"

http://www.economist.com/science/displayst...ory_id=12630201

In a nutshell:

"A PLACE that is covered in graffiti and festooned with rubbish makes people feel uneasy. And with good reason, according to a group of researchers in the Netherlands. Kees Keizer and his colleagues at the University of Groningen deliberately created such settings as a part of a series of experiments designed to discover if signs of vandalism, litter and low-level lawbreaking could change the way people behave. They found that they could, by a lot: doubling the number who are prepared to litter and steal."

Not sure if it

Can anyone tell me the land value in midtown? Of course it depends on location, but just wanted a ballpark figure for any properties traded within the past year.

I've been doing some research to fight my property taxes and HCAD has raised land values by 125% across the board in my developments case. I put everything into a spreadsheet and what I discovered is that they adjust the land values up to 125% compared to last year and then adjust the improved value accordingly.

I am looking for a city or county list of specific types of trees and their addresses. For instance; "Pecan tree on 1400 West Alabama esplanade". I recall seeing something on a COH parks site, but I can no longer find it. My son is working on a school project on monoculture and disease and this would provide a closer look at Houston tree diversity.

There is a Midtown Town hall meeting at the Bahai center on 2419 Fannin St from 7:00pm to 8:30pm.

This is being put together by the Midtown Management District, local business and Carol Alvarado's office. I'm not sure of the official agenda of the meeting, but it would be safe to assume it would be consistent with the agenda of a town hall meeting.

Townhall Meeting info from the Midtown Management District site.

http://www.houstonmidtown.com/midtown.cfm?a=cms,c,2,0

Here is a map to the location:

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=U...wloc=A&om=1