J008 Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 just curious if anyone knows anyhting else. It is pretty amazing that there is a murderer on Heights Blvd and a mother shot on Yale and there is no news on suspects or outrage in the neighborhood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DianeTX Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 Just a bit ago, was walking on Cortland between 18th and 16th. Ambushed by the alley, had to throw rocks at them to get them to go away. He also say a dead cat near the alley way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txcat84 Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 You called animal control or even 911 immediately, correct? You called animal control or even 911 immediately, correct? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbwamsley Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 I'm looking to purchase a house in the heights that has alley access. One thing I'm worried about is the potential for theft since access cannot be restricted. What do you think? Does anyone have any experience living in a house with alley access? Thanks, Blake Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texasota Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 I have lived in a number of places with alley access, both in Houston and elsewhere, and have never had any problems. Maybe with raccoons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbwamsley Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 6 minutes ago, Texasota said: I have lived in a number of places with alley access, both in Houston and elsewhere, and have never had any problems. Maybe with raccoons. Thanks for your reply. Anyone else? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poyea Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 I think the largest risk is if you accidentally leave your garage door open and the petty thieves grab your tools or golf clubs. Maybe a slightly higher risk of a house break-in from the alert just due to less traffic. Our alley I should shut off which provides an added level of security....anyone coming in would have to back out. I'm somewhat surprised more people don't put up a permanent fence at the halfway point for this reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
innerloop Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 I think that the odds probably are just a little bit higher because of the increased access, but you have to look at the trade-off. Lots in the Heights are relatively small so you want to maximize the available space and taking up a lot of your potential yard with a big street-facing driveway is counter-productive. I thought it was better to have an alley access garage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angostura Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 In a lot of houses, the only access to the alley is via the overhead garage door (i.e. no gate in the back fence). This can lead people (my wife, for one) to be undisciplined about locking the door between the garage and the back yard, in which case it's not uncommon for things to go missing from the garage. If you keep that door locked, and avoid keeping anything of real value in the garage, you should be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s3mh Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 Buy it. Alley access is so much better than having to give up a significant amount of your lot to a driveway for a front loader garage. Houses with alleys do provide criminals a better opportunity to break into garages because they cannot be seen from the street. But if you are vigilant, you can greatly reduce if not eliminate the ability of criminals to prey on your property. Make sure the garage is secure. A lot of contractors in the Heights put in garages with cheap locks and no deadbolts on the doors. Crooks often are able to just kick in the side door or muscle the garage door open to get access. Make sure the garage is wired to the burglar alarm. Many are not. Make sure anything you store in your garage is secured. Bikes need to be secured with a strong lock that is secured to something that cannot be removed with a screwdriver or crow bar. Tools and golf clubs need to be locked up in storage cabinets with a strong lock on them. And keep the garage locked at all times. Even if you are home. People have been robbed when they were working in the garage and went into the house to go to the bathroom for just a few minutes. Make sure that you do not park your car on the street with the garage door opener in it. Criminals will break into the car to get the door opener and then get access to the garage. Also, make sure the door to the back of the house is secure. Too many people put in french doors or a door with a big window that is easy to smash open. All in all, I do not think the difference between houses with alleys and those without is at all significant if you are vigilant. Criminals have no problem coming on to property from the street to steal stuff. It is just that a lot of people with garages on the alley are careless and leave them open with valuables unsecured. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HAG Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 Alley access resident here - no issues for me or anyone on my block since we bought 5yrs ago. As others have said, just take the necessary precautions and don't leave your door open (you can get timers that auto close it after so many minutes if you're worried about it). Overall it's a nice amenity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s3mh Posted October 9, 2020 Share Posted October 9, 2020 Possible serial arsonist in the Heights and Lazybrook. The other day I was walking my dog up Ashland and on Ashland between 17th and 18th and saw a vehicle with the gas tank open and the tire below it was flat. There was something burnt in the street. I thought it looked like someone tried to torch the car, but it also looked like it just had a tire blowout badly. Other than the blown out tire, the vehicle wasn't damaged. Well, it looks like someone definitely tried to torch it as this was just a few blocks from a vehicle arson on Harvard and 18th St. on the same day. Someone is also throwing Molotov Cocktails at houses in Lazybrook. Gofundme for the victim of the arson on Harvard is below. I wonder whether the Heights Arsonist from 2009 is back? https://abc13.com/6871191/?ex_cid=TA_KTRK_FB&utm_campaign=trueAnthem%3A+New+Content+(Feed)&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR24qilTeCmbx1E8ebtEfseVsVjOMMEj0u-iJvE_7Ab7uZ74aBlMZr5UIWc https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-brendan-and-lauren-recover-from-arson?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet http://swamplot.com/after-the-arsons-a-photo-tour-of-the-heights-fires/2009-11-18/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoustonMidtown Posted October 10, 2020 Share Posted October 10, 2020 Arson suspect arrested https://www.khou.com/article/news/crime/arson-suspect-arrested-greater-heights-fires-houston/285-a372ad37-4168-472c-9dd0-64fede6c017d Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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