I certainly understand your demeanor, but problems are around the area even if 9-5 people sleep through them.(not saying its you).

I can't stand crowds, so I tend to venture towards places that serve good food and good drinks, even if only two people are in the bar.
When I drink, I walk. Tonight, I decided to go to Ted's Montana-good basic food, and a decent bar. Ate, then drank, then left. Hung out at Kimmel for a bit, then walked home.

I then crossed the supposedly "shady" Hawthorne section....came across a pagan biker that was distributing drugs to his destitute counterparts, while yelling at a girl about her "stupid decision" in some idiotic scenario. I ignored it until he grabbed her by the throat and pushed her into the street; I then walked up to him, told him that he's got about 10 seconds to parlay his vociferous upon me, upon which she started yelling that if I didn't leave him alone, she would call the cops and say I was the one that grabbed her by the throat.

So, of course, I called the cops.
When they came, they knew who I was, and said they would deal with it. The guy continued to be rowdy, and I gave him a rather improper salute and said that he should be checked for drugs....of course, a chase pursued, and he was found with midemeanor quantities, while the girl was screaming a violation of civil rights...of course, the crackish neighbors first crowded when the fight started, but quickly left the area when more cops arrived.

The community has a problem, whether anyone knows it or not, that hawthorne isn't just a dealing zone, its a distribution point; as you see drugs on the streets, 10 times more are in the homes, being distributed to the gayborhood and west of broad...think I'm being neolistic in saying so?... Just go get a slice at OK pizza, and see how many of your next door neighbors are crowded around woody's and pure nightclub asking you if you want a "bump" or a "hit" or a "bag". You will soon say, hey-don't I know you, what are you doing for brunch?

__________________
Peter Cetera:
Sometimes I just forget
Say things I might regret
It breaks my heart to see you crying

Most of the recently moved in neighbors in Hawthorne have no idea who they're dealing with.

It's a culture of vampires who vant to drink your bloooooood.

__________________
___________________________



___________________________

Learn the truth about Danny Faulkners
murder and his murderer here:

http://www.danielfaulkner.com/

I think the cameras would help. This is public housing, right? Then why not be required to live up to some of the basic standards of the surrounding law-abiding community which is paying for this housing (ie, no drug dealing, group fights, guns, etc.).

We're a few blocks from the projects, but I've noticed the "nusiance" sort of stuff definitely on the rise for the past year and a half- the knocking on doors at 3am asking for money thing, etc. (I'd never answer, but my older neighbors, who are less cynical, have). The only thing that's changed in that time is the rebirth of those places, so I have to assume that's the cause.

Before those idiots killed someone just 3 blocks away, on an intersection we cross all the time, I thought I was far enough away not to be affected by the drug dealing that is so rampant over there. But this makes me realize that the scourge of criminal activity quickly spreads out to a larger area if not dealt with promptly and effectively.

As the weather warms up and I drive by that area, I am getting really worried about what this summer is going to bring. This city is already under a crime crisis that it refuses to try to control.

While I have some concerns regarding the overall effectiveness of "concentrated" public housing, I think it's important that in this discussion we avoid overly vilifying the residents of MLK. There's no doubt in my mind that the majority are law-abiding citizens simply trying to live their lives. I have plenty of low-income/subsidized housing (Universal, not PHA) around me and so far I have had nothing but positive experiences.

The woman responsible for murdering the man on Christian St. was not a resident of MLK...not that it really makes a difference.

I wonder if Dicicco's comments are based less on statistical evidence and more on the fact that he's receiving more "complaints" from concerned residents. If the latter is the case, this is a good thing. I know that if I paid 200-300K for a home in a "mixed-income" community, I would be reporting all evidence of crime I saw and demanding a response from the PHA.

Bottom line: I think it's unfair to blame every quality of life issue within an 8 block radius on MLK. Who knows, for example, where the person ringing your doorbell in the middle of the night is coming from or going to?

__________________
"If you think you're too small to be effective, you have never been in bed with a mosquito."

--Bette Reese

JillyS is right. That's why I've always been VERY defensive when people say Hawthorne is crap. There are more great people here than bad - in fact, I would say the percentage of criminals is small but because the area still has empty housing and has been known to be a place to purchase drugs, it's hard to shrug that and easy for the criminals to still abuse the area. I believe it that many people on the way to the Gayborhood and South St buy here as well and it's not so much the residents of Hawthorne, but those passing through. As JillyS also mentioned, the girls in the car from Monday night did not live here.
The folks who bought the PHA homes are great - many post on PB. Who we are forgetting to mention are those in the old Liscomb PHA homes up by Kater/13th and 12th. I've seen a lot of junkie type people slithering out of those - not the new MLK. The homes are in bad shape too.
I think we all need to create more of a presence here and take back the area. I always use 12th and 13th to go into CC and keep my eyes open and my cell phone ready. The more of us that help and support the MLK community, the better it will become. What Alesis did is exactly what I mean. Thanks!

My sentiments exactly. It is not only disheartening to hear about current drug related events but it angers me how other’s perceptions of the people in general of this neighborhood are portrayed. No, am not blind, nor foolish to have moved here. Nor did I move to be near vampires! What started on 12th and Fitz can and will affect all of us.
I say bring in the cameras and people lets start voting for people in government who can actually make a difference!

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Is official am off the market. Am engaged to Dave

I lived at 13th and South for years and just looking out my window I witnessed countless drug deals. I also was asked many times if I wanted coke crack ect. I politely declined. If they insisted I declined in a not so polite manner.

This is a question for someone with experience in law enforcement. If I had a camera hanging off my building with a sign saying that the corner was being video taped for whatever reason - safety, insurance ect -- If I was to film a drug deal -- is that tape admissable in court?

As far as Northern Liberties - a very large portion is the Richard Allen Projects which had a reputation for being one of the very worst projects in the city for years. They blew up most of the high rises and it looks similar to the MLK homes now. QV projects seem more like projects too me -- where MLK might look more like newly built rowhouses to someone driving thru from another city. The projects near 3rd and Christian don't have streets cutting thru - you have to drive in -- am I right on this. I'm pretty sure.

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Tom O'Malley

Fourth Street goes through, but Carpenter Street was closed when they originally built those projects back in the early 60s. Here are a couple pictures of how things looked before then:

http://www.emanuel-lutheran.org/news/transition.html

Pastor Carl Werner, pictured in the 1959 Bulletin article, died last week.

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I will be moving to the 11th and christian area and am wondering what people have to say about the general safety of the area. I work downtown and plan on walking most days (I assume I will take the subway when it's crappy outside). I keep hearing about the drug dealing around 12th and fitzwater (which i will avoid at night), but can anyone attest to say, walking alone on broad street after dark, or to the bars down on south street? I will say, I rarely feel unsafe walking in CC, but I assume that's because of all the foot traffic most hours of the day. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

We have lived on the 1100 block of Christian for two years. Our block is GREAT. Naturally, like with any large city, you need to be careful and use your senses. We always walk down 11th when coming home from CC after dark and into late night and have never had any issues nor have we seen anything remotely scary. 12th & Fitz is sort of an island of an area that I truly believe will soon change. We are also very late night people and all I ever hear on our block late at night is skateboarding and drunk college kids singing Mr Roboto as they stagger home. This block is very established with great neighbors and you feel much more a part of Bella Vista/Italian Mkt when you live here.

PM me if you want more detailed info........