Comments on: Shots Fired By Petworth Metro

By: sir marglar

sir marglar — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 18:13:19 +0000

Also, people should keep in mind that 20% of the Park Place apartments are affordable housing, with rent based on a sliding scale linked to income. That’s the only one I can afford to live here. And I’ve met several people in the building who have lived in the neighborhood before and are excited to have the opportunity to live in a nice, new bldg. The residents are very diverse – families, older folks, young couples, singles. It’s much less homogenous than a new condo building in Logan Circle I used to live in, for instance.

By: rg

rg — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 01:43:27 +0000

Welcome to the neighborhood A Strange.
please note this blog and its forums always devolve into race and class. No matter what the subject. Also i dont think anyone believes that the PArk View is for looking down upon the poor, but the loud kids waiting for the buses, yes, that is an option.
I like the building for blocking the noise on GA ave, the fact that they blast different music for parties adds an element. All summer its either latin or rap for parties, now dance too.

By: a strange

a strange — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 22:53:46 +0000

My husband and I moved into Park Place 6 weeks ago. I have heard alot of negative talk about the condos on this blog. My husband and I chose Park Place because it was in a diverse area. Econimically and racially. I understand some of the points being made about “the rich” moving in. I just wanted to say that we moved here to be apart of Petworth. All of Petworth. Most of the people that live here so far really enjoy this neighborhood and are committed to spending money and creating econmic growth in the area. My husband and I are very street wise. We have lived in far worse areas than Petworth. We talk to & have meet several of the neighbors around Quincy & 10th. We walk our dogs & have meet alot of the kids in the area. We are comitted to helping this area in any way we can. I think it’s important to not judge people. We are not “rich people” looking down on the poor as someone put it. I know several people who live here that want to make a difference. Things are changing in Petworth & I hope that it will stay as diverse. We have to learn to live together and draw from each others strengths!

By: rip

rip — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 15:35:49 +0000

I’m sure it was just Michael Steele showing his RNC posse how “street” he is.

http://wonkette.com/411437/michael-steele-tells-gop-he-refuses-to-stop-embarrassing-them-because-of-something-about-the-streets

By: rg

rg — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 14:13:47 +0000

for the record.. we have been living in this part of pw/ch for 5 years. I would say it has changed for the better, but it was never that bad to begin with. i m npot going to get into any race or poverty issues, but I will make an observation, from porch over the last few years. How you carry yourself, awareness of your surroundings, and general street smarts determine your level of safety. I see people walking up 10th late at night, beggin to get mugged (oblivious, shoulders slumped, head down). From my reformed alpha male view, they look like victims.
anyways, shootings are not common around here, ga ave , sure but now we have that monstrous park place to block ga ave. we dont have fueding crews, most of the neighbors have been here for decades. everyone knows everyone so the crime is pretty low.
most problems come from people going through the neighborhood.
the developments on ga ave will certainly improve the economics of the area over the next 10 years, but if youo are wandering ga ave at 1am drunk. you should expect some problems.
common sense, if you lack it. then the suburbs are for you. if you move into a city and have no idea how things work, who is running what and how to carrry yourself. that is not the fault of the poor, the thugs or the politicians.
im not defending anything here, its just the current reality of dc.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 05:09:21 +0000

Seriously everyone? All you need to read is Rocketnerd@3:43pm to understand the cultural divide in this neighborhood. I realize he posted in this discussion by mistake, but really, it speaks volumes . . .

By: JoeEsq74

JoeEsq74 — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 22:27:16 +0000

Bad Parenting (70%) + Lack of; outlets / resources / exposure (10%) + temptation of the streets (10%) + Community Apathy, often due to fear) (10%) = High level of crime in inner-city.

Most kids are not thugs. Don’t confuse tough looking teenagers w/ criminals. Many teenagers have tough exteriors for survival. At the same time don’t make excuses for criminals…most know right from wrong. They are not looking for your help or sympathy.

By: Buck Turgidson

Buck Turgidson — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 21:05:49 +0000

Harsh laws and harsh sentences don’t fix a society as sick as the USA’s uneducated permanent underclass. We need to lift people out of the underclass, not warehouse them in jail.

For what it’s worth, no country on Earth imprisons its citizens at a higher rate than the USA. Western Europe and Canada have an incarceration rate one-seventh of ours, on a per-capita basis.

And it wasn’t always this way. In 1970, the USA, Canada, and Western Europe had roughly the same incarceration rate. Ours zoomed up by a factor of seven, theirs stayed the same. The reason: our politicians figured out that playing the “tough on crime” card made for a great 30-second campaign commercial, and so our pols have been busy one-upping each other with ever-more draconian laws.

More people in jail is NOT the answer: we’ve already tried that more aggressively than any country on Earth.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 20:43:13 +0000

4:18: You lost me again. I’m not seeing where your prior allegations of racism and lack of consequences for white boys comes in. The ones who are chosing to ignore what’s going on and failing to demand public safety for everyone in this community are the parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles of our precious young violent offenders. They are the same people who have been failing to demand accountability from the community’s young people for 30 years, and they are the same color as the young offenders, the Mayor, most of the City Council, the district police commander, our local PSA lieutenant…basically the entire power structure of the city.

It’s those nasty “newcomers” (many, but far from all, white), who are one and the same as the people enjoying the party at Park Place, who ARE at the police meetings demanding public safety for EVERYONE… I’m not sure where you get that its only a problem for the newcomers when it ruins a rooftop party?

Plus, even it that were the case, it would be a massive improvement over the status quo in the community, which is that it’s never a problem so long as the shooter is someone’s cousin, who we promise would never do such a thing and who never looked sideways at anyone his whole life, prays to jesus on sunday, is on his way to college and is saving it for marriage.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 20:18:55 +0000

Anonymous @ 3:53: That’s exactly the point. In Fairfax they don’t tolerate young men dying and in DC it’s only a problem if it ruins the rooftop party. The “sickness” is with those who chose to ignore what’s going on and fail to demand that the politicians make public safety for EVERYONE a real issue.