That was brilliant, Robert. Thanks for bringing the sensitive subject of "filming in public leads to homosexual pedophilia" to light.

I am so tired of this guy- what the heck else do you expect to happen at a line of bars?? He has way too much time on his hands, if you ask me. And guess what? I live off Lower Greenville too! If he's so bothered, he should just move. There are plenty of other places in Lakewood that are in the same area but not so close to the Greenville bars. Perhaps he needs a drink- I'll buy.

I'll go first. Avi needs to get a life!!!

It looks to me like the guys were just standing there and Avi pulled out his camera in the hopes of getting them arrested by the cop that he showed in the first "scene".

What happened when the guys left? We never get to see Avi's conversations with the police. Hiding something Mr. Adelman? Come on Avi give us unedited video or maybe tell them about your towing mishap Friday night and how the valets from “Valets Gone Wild” saved your ass. Good news travels fast…

Some answers to the queries...

Re the videotape - there is no other version of the tape, that is the whole scene. Heck,I am not even good enough at editing to cut and paste anything. The tape stops just like you see it, and there was no conversation with that officer. I won't deny that I spoke to alot of officers that evening, since the library of tape I was building was of police actions on Lower Greenville.

Re the valets - The townhome builder confirmed that a future resident was MAYBE parking his car there. So while we worked to track him down, the tow trucks arrived REALLY FAST. I put them on hold until we could confirm the owner of the vehicle. The valets told us that the owner told them it was a new owner, and we went with that story. Hey, I even said thank you but probably no one heard that either.

In the next few weeks, the occupants of that building will have unique stickers on their windshields to identify them as residents.

Avi is a tool. Those guys weren't harassing anybody they were minding their own business and talking amongst themselves. Some weird guys just shows up and starts filming them and they aren't supposed to feel weirded out? Somebody should follow Avi out in public with a camera (being mindful of his 5ft rule) and see if he likes it.

I think he lost the moral high ground a while ago.

Avi, why do you insist on producing mace when kids on the street just want to talk with you? You are a menace. You are simply uncivil. Now I just have to figure out which party is more civil, the drunk young men with foul mouths and poor sense of humor, or the guy revealing weapons on lower Greenville. Tough call.

news flash: frat boys get drunk at bars!

this is top notch journalism.

Duh! Most civilians cannot buy MACE anymore, and the DPD does not use it either.

When the frat boy got in my face, I pulled out a can of PEPPER SPRAY.

And under the law, once he touched me or the camera, the only thing you have to ask is - Do you want Mexican food with that spicy taste in your mouth??

BTW - This kind of being drunk on the street behavior is not acceptable. That is why they have public intox laws. The officer was distracted with a bigger issue and that is probably why these guys were not busted.

My concern is what happens to these guys when they get to the parking lots - is someone waiting there to roll them for cash (it's happened and probably still does, but goes unreported).

What happens when they get into the neighborhoods looking for their cars on the few streets still not flagged for Residents Only? There was a Class A assault on Oram Street just a few hours after this tape rolled - was it connected to the drunks on Greenville or not??

"My concern is what happens to these guys when they get to the parking lots - is someone waiting there to roll them for cash (it's happened and probably still does, but goes unreported)."

Forgive me for laughing. If you were so concerned about the boys why didn't you flag down a cab and put them in it? We are all so very tired of you and your harassment.

I can't watch Avi's videos without dramamine. Seriously, dude. If you're going to go to the trouble of being a cool-ass vigilant, pony up (Sorry SMU) some cash for a light and figure out how to hold the damn thing without making me feel like I've got Parkinson's.

Until then, your videos are too dark and shaky to really "prove" anything other than you're a craptastic, would-be cinematographer with a killjoy complex.

Avi,

You're a toad. I'm really hacked that the police allowed you to incite that little incident. The only reason you're on Greenville is to continuously stir up a shit storm so you can keep screaming "Look at me! Look at me!" Go home, get a job, clean up the leaning shack that you call a house. You're an embarressment to your family, the neighborhood & mostly to humanity. Your poor children!

Avi, your primary concern is being the center of attention, not the welfare of some harmless, drunken frat boys.

I looked on Dallas CAD, your property value has gone up roughly 246% since 1999. Those bars don't seemed to be hurting your property values too badly. Furthermore, if you got your wildest wish and shut down all the bars, those rental properties surrounding you would turn section 8 quicker than a cat could lick it's ass. Then you'd be proper fucked.

"My concern is what happens to these guys when they get to the parking lots - is someone waiting there to roll them for cash..."

Please tell me how threatening to pepper spray a few drunks on the street is helping them not get robbed in the parking lots.

You know, it's astonishing to me that someone like Carter Albrecht loses his life, and yet a parasitic and useless weasel like Avi continues to jerk off in public.

This guy isn't making Dallas a better place to live, he's just making sure that someone like me (or the hundreds of other musicians and/or creatives who have also moved away) will never, ever come back.

I don't mind the filming. I would hope for more filming to capture the times and way of life though. I'm a sucker for footage of New York around CBGB's, Max's Kansas City, Studio 54. Not that Greenville Avenue has that mystique, but it's still cool to be able to look back and see what the place and the vibe was like. It's part of Dallas history. I wish I could have seen film on what I heard Stark Club used to be like, and Deep Ellum too...hell, even Red Jacket back in it's hey-day.
This footage isn't really focused on that, but these guys were definitely just being assholes. They probably would have acted much differently sober. I don't know why anyone would think Avi is being an ass for filming. You may not agree with some of his other actions, but come on..for filming in public?

Avi was not down on Greenville to film. He was down there to provoke. It was made clear by his interaction with the subjects. He's playing at "gotcha". He's not recording history, he's trying to create an incident in which he can pepper spray someone. He lives for this crap because he's four foot nothing & he thinks this makes him a macho man. He's a "wannabe cop". That's why he trys to hang out with them. He doesn't realize they all despise him & wish he would go away.

If (and that is a HUGE if) Avi was filming historical footage - why didn’t he just tell the guys that? I think that we all know that Avi was trying to cause a little trouble because he had to run home with his tail between his legs the previous night. I guess he needed to feel important or whatever it is that causes him to act the way he does. I am all for artistic or historic footage but that is not what Avi is about just look at his own website – he wants to destroy Lower Greenville. Sure the guys cursed A LOT but honestly wouldn’t you be freaked out if some guy was filming you and refused to tell you why? He is a nuisance not an artist or activist just a nuisance.

The previous poster hit it on the head. If he wasn't down there trying to instigate something, that he knew would end up on this blog, then he would have diffused the situation by explaining to the guys that he wasn't there to film them. If I was leaving one of those establishments, and that little waste of lard shoved a camera in my face...I would want an explanation too.

Why is this news? One day somebody is going to get very ticked off at this little man and shove that pepper spray somewhere he won't like. Of course he will then sue, hide behind the law, and attempt to become an even bigger fame whore. This Paparazzi style does nothing but antagonize people drunk or sober. The Observer should not legit this behavior as it only seems to encourage him to take it farther.

Leave the partiers alone. Grab a disguise and your pepper spray. Hide in a parking lot, and try and catch the criminals that are lurking around! That I'd like to see. Be a hero not a zero.

Some of these comments are too funny for words, but a few merit a final response...

I was out there filming building buildings at night for the history library. I have a large photo library of every business (almost) down here since probably 1999.

Re provoking - nope never happened. I was standing on the corner getting some video of police activity when I heard the noise behind me of the drunks now made famous.

Re explanations - don't even bother asking me or any other person with a camera to explain why we are shooting video. We do not have to answer, and we probably won't.

You are on a public right of way. There is no assumed right of privacy when you are on the street.

As to the general topic of this and other videos, it all comes down to a simple fact...

For years the bars and drunks have kept a dirty little secret about what happens out here. It was bad enough I wrote stories about the problems, but then we put up - gasp! - photos. And then - gasp again! - the neighborhood residents started to fight back by buying streets.

And finally - cue the gasping noise - we put up video so EVERYONE can see how bad things are in real time.

The problem is not me or the camera, the problem is you.

You know that soon enough Greenville will go through the same churning that Deep Ellum went through, but instead of blaming the skinheads you blame the residents for busting up your frigging sandbox.

Do me a favor and take your sorry ass somewhere else, like Addison or Lewisville.

I am sure they will appreciate the business.

Ooops, I can't say that can I?? You can tell me to move to Plano while you fuck up my neighborhood but god forbid I should tell you where to go???

Get used to it - we in the neighborhoods have had it up to HERE and we are fighting back to get rid of your garbage from our streets.

What's this "we" crap. You got a mouse in your pocket? The last I heard your neighbors can't stand you either. I agree with Saint John & Liles, the Observer shouldn't waste space on you unless they are doing a story about psychotics who waste city services. You fall into the same category as the nut case who collects cars or garbage in their yard & the city has to clean up after them while all the while you're screaming about your rights & the law. That's the only time the media should waste time on you.

Quit telling people to leave the area. If you don’t like it then you should just move back to wherever you came from and leave Dallas alone. You tried this shit in Deep Ellum although it existed long before you moved your hairy ass here. You are trying again on Lower Greenville although it existed long before you moved here. Don’t start the when I moved here there where no bars on Lower Greenville crap – learn how to read your own chart (http://www.barkingdogs.org/news/node/279) and you will see that the area was already an entertainment district long before you arrived.

You want this placed turned into something it never was and never will be. You keep preaching about wanting “mom and pop shops” but then do everything in your power to harass and run off the customers. The retail shops that where here previously closed because they were not making money. Do you understand simple economics? Honestly. Do you realize that for a business to stay profitable it requires customers? You are running them out of the area. You are the one who needs to go if you don’t like the area. You are not an activist you are a nuisance.

Yes, the majority of the dollars spent on Lower Greenville come from people who live outside the immediate area. You seem to forget that these people are paying for the city services that you use – streets, police, fire, etc. The average bar collects much more sales tax for the community than you pay in property tax. The average retail shop collects much more sales tax for the community than you pay in property tax. You preach about protecting your investment without consideration of the investment made by the business owners in the area or the other homeowners in the area. You are short sighted and self-serving.

You like to talk about the development dollars that are flowing into the area but they will stop coming if you continue our destructive behavior. Deep Ellum was a growing area - tons of money was being spent there and then it dried up because the patrons left. Now the buildings are vacant, the homeless problems are worse and the city is losing valuable sales tax revenue. Dallas is a fantastic city quit trying to destroy it! People need entertainment most of them work hard all week and play on the weekend - just because you don’t like it doesn’t make it wrong for others.

Let's quote and answer ---

"Quit telling people to leave the area. If you don’t like it then you should just move back to wherever you came from and leave Dallas alone."

I have lived in Dallas for 30 years, which means I moved here when you were just getting into kindergarten.

"You tried this shit in Deep Ellum although it existed long before you moved your hairy ass here. You are trying again on Lower Greenville although it existed long before you moved here."

So now I am being blamed for what happened in Deep Ellum??? Are you frigging reaching?? Don't forget to add the Bubonic Plague and Venereal Diseases to the list of things that are my fault.

"Don’t start the when I moved here there where no bars on Lower Greenville crap – learn how to read your own chart (http://www.barkingdogs.org/news/node/279) and you will see that the area was already an entertainment district long before you arrived."

Do you call FOUR bars in 1980 an "entertainment district"?? Again, you confuse Lower Greenville with the area near the late Greenville Avenue Bar and Grill.

"You want this placed turned into something it never was and never will be. You keep preaching about wanting “mom and pop shops” but then do everything in your power to harass and run off the customers. The retail shops that where here previously closed because they were not making money. Do you understand simple economics?"

The retail died when the malls starting opening in the early 1970's then what was left was pushed out by property owners who wanted more bucks for the footage (eg African Book Store turned into a bar).

"Honestly. Do you realize that for a business to stay profitable it requires customers? You are running them out of the area. You are the one who needs to go if you don’t like the area. You are not an activist you are a nuisance."

The only thing I am doing to the customers is making them walk further for a parking space.

The streets - by city code - can be bought by the people who own the houses and sign the petition to make it Resident Only.

It may be a public street, but we are allowed to make it RPO IF we pass the survey and pay the fees.

Point: More than 2/3rds of the property owners have to sign the petition before we even start the survey. If you and your friends want to overturn the RPO, you need the signatures of 2/3rds of the owners on the same street to remove it. Now, do you really think that someone who signed the installation petition and is enjoying a quieter and cleaner street will be willing to listen to your argument that bar patrons deserve the parking spaces in front of their homes. Good frigging luck winning that argument, but knock yourself out trying.

The point again and again is simple - The bars and restaurants do not provide enough parking for all the patrons. The residents can and will buy the streets. It is not the responsibility of residential property owners to be your doormats and parking lots.

As to your motorcycle shop friend, he is crying that he lost parking spaces on the side of the business. How can you lose what you never had. His legal spaces are the head-in spaces in front of the business. The side spaces were public spaces - a lucky bonus.

When 5700 La Vista went RPO, he never lost a thing. The City included what was public spaces in the RPO and too damn bad for him.

"Yes, the majority of the dollars spent on Lower Greenville come from people who live outside the immediate area. You seem to forget that these people are paying for the city services that you use – streets, police, fire, etc. The average bar collects much more sales tax for the community than you pay in property tax. The average retail shop collects much more sales tax for the community than you pay in property tax."

A bar collects a 14% tax on your drink. Only 1% of that comes back to the City's general fund. So go out and count all the cops you see every weekend on the street and figure out where the money is going.

"You preach about protecting your investment without consideration of the investment made by the business owners in the area or the other homeowners in the area. You are short sighted and self-serving."

The owners made their decision to lease at high rates to bars. I have no right to tell them what to do with their business property, nor can they make me kiss their butts and accept it. I have every right to protest or disagree with them and you.

"You like to talk about the development dollars that are flowing into the area but they will stop coming if you continue our destructive behavior."

The developers are coming to BelmontNA to ask how they can get RPO to protect their investments and even pay for it. They see it as a benefit to say to future residents - That parking space in front of your house will never have a drunk puking up in it.

"Deep Ellum was a growing area - tons of money was being spent there and then it dried up because the patrons left. Now the buildings are vacant, the homeless problems are worse and the city is losing valuable sales tax revenue."

Deep Ellum went out of control (not my fault) and the property owners are working to bring it back. Period.

"Dallas is a fantastic city quit trying to destroy it! People need entertainment most of them work hard all week and play on the weekend - just because you don’t like it doesn’t make it wrong for others."

Hey, go play, go get drunk, do whatever you want. But don't expect me to accept your behavior on my street as normal, don't expect me to let you park in front of my house when I have the right to buy that space, and don't expect me to let bar owners determine what is good for me or my neighbors.

BTW - BelmontNA has 150 members, so obviously there are others who agree enough on most issues to come together and work to make our NEIGHBORHOOD (not the bars) a better place to live.

Get used to RPO - I have lots of phone calls from NEIGHBORS asking how fast we can get RPO on their street.

By the end of the year, you can expect to see at least three more streets go RPO. And they are streets you really need for free parking.

POOF! All gone.

Wow! You really can’t read your own chart.

“I have lived in Dallas for 30 years, which means I moved here when you were just getting into kindergarten.” Well, honey I’ve lived here for 36 years. But I am just the girl that started the page - there are lots of people (187) who are part of this – it is not about me it is about everyone. In fact the blog and the group forums are open for everyone to discuss the issues not just reserved for people who agree with me.

“As to your motorcycle shop friend, he is crying that he lost parking spaces on the side of the business. How can you lose what you never had. His legal spaces are the head-in spaces in front of the business. The side spaces were public spaces - a lucky bonus.” I can’t speak for him but since you brought him up I will share what I know. The spot in question was actually his loading zone. He didn’t renew the permit from the city because parking was such a nightmare down here it didn’t feel that it was right to take away another spot which is why he shares the spots in front of his shop that would normally be reserved for his customers.

I have talked to the developers down here and no one is ringing your phone asking for your help. I have talked to your neighbors same thing. I have talked to the business owners same thing. You are soliciting them to start a petition to get the streets RPO. You are not well liked around here most people just tolerate you – sad really, this is a great area that you can’t fully enjoy because most property owners have threatened you with trespass. Sad.

As to your 150 members – we are 187 and have only been around for four weeks you have been raising hell since 2003. It looks like more people agree with us than with you – sorry. No one blamed you for Deep Ellum it was merely brought to our attention that in the early eighties you tried the same shit down there and they ran you out.

If the city is going to allow you to make the streets RPO then the city needs to provide free public parking. The spot where Whole Foods is now would make a great spot. I should talk to my developer friends – they have lots of cash and lots of lawyers to deal with your objections. Have a great day – I have a couple of phone calls to make to my friends.

I stand by my original statement. Avi, you're a toad. Get a life, get a job, quit burning up my tax dollars on bogus complaints and shaking down the businesses on Greenville Avenue. Again, those poor, poor children!

It's no use arguing the he said she said arguments. You think you are right, I think I am right.

A few things do bear reply...

The City is NOT required to provide squat. It is the responsibility of the property owner and business person to find parking spaces under City Code.

And if you think the owners of the Whole Foods/Blockbuster property will allow the City to just build a parking lot on it, think again. There's no money in parking lots; it will probably become a mixed business-residential use.

As for the 1980s and Deep Ellum...

I just moved here in 1980 and could not find Deep Ellum on a map in a million years. My first visit to Deep Ellum was probably 1983 when a friend opened the Purple Giraffe T-Shirt shop next to Monica's. I never participated in any activities down there and have no idea where you get that crazy idea. No one threw my ass out of Deep Ellum because it was never there.

As for soliciting residents, there is nothing wrong in asking. So far we have asked and received the signatures for enough properties to file the RPO petitions. Many of them never even knew about RPO until we showed them the signs and law. Remember, the last time we RPO'd any streets was in 2000, and some of these folks moved in after that event.

And no one has ever threatened me with a trespass warning. Well, not counting some bar owners who did not realize they have no ownership of the public sidewalks.

Nuff said...

I live on one of the streets the will be Resident Only in a few weeks (I hope). I am not using my name since I don't want anyone scratching my car.
The Belmont NA folks sent a formal letter to each property owner, along with tons of backup paperwork, explaining how Resident Parking worked.
Until we got the packet, I had no idea the neighbors opted in to it, and just thought the City planted signs on streets close to Greenville.
Of the 12 houses on my street, 10 property owners signed the petition in the first two weeks (it was summer, so many of us were away on vacation).
I see no reason why my street should be considered public parking for the bar customers. If the City has a law that allows Resident Only, then who are you to tell me I can't do it?
The Belmont NA is paying the whole tab - $400 plus - and I defy you to find another neighborhood association that will put out that much money for one street!
You have to give Avi credit for asking for the Arcadia sign so they could sell it to raise money for Resident Only.
His ideas - and attitude - may offend you, but right now Belmont and Avi and all the members are the only thing standing between the bars and our houses.
Maybe you should move your bar somewhere else - like Interstate 35?

“And if you think the owners of the Whole Foods/Blockbuster property will allow the City to just build a parking lot on it, think again. There's no money in parking lots; it will probably become a mixed business-residential use.” Really. There is already talk about buying the property and converting it to public parking.

“If the City has a law that allows Resident Only, then who are you to tell me I can't do it?” Who am I? I am a citizen that pays taxes just like you and unless the city is only going to provide service to you that are paid for by your property tax that is my street too. It is a PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY so unless you want to pay for your own street repairs, police, fire, hospital, etc – the street belongs to me and everyone else in Dallas. I don't own a bar but I do support the efforts to have Resident Parking Only repealed – I think that the city overstepped when they allowed it.

“but right now Belmont and Avi and all the members are the only thing standing between the bars and our houses.” If you didn’t like the bars and the increased property values that the area has because of its desirable location due to the entertainment district then why the hell did you buy here? I don’t understand you guys – the bars were here, you moved here, deal with it. You are destroying people’s livelihoods – have you ever concerned what your actions are doing to other people? Not just bar owners but their employees and their families.

"Really. There is already talk about buying the property and converting it to public parking."
You check your sources, and I will check mine...

"Who am I? I am a citizen that pays taxes just like you and unless the city is only going to provide service to you that are paid for by your property tax that is my street too. It is a PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY so unless you want to pay for your own street repairs, police, fire, hospital, etc – the street belongs to me and everyone else in Dallas. I don't own a bar but I do support the efforts to have Resident Parking Only repealed – I think that the city overstepped when they allowed it."

RPO was made law in 1999 - where were you then?? There are cities all over the country that have RPO in one form or another. We are NOT owning the street, we are simply leasing the street from the city just like a valet (you know what that is) leases spaces and public right of way.

If you don't like RPO on a specific street, then convince 2/3rds of the owners to undo the process.

If you don't like RPO in Dallas, then go to City Hall and tell your councilmember you don't like it and see if he/she will work to revoke the law.

That is assuming of course, you live in Dallas. If you don't live here, then no one at City Hall cares what you think.

There are 14 RPO zones all over Dallas - Lower and Middle Greenville, Henderson Avenue, Deep Ellum, and Uptown, for example. do you think all those people who paid for RPO are going to give up their quiet streets so you barscum have a place to park and barf?? I doubt it.

Here is the first paragraph of the ordinance...

The purpose of this division is to promote the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of certain neighborhoods in the city of Dallas by addressing the problems that arise when residential streets are used for the parking of motor vehicles by persons using adjacent nonresidential parking generators, but who do not reside in the neighborhood. The establishment of resident-parking-only zones would reduce these problems, which include, but are not limited to, hazardous traffic conditions, air and noise pollution, litter, and inability of residents of these neighborhoods to obtain easy access to and adequate parking near their residences. (Ord. 23863)

"If you didn’t like the bars and the increased property values that the area has because of its desirable location due to the entertainment district then why the hell did you buy here? I don’t understand you guys – the bars were here, you moved here, deal with it. You are destroying people’s livelihoods – have you ever concerned what your actions are doing to other people? Not just bar owners but their employees and their families. "

I moved here in 1980 and bought this house in 1988 - does that mean all changes should stop when I moved here, or just when your bars opened up. Who has the right to stop the clock? And please don't credit the bars for increasing property values - they have gone up all over the County almost equally. In fact, a few neighbors, including me, have won appeals to the county to LOWER our values because we are so close to the scumbars. That is $10,000 in average savings.

We are not anti-bar, just anti-idiocy. If all the restaurants and so-called bars were to come into compliance (god, like the city will do anything), then most of them would have to close their doors.

There are a few good bar owners down here, and they understand why RPO is so important.

But I don't give a damn about bar employees working for the scumbars, their families or their problems, no more than they care about me.

Maybe they should ask the bar owner to cough up some parking places for the customers that are not in the neighborhood and see what they reply.

They made their own bed - that is their problem not mine.

"...so you barscum have a place to park and barf??"

The above phrase is how Avi sees all patrons of bars. He carefully words most his statements, but his true feelings and motives come out in verbage like this. My guess is that his stature and toadlike appearance have always put him at a disadvantage in social settings...like bars, bar mitzvahs and high school dances. When he saw these guys on the street, having the fun that his curse of a body had prevented him from having...it brought back all his old insecurities, and he wanted to somehow get revenge on all those who have ridiculed him all his life.

As for another one of his quotes...

"...please don't credit the bars for increasing property values - they have gone up all over the County almost equally. In fact, a few neighbors, including me, have won appeals to the county to LOWER our values because we are so close to the scumbars. That is $10,000 in average savings."

Here is an excerpt from a Jim Schutze column from less than a year ago...

"I did my own little study of real estate appraisals in the Lowest Greenville area, not hard to do in this day of online appraisal records and spreadsheets for dummies. I took 26 properties, a mix of single- and multi-family residential, old and new, half a block to a block off Lowest Greenville both east and west of the street, and I looked at appraised values between 2000 and 2006.

Hmmm. Those appraised values rose 74 percent in that time. Citywide values in the same period rose 32 percent. So the area surrounding Lowest Greenville beat the citywide rate of improvement by two-and-a-third times.

What about crime? I can safely say that those of us who have lived in that area care about crime more than we care about child health care. What did you think the big dog was for? We have learned the hard way that nothing good happens until, unless and right after you do something about crime.

Subject(s): Townhomes, everywhere
So I did a little crime study. Between 2003 and 2005 (the easiest full years for which I could get records), the Lowest Greenville area saw a decrease in crime that was two-and-a-half times faster than the citywide improvement for the same period, 30 percent versus 12 in total crimes reported.

When I tried to project numbers for all of 2006, the picture grew muddier, maybe because I'm a bad projector, maybe because it looks like we're headed for a pretty bad spike in crime citywide this year. But even at that, Lowest Greenville will beat the city by an even better ratio at the end of this year, according to my inexpert projection—a 10 percent dip near Greenville since 2003 versus a 5 percent hike for the city."

Hmmm... I think I trust Jim more than you, Avi. The fact that you have convinced someone in county government to lower your property taxes is just a testament to how well you have honed your skills at being a nuisance. People will cave to you because they are sick of your disgusting face. You are a lowlife and an extortionist.

Since I have a deadline today, my comments won't be anywhere as long as previous posts...

Re property values - the area's values have increased due to new development in the area, not because we are close to a so-called entertainment district. If you suddenly find a few $500,000 homes in your neighborhood, your values will go up.

Those homes are coming in due to people who are tired of commuting from Plano etc and want an in-town address close to Downtown. Throw in lower land values (compared to other areas like Uptown) and the results are predictable.

Re Crime - I cannot comment on the City vs Lower Greenville. I just got the stats for last month, and as usual our area has four times the crime of the area north of Belmont. Those stats will be posted in a day or two on the BelmontNA website.

Re you had me at hello - Your post was great and informative until that last sentence. In this case, you are - like others - shooting the messenger who is spoiling your drunken business bachanaal (sp?). You don't like the message (RPO is good for the residents, see KXAS news report last night) and the bars are breaking the law in so many ways. So you shoot the messenger and hope to silence the criticism.

Sorry, but that ain't gonna happen.

There are laws in Texas that relate to business interference. Now that Avi, vice president of the Belmont Neighborhood Association, has made his intentions perfectly clear on this post and many other occasions if I were a bar owner I would call my attorney and sue the Belmont Neighborhood Association (BNA). Free speech is protected however when one business (BNA) conducts business in a manner solely to close or interfere with the operations of another business (Lower Greenville business owners) the Texas law provides remedy (i.e. cash, closing of the offending business, etc.) Gentleman, get out your cell phones - Avi has screwed up BIG TIME!! Also, I am not sure because it is not my area of practice but since the BNA is a nonprofit and Avi is an officer his finances can be audited – extortion, kickbacks, misuse of funds and other phrases have been used with regards to him on several occasions. My unsolicited advise.

If Avi REALLY wants to clean up the neighborhood, tell him to clean up all the crap that is lying around in his front yard. I've seen code violations given for less...

Have a little pride Avi!

An answer to the so-called bar-owner...

Under your definition of interference, anyone who stands up and says your business is a negative impact on their neighborhood is liable for damages.

That is called a SLAPP suit - Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation.

The last time I heard garbage like that was when Red Jacket's John Kenyon hired a dumb attorney to tell the neighbor to stop calling 911 for noise issues.

Lessee - Red Jacket is gone, the neighbor is still there.

Puhlease, get a legal life and stop your whiney attitude postings. Do you really think RPO would be considered interfering with business just for taking back streets from your drunks?

As to another post about Whole Foods...

I have just spoken to one of the owners of the Whole Foods/Blockbuster property and here are his comments regarding the future of that property after Whole Foods leaves sometime next year...

1. Whole Foods has a seven (or eight?) lease on the property.

2. Why would anyone be so stupid as to tear down 30,000 sf of prime supermarket space (not counting Blockbuster's square footage) to build a losing proposition like a parking lot??

3. I never ever sell my properties. I just sold the first piece of property I ever bought in Dallas after nearly 50 years, but when someone comes to you with a gun in one hand and cash for triple the value, then you listen.

When it doubt, ask for the legal documents...

Tortious Interference with a Business Relationship

Recovery for tortious interference with prospective business relations must be limited to conduct that was independently tortious or wrongful.

The plaintiff “must prove that the defendant’s conduct would be actionable under a recognized tort.”

Conduct that is merely “sharp” or unfair is not actionable, and cannot be the basis of an action for tortious interference with business relations. 52 S.W.3d at 726.

Why don't you guys just retaliate in kind? Start up a website called The Muzzle. Follow Avi around with a camcorder. Encourage people to call the cops when he harasses them.

I'd be more impressed if he did something more than chase drunk boys around with a camcorder and post the names of people arrested for public intox (BTW, it's a misdemeanor. Why don't you post the names of everyone pulled over for speeding in the neighborhood, too? Maybe some code enforcement violations and some jaywalking tickets.)

I've yet to see Avi Adelman come up with a solution that's amenable to all parties, which is why so many have a problem with his argument. The best way to get people to see reason isn't harrassing them with a video camera when they're drunk.

Come up with a solution, Avi, instead of just pointing out the problem on a continuous basis. Is there possibly a way to get some central parking, and the merchants invest in a shuttle? Or is the root of your problem the demon drink?

Dear Beth

We in the neighborhood have come up with a solution, but for some reason the City can't seem to follow through on their stop / start actions.

Audit the bars (started, stopped), verify the certificates of occupancy (started, stopped) and make everyone come into compliance with the existing zoning.

It's called 'leveling the playing field'. After that, we can all have a nice discussion with the maybe ten businesses down here that are legal.

In the meantime, get your butts off our streets. A few residents on another street just started the petition process to RPO their street.

And this one is gonna hurt worse than La Vista or Richmond.

"When it doubt, ask for the legal documents..."

Nice use of Google. I found the exact statement in about ten seconds too.

But do you know how to interpret it? I do and you are directly interfering with the business relationships of the business on Greenville Avenue not with just RPO but with everything else that you do harassing customers, harassing owners, publishing false information, etc.

I am glad that people in the area are starting to stand up to you because you have harassed them for too many years. RPO was designed for residents who needed the parking not for neighbors who are trying use a poorly worded ordinance to run businesses out of an area because they have decided that they don’t like it anymore. I will join the others in asking the same questions yet again … Why did you move here if you didn’t want to live in the heart of the Greenville Avenue Entertainment District?

Heck if you want to be a bar owner, mind if I play lawyer?

Lets see how my conversation goes.

Bar Owner: I want to sue Avi, and the BNA and the LGWNA, and the LGNA, All those neighborhood groups.
Lawyer : Sure we can do that.

Bar Owner: Can I sue the residents too I want the parking to be valet all up and down the streets
Lawyer : Yeah we threatened the residents by Red Jacket years ago when they called 911 for noise violations. Might not win though, Red Jacket went under. You being a bar owner, You wouldn’t know where those owners are they owe me money?

Bar Owner: Uh no. Well what can I do about the pesky residents?
Lawyer : You could ask them to remove the RPO’s

Bar Owner: Uh, well they might be mad ‘cause my drunk patrons roll into their ‘hood and piss on the lawns, puke on their cars, fight the other drunks, and throw bottles in the street. Think they’ll do it?
Lawyer : No. Well then, lets get back to your lawsuit. Now lets get some paperwork. Let me google some law real quick. Ahh SLAPP suits, this sounds nice. I bet we could use that to keep your BAR humming along. What’s the name of your BAR?

Bar Owner: OK, but before we start you can’t call me a BAR. I’m a “restaurant.”
Lawyer: Oh I didn’t know you had a menu. Heck do you even have a kitchen?
Bar Owner: No we don’t but we have to say that so we can be in compliance with the city code and zoning laws.

Lawyer: Do we have a zoning issue here?
Bar Owner: Not if the city chooses not to enforce it. See if they do I better grow a kitchen and a menu. Heck 26% of my sales would have to be like non alcohol related.
Lawyer: Bummer. So if I file this suit it has to be truthful, cause perjury is really bad. Anything we can do get you call it a BAR since it’s not really a restaurant?
Bar Owner: Uh It would require I get a special use permit to make it a bar.
Lawyer: Great lets get one, then we can file your suit

Bar Owner: Uh can’t. See that requires approval of the community, aka those folks I have been pissing/puking/screwing over on the last 10 years.
Lawyer: I see, well can you turn your self into a restaurant and serve enough food? You could be like the Blue Goose, Dubliner, or The Grape. That’s a great entertainment district!

Bar Owner: Well, what’s the point of being a bar then? Besides those places are zoned like we are, they just adhere to it up there. This is lowest Greenville, don’t you get it! We call it an entertainment district regardless of what it’s zoned for.

Lawyer: So let me get this right, you’re running a business you’re not zoned for, in an area that has never been zoned anything other than residential retail and you want to sue anyone opposed to keeping your business operating outside of the zoning and city coding laws?
Bar Owner: Well yes, but I wouldn’t put it like that. Find some fancy legal terms on google like you did before and help me. I need to be able to sue Avi and the BNA, LGWNA, LGNA the residents, City Ville, The Developers, hell lets add the city council too. But you also need to protect me from the city code and zoning. That’s a secret we’ve been able to keep for 10 years.

Lawyer: Hey I’m trying. Before we go any further I think I need $200,000 up front to handle your suit.

Bar Owner: Can’t I just go on a contingency? If you win I’ll pay you.
Lawyer: Sorry, as great an internet google lawyer I am, I’m afraid your going to go Red Jacket on me.

Enjoy the sarcasm. There is much more to the relationships/problems/solutions around lower Greenville than you can shake Avi at. Argue all you want. The businesses, developers, restaurants, restaurants with bars, residents, city council, mayor, police etc, have been working on various proposals for quite a while. It moves slowly for some and quickly for others. Communities rarely stay the same; it’s going to change into something all of those parties eventually shape it into. There is way too much to discuss in just one emotional retort after another in a blog. But I am glad for one LG is finally getting some attention. IMHO it’s on the way to being even cooler than before. This is no Deep Ellum, way too much $ invested here, and way to active a community.

Come down I’ll buy you all a drink.

Same question - same answer...

When I moved here in 1980, the only entertainment on Lower Greenville - aside from a biker bar or two - was north of this area.

Say, Lower Greenville Bar & Grill, etc

This was - and is - an area zoned Community Retail.

So my question to you - If the bars are so damn intent on being here, why won't they agree to audits, proper zoning, and all the other things that go with being a restaurant?

Answer - They are not restaurants, they are scumbars disguised as restaurants.

As to RPO being a tool of the proletariat, hey read the ordinance...

The purpose of this division is to promote the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of certain neighborhoods in the city of Dallas by addressing the problems that arise when residential streets are used for the parking of motor vehicles by persons using adjacent nonresidential parking generators, but who do not reside in the neighborhood. The establishment of resident-parking-only zones would reduce these problems, which include, but are not limited to, hazardous traffic conditions, air and noise pollution, litter, and inability of residents of these neighborhoods to obtain easy access to and adequate parking near their residences. (Ord. 23863)

That looks pretty clear to me - if the residents don't like their streets being used by bar patrons, and they have the money and petitions signed, then they can - and will - buy back their streets.

I would like to say that the bar owners might organize, hire an attorney, and sue the City over the law.

But that will never happen. These guys cannot organize a group fart, only care about their own interests and not of their (business) neighbors, and probably are smarter than the average drunk patron in realizing that suing the city over the ordinance is a long and drawn out waste of money.

And a really bad public relations move too.

Nuff said.

Have a nice weekend :)

Okay, yes, I admit it! I bought my house on Lower Greenville five years ago JUST so my wife and I could walk to lower greenville, have dinner, even get shit faced drunk and not have to drive home.

But we worked our asses off to buy this $300,000 house. We worked overtime, we took on tough projects, and we saved and saved our pennies.

But just because I bought this wonderful house near lower greenville does NOT mean you have the right to park puke, piss, or have sex on or near my flower bed.

Just because you travel all the way from Plano to party on lower greenville does not give you the right to come across my property line for any fucking reason whatsoever.

So take your business - and your body fluids - somewhere else.

Or I might just trace your license plate and call your mommy and daddy.

With all due respect to the anonymous young "Save Lower Greenville-ites" there are two entities to blame for the problems on Lower Greenville. The first is the City of Dallas for creating a situation that, in order to achieve the desired outcome (a so-called "entertainment district"), the city would have to "look the other way" when it would come to enforcing certain laws and ordinances.

The second entity is the set of bar owners who made investments in businesses betting that laws/ordinances would not be enforced. Anytime aspects of your business are contingent upon dishonesty, you're just buying time until something legitimate comes along to throw you a curve ball.

The curve balls are beginning to hit, now, as the city enforces parking. If the homeowner's associations are successful in getting the "restaurants" (you know, those "restaurants" that don't serve food and have no kitchen) audited, you'll see a bunch more problems crop up for some of the businesses.

Dallas needs to figure out if it is in the city's best interest to have an "entertainment district" the likes of Lower Greenville. As soon as the decision is made, ordinances need to be put into place to shape it into whatever is in the public's interest.

The pandemonium that has existed in certain areas for years probably needs to be reshaped.

Dear yet another lower greenville resident,

I too am a lower Greenville resident and think that you guys are missing the mark. I have never chased anyone off of my lawn for having sex or anything else. In fact, the only problems that I have had in the area are directly related to the increased homeless population in our neighborhood. I have chased naked homeless out of my yard, I have called the police when the homeless have gone door to door checking to see if a house is open and I have been constantly harassed for money outside the local stores. The homeless problem is the most important issue at hand right now not bar patrons parking on our street. While the traffic is irritating it is not unbearable. Your house is worth $300,000 because the area is desirable and that is due in large part to the bars - telling its patrons to go away is idiotic. I am sick of our neighborhood refusing to even consider that we might not end up like Deep Ellum because of all of the money being poured into the area. Deep Ellum had millions of dollars poured into that didn’t stop if from being abandoned and the property loosing value. Don’t fool yourself by thinking that the same can’t happen in our neighborhood. I do think that the neighborhood is making a huge mistake with RPO and allowing someone like Avi to be the spokesperson for the area. He is the last person on earth that should try to make people obey laws and ordinances. I agree with the others who say that he is a menace. I am embarrassed by his actions - it makes us all look like nuts and makes any argument for improvement look like the ravings of a mad man.

You do have a choice when it comes to Resident Parking Only on your street... Don't sign the petition, and convince your neighbors to not sign the petition. If the petition does not include signatures of two-thirds of the property owners, it cannot be submitted.

That is your only option.

I seriously doubt that anyone who cares about their property values (no matter the source of that value) will have a problem deciding that RPO is a good thing to have.

There are 14 streets with RPO today, and more to follow.

No one had to twist anyone's arms to make them sign the petition.

And here's a prescient move to consider...

When RPO was placed on 1900 Hope Street, all that stood there were five or six (?) houses that could only be described as politely delapidated. Four years later, the houses were gone, but the RPO remained - the property owners were not interested in giving it up.

Two years ago, Hope Street Commons was built. And RPO was still there to protect the residents in their $300,000 house.

RPO works!

These drunks need to get over it. As I have suggested to AVI, he just needs to start identifying himself as a PAPARAZZI and that he is filming them because their behavior makes them INFAMOUS.

If it is OK for Paris Hilton and others it should be good enough for them.

Smile, you are on BarkingDog Camera. (Avi Aldeman, the next Alan Fundt)

It's spelled FUNT

I remember Alan Funt

I watched Alan Funt

I am no Alan Funt

Sorry Avi, no disrespect intended. I just think it is FUNNY that these drunks seem to think they have all the rights and others have none.

People need to remember with the Internet and the instant communications possible today that anything & everything can come back to haunt you.

Overall I miss the old Greenville ave. I remember going to the Granada Theatre 20 years ago for an enjoyable movies& being able to walk across the street for a nice dinner date. There was plenty of parking back then, because there wasnt all the BAR's & such. What shops there were, closed after 6:00pm and shared their parking with the restaurants. They worked together in harmony. Unlike the arrogant Bars & such today. I agree with Avi in that I would love to see Greenville Ave become a place with Uniquie Eatires and shops where a person can take a date for a nice evening out. And this doesnt have to include 120+ Deciebal music & getting drunk where you end up acting like an IDIOT.

I just hit the link that said "Save Lower Greenville"... I was curious to see what the site was like... you know the one with "186 members".. the link sent me to raunchy "meet friends and have sex" web site....
not surprising.

Think about what the bars have been saying to the average resident for years:
1. We don't have to comply with any codes.
2. We don't have to provide parking for our patrons - that's what your street is for.
3. If our patrons use your street as a parking lot, bathroom, or trash dump, too bad. You're not living in a neighborhood, you're imposing on an "entertainment district".
I admire Avi for being the one person who wouldn't roll over and take it.
Who am I? One of those "creatives" that Liles flatters himself that he is, relocated from Dallas to Austin.

"I just hit the link that said "Save Lower Greenville"... I was curious to see what the site was like... you know the one with "186 members".. the link sent me to raunchy "meet friends and have sex" web site....
not surprising."

Really? I just used it and went straight to the myspace page.

As far as bars complying with code - no one ever said that they didn't need to obey the rules. We would be happy to park in a garage but Avi has made it perfectly clear that the Belmont Neighborhood Association has and will continue to fight a garage. We object to Avi (and pals) using public street parking as an extortion tactic. Doing so is harassing patrons and putting their security in jeopardy. He is trying to hurt people (“And this one is gonna hurt worse than La Vista or Richmond.” ). He is not trying protect investments or whatever line of crapping he is spewing today

Let's clarify two points -

Parking garage - Every neighborhood association in the area will oppose a parking garage. Why?

The property owners have told us for years: If we build a parking garage, we will charge for parking. It will not be included in any of the business counts for 'free and required' offstreet parking (city code).

They will fight any attempts to make the whole neighborhood RPO.

In plain English, they want to add nearly 300 spaces for a profit and STILL have access to the neighborhood streets.

RPO - read the ordinance. It is designed to allow PROPERTY OWNERS the right to protect their investments and their safety.

The purpose of this division is to promote the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of certain neighborhoods in the city of Dallas by addressing the problems that arise when residential streets are used for the parking of motor vehicles by persons using adjacent nonresidential parking generators, but who do not reside in the neighborhood. The establishment of resident-parking-only zones would reduce these problems, which include, but are not limited to, hazardous traffic conditions, air and noise pollution, litter, and inability of residents of these neighborhoods to obtain easy access to and adequate parking near their residences. (Ord. 23863)

No one gives a rats ass what drunk bar patrons think about the loss of their beloved spaces.

And if you don't live on a street that is either already ROP'd or considering it, no one gives a rats ass what you think either.

Your MySpace page is a joke. You would not know a correct fact if it hit you.

No one twisted anyone's arm to make them sign an RPO petition. In fact, the property owners are coming to us begging for RPO - because many of them had no idea it was available.

And the fact that a neighborhood association has the money to do it makes it a better deal.

Neighborhoods all over Dallas have RPO. Do you think the different council reps will listen to you drunken slobs who do not live in their district (let alone the City of Dallas) crying about lost parking spaces before they listen to their constituents when it comes to your pleas to repeal ROP?

Now, I do have some good news...

We have found a trove of untouched parking spaces right next to Lower Greenville. They are quiet streets just waiting for you to park your ass on them. And, amazingly, they welcome you and oppose Resident Only Parking...

http://www.barkingdogs.org/news/node/409

“anonymous young "Save Lower Greenville-ites" – Anonymous? The myspace page contains links to the myspace pages of the more than 190 people and businesses that support the effort.

"You would not know a correct fact if it hit you.” Really? The myspace page contains quotes from either your page or the BNA page so if the facts are incorrect it is your fault not mine.

I am not going to waste my time arguing with you. Your days of harassment and extortion are over - we have had enough of you. If half of the things that we have heard about you are true then you should spend your time cleaning up your own life instead of wasting time harassing others.

Is anyone else sick of Rob Reiner's Mini-Me?

Have to love it when Avi gores the drunks and the people who serve them. Their frothing is truly amusing

I for one keep hoping that the city will grow a spine and enforce the resturant issue. It would deadly to the bar owners currently ruining the neighborhood

ready to get wild

Does anyone have advise on how to take back our streets once the petition has been signed? Bars are fine and the people should have a right to them but the streets are being plaqued and its not fair to the rest of us who have to endure being harassed on the streets.

wow avi makes me want to come from ohio to drive through his yard, wile pissing on his rose bush through my window, wile my passengers are either fucking or vomiting on his paint job. then i might stop at the bar so i can be god and drunk, because no one can go to a bar have a good time and walk out with out being totally hammered, come back and be really loud so i can be on video!!!! loser.

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