Because it's never too late for, um, art. The above photo comes, of course, from Saturday's Greenville Ave. St. Patrick's Day Parade, and it's courtesy council member Angela Hunt -- who has plenty more just like it available on her blog. --Robert Wilonsky
i like the picture with the Observer banner, the Hare Krsna brochure and a Jager bottle. it says something, haven't figured it out yet
There seems to be a focus of these pictures on the trash left behind. I'm sorry but if Dallas wants to be a host and attract big events, "the poweres that be" are just going to have to accept that crowds are inherently messy and irresposible and expect city workers or someone else to clean up after them. I'm not saying that is morally correct, just a fact. This cannot seem a problem. Even if there is some overintoxication of some people, officials should look the other way and as long as there is no violence or profound property damage being done I would consider trash a minor problem and something to be easily solved with brooms and street sweepers. New Orleans, evn though devastated by Katrina can still find a way to have Mrdi Gras, Superbowls, Final Fours, etc. I don't know if Ms. Hunt is one, but just because there are a few high ranking Christian fundamentalists in the city government who frown on dancing and drinking, Dallas really needs to let go a little bit. Parades like this and the successful one thrown for Mardi Gras at Victory Park earlier this year should be encouraged and promoted by the City.
Clearly city officials planned accordingly and made sure there were enough trash receptacles along the parade route.
Not that I really needed the affirmation, but man am I glad I went down to Austin for SXSW last weekend.
Completely Unrelated picture, but really funny. What is that guy thinking? I mean really? Checking out that ass? http://angelahunt.com/photos/photo.asp?image=2008/01_January/2008.01.10_-_Opera_House_Topping_Out_Ceremony/005_Opera_House_Topping_Out_Ceremony.jpg
I'd like to second what Jb said above. I mean, it's only day out of the year, not several weeks like Mardi Gras in New Orleans.
Oh, give me a break. Nice how no one linked to the pictures of the cleanup crew she also has posted on her site.
http://angelahunt.com/photos/photo.asp?image=2008/03_March/2008.03.15_-_St_Patrick%60s_Day/476_St_Patrick%60s_Day_-_Parade_Aftermath.jpg
http://angelahunt.com/photos/photo.asp?image=2008/03_March/2008.03.15_-_St_Patrick%60s_Day/478_St_Patrick%60s_Day_-_Parade_Aftermath.jpg
http://angelahunt.com/photos/photo.asp?image=2008/03_March/2008.03.15_-_St_Patrick%60s_Day/480_St_Patrick%60s_Day_-_Parade_Aftermath.jpg
http://angelahunt.com/photos/photo.asp?image=2008/03_March/2008.03.15_-_St_Patrick%60s_Day/482_St_Patrick%60s_Day_-_Parade_Aftermath.jpg
http://angelahunt.com/photos/photo.asp?image=2008/03_March/2008.03.15_-_St_Patrick%60s_Day/484_St_Patrick%60s_Day_-_Parade_Aftermath.jpg
http://angelahunt.com/photos/photo.asp?image=2008/03_March/2008.03.15_-_St_Patrick%60s_Day/488_St_Patrick%60s_Day_-_Parade_Aftermath.jpg
I've attended the parade for years and to be honest, it was the least trashy I've seen. (The Lovers/Greenville area is always going to be bad due to the huge parking lot party, natch.) You've got a parade route over 2 miles long and these pictures only take issue with about the last quarter of that.
At least it was cleaned up that same day. Judging by the pictures on Mrs. Hunt's site, the block party cleanup went into Sunday.
With all due respect, what are these photos intended to document? That parades and crowds of people make a mess? That the city doesn't adequately prepare for mass gatherings? That drunken frat boys and their sorority sisters can't hold their liquor? I'm with the other posters, this isn't a church social, it's the biggest party of the year in Big D (I'm still trying to figure out why...) and probably one, if not the only, tradition that this city holds dear.
I am with Erich, whats the purpose of all these photos? That Angela actually gets out and works? I don't see the point.
YES, parties are messy, and people get drunk!
Unrelated, but this is my favorite pic on her blog. I don't know whether I'm scared or turned on.
I was at the parade again this year and it was much more of a mess than the year before. While I agree that the city should place more trashcans along greenville, there is no excuse for people to live like pigs and just throw trash wherever the hell they want to. There were bottles, cans, and cigarette butts all over the street. I walked from Caruth all the way to Mockingbird and there was a line of trash the entire street.
There is no excuse to throw garbage every step when you can either pile it up next to the trash can that is full or bring your own freaking trash bag to your tailgate party/party area.
No excuse. Act like adults.....college frat parties are over.
Why should the City put anything out for the trash???
Last time I checked - and I was in every meeting between the neighborhoods, bars and police - these are all private events.
That goes for the parade, the party and the post-party party.
All the sponsoring groups made a butt-load of money, whether it was from selling $600 fees for putting your car in the parade, to the $5 admission fee for the caged drunks (not counting the overpriced food).
The City had to force the bars to hire more cops, put them under one commanding officer (not the bar owners), pay for more NO PARKING signs, and clean up the mess.
A neighborhood party has become a regional event, sort of like dropping Texas Stadium on your neighborhood once a year.
Every year the NO PARKING zones go out further and further.
I guess when Highland Park and Lakewood Heights complains about the drunks in their neighborhoods, we might see the end of this event.
"A neighborhood party has become a regional event, sort of like dropping Texas Stadium on your neighborhood once a year."
sounds awesome.
"I guess when Highland Park and Lakewood Heights complains about the drunks in their neighborhoods, we might see the end of this event."
the day lower greenville becomes as stuffy as highland park, is the day i move out.
Here we go...............
I lived 2 blocks off Greenville fo 8 years on Vickery. Before that I lived in L.A. near the Hollywood sign where people would bitch about too many tourists driving up in the Hills to see it. And before that I lived here in Dallas where my parents would take me to the Greenvlle Avenue parade growing up. I loved every year the St. Paddys parade and block Party went on. I finally grew out of it and MOVED. Well, I didn't move because of St. Paddys, I actually had withdrawls this year. But I moved further east as the market opened up for me to afford a better house.
"A neighborhood party has become a regional event, sort of like dropping Texas Stadium on your neighborhood once a year."
Damn right and we should be so lucky (pun intended). This celebration gives character and soul to this city. It is now famous for it and if 100,000 people show up for it then the city should give in and allow the people what they want as long as there is no violence and outright vandalism. People tell you this all the time and I have read your responses before Avi, but MOVE if this is a serious problem for you. It is not going to go just because you bitch every year about it being a neighborhood. Because its in a neighborhood it gives the event its charm. Renters and real estate agents love it as it brings people into the area to see what a beautiful neighborhood it is in all its glory. I pay taxes too and I have no problem with any of it going to pay for extra city workers to maintain the event. The City makes money on ticketing, towing, and the few who abuse this time and get arrested. The local proprietors from The Parkit Market to The Dubliner make a lot of money too. How can you bitch about the bars and sponsors making a ton of money and in the same sentence bitch that they have to spend more of that money to hire cops? It was here before you were and its going to keep growing. I applaud Ms. Hunts activism and her apparent help in enforcing trash ordinances and by Sunday the area looked great. I work on Greenville near the Meadows building and there was hardly any trash on our property Monday. I say keep it going. By the way I grew up in Highland Park too and I had no problem with the trash all over Curtis Park after the 4th of July parades or the nuisance from the "importing" of kids and traffic on Halloween and during Christmas to see the lights on Beverly. The city budgets and prepares for it just fine. I think for the past few years Dallas and the Police do an excellent job at preparing for St. Paddy's too. I think all these areas of Dallas and HP deserve the exposure during these events to show what a great area of Texas this is. The only thing that really annoys me is barking dogs that keep on barking when there is no real danger.
This is one the great events in the nation now. I grew up in East Dallas and am proud that we host it - I have guests flying in literally from both coasts and in-between for this parade and it grows every year.
It's one day a year Avi, please don't spoil it for the young and young at heart (who can also all be Irish for one day). Lakewood and East Dallas are laid-back and friendly and always have been.
Let's take a look at your comments and show they are actually not positive statements...
But first - let me remind you that I was on the St. Patrick's Day Committee this year. I was one of the few residents who actually supported the event getting a permit WITH new requirements.
The rep from LGWNA and a few LGNA folks opposed any permit being issued no matter the conditions.
My logic - There will be a party no matter what (albeit without a closed street). We can have a party with a permit and cops and control, or we can have a no-permit event with no cops, no controls, no nada.
You mention the Highland Park parade, which is a city-sponsored event. The city assumes the liability for the event and takes the tax money for cleaning etc.
Same for the Xmas lights - the City assumes the expense and responsibilities for it.
The events on all of Greenville are NOT city-sanctioned or sponsored events. The City Council does not approve or disapprove them.
They are PRIVATE parties that need permits by code. The permit requirements are based on crowds, health, safety, traffic, etc.
This year's permit called for more cops (done), more parking restrictions (done), more cleanup (debatable) and more control by DPD (done).
Those requirements were based on input by the DPD, the residents (neighborhood associations) and the council rep (Hunt). Were they enough?? I don't have that answer. But by the time we get to the post-event evaluation meetings, we will know.
How much did the event cost? We don't know yet. Heck, we don't even know what previous events cost because no one tracked the expenses the way they were tracked this year.
Next year, there MAY be more cops, there MAY be more signs, there MAY be more crowd restrictions.
The question that many of us are asking is - When is this event going to be too big for the neighborhood? I believe we passed that point last year, and even with the new parking restrictions south of Belmont (including new RPO zones) we still have problems with access and crowds.
There are many residents who think it's cool.
Fine. There are probably just as many who think it's a problem.
And there is third-camp that has no opinion and may even leave the area.
But that is no reason for you to tell me to move out of the area. You lower yourself to the same level as the bar owners who complain about Resident Parking taking away their free parking spaces on our streets.
There is no 'we were here first' rule of occupancy - I have been here 30 years but I have no more right to tell the bars to leave than they tell me to leave. But I do have the right to petition (with the signatures of the residents on the streets, not mine) for Resident Parking Only streets, the right to pay for it with association funds, and the right to demand safety for my neighborhood on this weekend.
BTW - Kiss more streets goodbye, as two more will soon be RPO'd. By next year, we will hit our goal of 10 streets being RPO in the BelmontNA area.
The City of Dallas makes no profit on towing or tickets - they are revenue neutral and not counted towards the budget.
The City makes no money on liquor sales - less than 1% of what you drink comes back to the City's general fund, and that is way less than the City pays for the cops, barricades, staff that were not paid for by the bars on this weekend.
Bottom Line - These are private events and there is no reason any taxpayer should see their money go towards these events. If the bars can't pay for the cops required based on attendance etc, then they should not get the permits.
The event does not contribute to the bottom line of real estate agents. The ones I deal with purposely do not show their properties on this weekend - heck, how would they get around.
And most of the visitors are too inebriated to know the difference between Tudor and Craftsman homes anyway.
Has anyone been to Austin for ACL? It's a model of how events ought to be run. Same with SXSW. And I don't like Austin better than Dallas. I live here by choice. But they are better at making decisions as a city. Then again, who isn't?
Point of attribution. For some reason my last posting is flagged as submitted by ANONYMOUS.
That was a mistake, and I take full credit for the posting.
Hey, Robert, can you fix that label??
ASA
Doesn't this come down to the perception of type of people that live in this city and the perception of the people that live in our great East Dallas neighborhood?
I love the event, but you just have to deal with some of the negatives. Thanks to guys like Avi, the event gets a little better for the residents every year.
It is simple; we the Eastern Bloc do not like what we perceive the rest of Dallas represents. Not that we don't have this in our neighborhood, but we live here to get away from the element that floods into the area every St. Patrick's Day and weekend night.
We do not want your huddled masses of douchebag yearning to flaunt your peacock hair and shiny striped shirts.
Each year we seem to get closer to the happy medium of party, security, clean-up, etc. The neighborhood groups, businesses and City of Dallas spend countless hours planning this event. There will always be some people who don't want it regardless of how well controlled it is and there will be some who don't want any restrictions on their partying in the neighborhood. One of the things I have noticed is the growth of front yard parties in the neighborhood that are beyond the control of the event planners. On Sunday, as I walked around the area, I saw much more trash in front yards next to table and chairs and other evidence of a home party. I wonder how much of the trash pictured on Lower Greenville was event-related and how much was home parties.
Is that girl getting arrested or taking a leak?
Posted at: March 20, 2008 1:26 PM