Greenville Ave. Restaurant Association Tells Hunt, Medrano It's Against PDD Ordinance

• @ J E K GARA = Restaurants Association??

• The BNA voted with Avi abstaining? I bet that ballot box didn't take long to count. Avi doesn't just work for the restaurants; he works for the GARA. I'd bet he wrote this letter. But I don't think he should have to resign from anything. BNA doesn't have any credibility to lose.

• Avi also now works for the new bar aasociations just formed on lowest Greenville. He should resign from all BNA offices.

• to Jay - did i say something to tick you off? to all - The Belmont Neighborhood Association voted to endorse the proposal. But their announcement said Avi abstained from voting due to his work for the restaurants.

• I have gone to eat and enjoy live music on Greenville since 1979,I went to Deep Elm as a child when my family owned Blue's club,I enjoyed West End when I worked downtown.I stopped going to deep Elm when white skin heads took over,zoning did not change,white drunks took over Greenville ave and I stopped going zoning did not change,Blacks going to West End merchants started to leave.I know some young Hispanics shoot and cut after clubs close but,that's a small group.Why does Dallas only use zoning to close clubs and Bars when Black or Brown people are involved,white young people have the same disruptive behavior but nothing is done,police presence is increased but zoning and closing down the venue does not happen.I saw what Skin Heads did to Deep Elm,Black kids did nothing near what Skin heads did.Now Deep Elm is dead.What convention is coming to a dead City?

• Doesn't Ms. Hunt's proposal create a huge potential for corruption? If a few city council members are in a position to determine the fates of these businesses, then there's an enormous incentive for the business owners to �cozy up� to the council members any way they can. I'm sure Ms. Hunt doesn't see herself as corrupt or corruptible, but if her proposal is adopted, it will likely outlast her tenure on the council, and there is no guarantee that her successors will be as squeaky clean as she.

• I would also add that the idea that the bars are not the only ones responsible for the complete lack of balance in this area. The city could incentivize a wider range of venues by bettering the streets and other conditions. This should be without preconditions, as regardless of what businesses are here the area is one of the few walkable areas of the city. The bars not abiding by their CO's could be punished accordingly. Importantly, the police could alter their approach to the neighborhood by attempting to work as allies to the 99% of patrons who only want to have a good time without being harrassed or involved in dangerous situations. Currently, the approach the DPD takes is purely adversarial to every patron. Many fights and incidents begin simply because people don't trust the officers nearby to tell them about incidents before they get out of hand, instead attempting to resolve such issues themselves. Neighbors could acknowledge that they live 2 minutes from the downtown of a major metropolitan area, not in Frisco. Patrons could be encouraged (not prodded) by better signage, clearer parking restrictions, and many other means, to act with more deference to the neighbors. It's ok to get creative in how many of these solutions are implemented, but this is the kind of proportional balance the neighborhood needs to thrive. Yet all we talk about is the "scum bars" and the "scum patrons." None of these other things are allowed to be part of the discussion? Then we're not going to get anywhere fast.

• @David I have a holier than thou attitude? BS My "attitude" on the subject is as clear as can be. Crime statistics do not show this area to have 11 times the amount of "violence and gunfire", break ins and deaths as other entertainment districts in this city. YET despite this, you've got 11 times the police presence. Why? What's different? There IS a problem with some bad actors on Lower Greenville. Lost Society was a crap hole, and I am completely willing to recognize this. Yet, the place was and could have been shut down and the problem was stopped through "normal" channels, not through the establishment of a "special zoning district". That's unnecessary when the problem can be solved by simply enforcing existing laws and regulations. It's all about proportions, and just as with the disproportional police presence the response to the "problem" by neighborhood groups and Hunt with this PDD is NOT proportional to the problem. It is not by any stretch of the imagination and it does not make me holier than thou to make this assessment. I live off Greenville as I've stated before. And it does frustrate me greatly to see people blindly accept the imposition of a completely disproportional response which exacerbates tensions in this area on a nightly basis. The pepper ball incident is the PERFECT example of what I'm talking about. I've seen overworked and stressed cops go off on people for just stepping out into the street. Then you see fights break out over peanuts. It's all a matter of balance, from the patrons to the police to the neighborhood. That balance is completely out of wack and punishing ALL with elaborate new measures to get at a few so called bad actors who can ALREADY BE REACHED for violation of various restrictions is yet more of this same disproportionate response. And the reason I think race HAS to come up in this discussion is because the side of the street and the venues viewed as the most deserving of this dis proportionality is populated mostly by young hispanics, of which I am not one but to say it doesn't raise an eyebrow is intellectual dishonesty at its worst.

• San Francisco Rose food sucks.

• This is long overdue. The city is spending too much money having to patrol this area something has to be done. I drive through here a lot on the weekend and i have never seen so many police in one area anywhere in Dallas. I still go to a few places in the area and it is a very mixed crowd � it is not about wanting the clients to look like uptown but I don�t think it is too much to ask that they act like uptown and not require this level of police presence.

• Living in the area, I see the need to restrict some of the activities that go on down here. It can be a messed up place some days. Despite the good intentions, I could not support this approach either. The CO's are not being enforced and SUP's are just a round about way to try and make a new set of regulations, hoops to jump through that have the same enforcement issue. Violate a CO or violate an SUP is what the fake restaraunts will do while only penalizing the great establishments. If I recall SUP's are also transferable where a CO is not (I may be incorrect) But would that not mean I could have a restaruant with an SUP, close shop within the SUP time frame and open as a bar until the expiration of the SUP? Enforce the CO's and then lets talk about SUP's. I don't trust any of the associations (Business or Homeowner to get this right) Throwing more gov't at the problem is not the solution either. Enforcing what is already on the books is a start. Side note, Hunt's idea is well intended. People have been shouting there is a problem here that needs to be solved for a long time. At the very least people are talking about and planning what they want to see down here. If CO's are unenforceable, then really the focus should be on what can be done to change that, not this work around. If politically, budget wise etc. it's not possible to enfoce a CO, then fine, convince us this is the only way for now. Other wise let us vote with our $. R

• to danger - I agree with the premise that if any bars gotta go, the bad ones should be the first against firing squad wall. And no blanks.

• My apologies for the misinformation concerning Belmont, but still quite a few of the NAs out there that are looking to grind an axe because of a few bad neighbors. As someone who lives in Deep Ellum, we're seeing the neighborhood bounce back, but its because we did the SUP process the RIGHT way, which was to target bars who were the cause of trouble. Since then, Ellum has begun to see the seeds of proper regrowth, but it was done with everyone involved, including the city, business AND the citizens. Thats what should happen in this situation. I say sure, target the idiots who rather start trouble than force everyone (i.e. good resturants and retail) to play a costly game to stay in business.

• to von danger Ms Hunt said in the tape from the meeting that only four out five neighborhood associations have voted to approve the PD. The fifth is BelmontNA, which is my association. And I think they are going to wait until after the meeting to make a decision. Also, Avi is AGAINST the PD for all the same reasons (minus the racial content) that is listed above your comment. http://www.barkingdogs.org/news/node/737

• GARA makes a very serious point here, why not go after these bars acting as "rogue restaurants" and shut them down ASAP instead of trying to create some sort of moronic SUP overlay to please people like Avi and his malcontent "Neighborhood Association" lot. Oh, thats right, that would require the city to get off their ass and do actual work and defeat the collective Greenville NAs opportunity to turn this vital entertainment/restaurant strip into their own personal Shamrock TX., a town who rolls up their sidewalks at 6p every night. Im in agreement the idiots need to be chased out, but not at the expense of ALL businesses rights being compromised, I have to say this is the first time I actually disagree with angela hunt.

• I can hardly blame these businesses for looking after their own interests. They've played by the rules and don't deserve additional obstacles. But Jay, repeatedly insisting that the main problem on Lower Greenville is white residents objecting to the presence of brown people doesn't make it true. You do realize that the surrounding neighborhoods are diverse -- very diverse by the standards of Dallas? Why on earth would a white racist live there? Do you also realize that plenty of white people party on Lower Greenville? Sheesh. The only reason I know the crowd is mostly "brown" is because you keep harping on it. It made a big impression on you, apparently. The problem on Lower Greenville is the frequency of violence and gunfire. I personally don't leave my home to investigate the race of the person who fired the gun. I don't care. I can't help but wonder where you and your holier-than-thou attitude live exactly.

• They want it to be uptown. Therefore, as soon as the crowd looks and acts like Uptown or Henderson Ave. the bars will get free reign to open and close when they so choose. Meanwhile, crime levels won't change substantially but for some reason no one will fill the need to put a paddy wagon and 10 squad cars on a one block stretch of real estate.

• Add me to the list of people who object to this. I admit, I don't go to these places at midnight. I'm an old fogey at heart. But, it almost sounds like they want lower Greenville to be like those small towns that roll up the sidewalk at 10PM.

• Good for them. Well written statement and the truth.

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