my own drum

I'll get to the bad news first. I live in a ghetto, owned by the largest single slumlord in the nation. That's right, I live on Boulevard in Atlanta, in the Old Fourth Ward. I've lived there for just over a year now in relative safety. I have been robbed only once, and that was over on Glen Iris and Ralph McGill, not on Boulevard. But there are parts of Boulevard that I avoid - day or night. Pretty much anything south of North Ave all the way to the medical center is off limits. When I ride through that section of Boulevard with anyone I urge them to make sure their doors are locked and windows are rolled up.

The bulk of the property in that area is owned by a single entity, Boston-based Continental Wingate. They are located at 1925 Commonwealth Ave, Brighton, MA 02135 and their telephone is 617-783-1525‎. They own approximately 700 federally subsidized rental units on and near Boulevard, and they don't want to sell. And that brings me to the good news.

I am the current caretaker of the Boulevard Community Garden at 663 Boulevard (across the street from Wendy's) and I've been concerned with the gentrification that is going on all around me. Can the garden survive in a gentrified area? My thoughts are that the property is too valuable and will be sold to the highest paying developer, errr, bidder. But since Wingate won't sell, there is little chance of anyone building a $300,000 condo next to a slummy apartment. Whew!

There is some other good news from the garden. The police on the beat have driven the dope dealers all the way back to the Killer Kroger parking lot - at least on some days. Killer Kroger is the one next to City Hall East, on Ponce. So there has been a lot less drug trade this spring. It isn't gone, believe me, but it is greatly reduced. And I found a way to keep the late night noise down from my rowdy neighbors at 3:00am. It's true, they can't hold a job and our tax dollars pay their rent, but they can get the loudest auto boom box for their cars. And they love to drive in the tiny parking lot behind the apartment at 657 Boulevard, bumping and vibrating everything within two blocks. So what did I do to stop all that? It was simple. I put my camera up against the window screen, made sure the flash was ON, and 'took' a couple of pictures. Punks and creeps don't like being photographed. Sure enough these particular punks have moved on to some else's parking lot. My apologies, whoever you are - but I can sleep at night.

This rambling tirade is nearly done. I'll wrap it up with this: If you are tired of the trash, the dope dealers, the crack heads, having to lock your car doors when you drive through and general nuisances associated with low rent no-gooders, please contact Wingate with the info provided in this article. You can also contact Kwanza Hall, Council Member for Council District 2 at (404) 330-6038 or fax him at (404) 658-7164 or email him at khall@atlantaga.gov

It's up to all of us to instill a change.