Fresh Loaf

Pink flamingos have descended on this East Atlanta home.

Grassroots, community-based crime-fighting is the de rigeur cause in Atlanta these days, and rightfully so.

Concerned city dwellers, including armed robbery victim Kyle Keyser, are banding together to try to reverse a disarming spike in brazen crimes — and they’re doing so in BIG numbers. Keyser’s Facebook group, Atlantans Together Against Crime and Cutbacks, has more than 6,000 members. Whoa.

Another grassroots group, Pink Flamingos Against Crime (its founding members include CL staffer Jason Hatcher, who recently witnessed a scary crime on his street), is urging intowners to plant plastic birds in their yards as an act of civil disobedience.

The birds are intended to send a message to folks like Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin and Police Chief Richard Pennington that citizens are pissed about increasing crime rates and peeved about police-force cutbacks.

The group will be hawking pink flamingos outside Joe’s Coffee in East Atlanta, 510 Flat Shoals Ave., from 5-8 p.m. tonight.

(Photo by Johnny Hollywood)

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Members of Atlantans Together Against Crime, a grassroots advocacy group launched after the slaying of John Henderson, will hold a rally tonight in Little Five Points to raise awareness about crime in the city. The group plans to rally in a different Atlanta neighborhood on the last Monday of every month.

Here’s the information from the organization’s Facebook group:

Reclaim Atlanta’s Neighborhoods!
A Rally for Action, Awareness, & Change.

Monday, January 26th.
5p-7p
Findley Plaza, Little Five Points

On Wednesday night, more than 20 Atlanta restaurants including JCT Kitchen, 97 Estoria, Beleza, El Taco and Stella Trattoria will participate in a “dine out” benefit. Participating restaurants are encouraged to donate at least 20 percent of the evening’s proceeds to a reward fund established for information leading to the arrest of the people involved in Henderson’s slaying. For a map and full list of participating restaurants, visit ATAC’s group page.

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Did anyone else catch the AJC’s astonishing Q&A with Atlanta Police Chief Richard Pennington yesterday?

Mayor Franklin and Police Chief Richard Pennington at a 2007 public meeting to discuss crime.

If so, you would you know Pennington doesn’t think there’s a problem with crime in Atlanta. He thinks there’s a problem with the PERCEPTION of crime in Atlanta.

Q: What do you attribute [the public outcry] to?

A: These community groups work closely together. When they hear about one crime, they e-mail their neighbors and then you get a barrage of e-mails. I think they just respond to what they hear. And a lot of times, perception to them is reality.

Did you catch that Atlanta? Stop e-mailing your friends and neighbors about crime and everything will be fine. The murders of Adair Freeman and John Henderson can’t scare you if you don’t know about them.

Atlantans Together Against Crime and Cutbacks is rallying in Little Five Points from 5 to 7 p.m. tonight. The group was founded hours after Henderson was gunned down at the Standard.

I was planning to attend, but now that Pennington’s explained to me that the real problem is my attitude, I may just stay home and watch Ellen.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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A Jan. 7 killing and armed robbery at the Standard Food and Spirits sparked community outcry — and questions over who’s to blame for a rise in Atlanta crime.

“The idea that we have a city where this kind of violence can happen is completely unacceptable. … What we have seen is cuts [in police hours] made [by Mayor Shirley Franklin] without consultation and collaboration.”

— Atlanta Councilmember Mary Norwood, who attended a Thursday morning vigil for victim John Henderson, in a Jan. 8 AJC article.

“I proposed a modest tax increase [in early 2008] dedicated to public safety and the Council chose to roll back taxes in spite of our warnings. … [Norwood] has never sought to discuss the budget recommendations with me and I find her remarks today to be ludicrous and irresponsible.”

— Franklin’s response to Norwood, in a Jan. 8 press release.

“i would be happy to pay more taxes for a safer community. but our family can and will leave if the city doesn’t address this problem.”

— Adam Bartolett, in a post on the Atlantans Together Against Crime and Cutbacks’ Facebook page.

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Grayson Daughters produced an excellent video of this morning’s vigil for John Henderson, the Standard Food and Spirits bartender who was murdered early Wednesday morning during a robbery at the Memorial Drive restaurant.

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As mentioned in Joeff Davis’ earlier post about this morning’s vigil at the Standard, local residents Kyle Keyser and Tessa Horehled have started an advocacy group for Atlantans to connect and stay informed about crimes and other issues affecting the community.

The group, called Atlantans Together Against Crime and Cutbacks, is in its beginning stages. (Residents can share stories and information about crimes with other members on the group’s Facebook page.)

Keyser writes:

The Facebook forum will be for sharing accounts of violent crime that effect those within our community, as well as posting updates on news, protests, and other tools to help bring awareness to this issue. The mailing list below will be used to share information on gatherings, protests, and lobbying efforts to fight cutbacks. You will not be inundated with email and will only notify you of big events (estimated at a few emails a month).

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