Fresh Loaf

Scheduled to go on the auction block Dec. 1

Last time it was the water bill. This time it’s the mortgage.

The city’s largest homeless shelter is again in danger of being ousted from its longtime home just in time for the holidays.

The Metro Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless faces foreclosure actions brought by two separate lenders against the enormous old building it occupies at the corner of Peachtree and Pine streets. Barring some intervention, the former automotive parts warehouse is scheduled to be auctioned off on the courthouse steps Dec. 1.

The two delinquent mortgage loans are held by private charities that specialize in low-income housing: the Mercy Loan Fund, the lending arm of Denver-based Mercy Housing; and the Institute for Community Economics, which is affiliated with the National Housing Trust of Washington, D.C.

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Anita Beatty of the Metro Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless alleges that the city conspired to shut down her Midtown facility.

A lawsuit filed by the Metro Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless that accuses the city of Atlanta of using “improper, illegal and unethical means” in an attempt to shut down the organization’s controversial Peachtree-Pine shelter will get its day in Fulton County Superior Court on Sept. 21.

The 23-page filing alleges that the city has used a multi-pronged approach since 2007 to try and shut down the shelter — the largest of its kind in Atlanta, and, according to neighbors and city officials, a magnet for crime in a gentrifying corridor.

City Hall officials have damaged the organization’s reputation and ability to compete for funding, the task force’s lawyers claim, by delaying certification needed to apply for grants, making defamatory remarks to private donors, and cutting off water service to the shelter for unpaid bills. The lawsuit also accuses officials with Central Atlanta Progress, a civic booster group, of instigating the media to report negatively on the shelter.

The lawsuit asks the judge to stop the city from collecting on the shelter’s water bill debts, defaming the task force, and refusing to issue the certification it needs to seek funding. (Here’s a link to a PDF of the task force’s lawsuit.)

A.J. Robinson of Central Atlanta Progress strongly denies any conspiracy between the downtown organization and City Hall to shut down the task force. In an interview with CL, Robinson claimed that other local organizations were more effective than the task force when it comes to helping people break the cycle of homelessness.

“It’s not about the homeless population,” Robinson said of the dispute. “It’s about a very poorly managed and poorly operated operation. I wish we could influence the media to shine a light on this organization and how the people in there are not being served. There are better facilities around the community that can serve that purpose.”

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Atlanta City Councilwoman Anne Fauver recently voted against a study to help make the Peachtree Streetcar project eligible for federal stimulus funding. She says the Beltline is better positioned for federal funds, questions the streetcar’s scope, and wonders who will maintain the estimated $120 million project if it’s built.

On July 20, the Midtown and Downtown business associations offered the City a $600,000 grant to do a feasibility study on a streetcar line along Atlanta’s famed Peachtree Street and to prepare the City’s application for $300 million of stimulus money.

I voted against the legislation to accept the grant. It passed 11-3 so the feasibility study and the application for Federal money will be done. My position is based on the following:

The Franklin Administration asked for the legislation to be fast-tracked. Council had not had a work session or public hearing on the project. We never specifically endorsed the Streetcar proposal. The Streetcar is not THE top priority in Connect Atlanta, the City’s first comprehensive transportation plan either.

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Tonight anywhere from 5,000 to 10,000 people will converge upon the Georgia Capitol to shake their fists and dangle their rage-filled tea bags in protest over nanny-state, big-spending guvmint!

Notables expected to bask in the spotlight — or face possible jeers — include America’s Most Noble Human Sean Hannity, former U.S. Rep. Dick Armey of Texas, a country singer, and this guy who wants you to know about the dangers of the approaching digital TV signal conversion. State lawmakers include Rep. Tom Graves, R-Ranger, and Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers of Woodstock.

And it looks like the $25,000 fete will create confusion for motorists.

“The Tea Party at the Capitol combined with Braves traffic could possibly create a traffic nightmare,” said Paul Marshall, a spokesman for the state Department of Transportation.

Marshall advises using MARTA if going to either event, and he urged Braves fans traveling by car to take the Fulton Street exit off the Downtown Connector to avoid the area surrounding the Capitol, where he said the Hannity event “could draw thousands.”

Yes, MARTA, the same public transit system that many of the GOP honchos who are attending or contributing to tonight’s event kissed off during the legislative session.

If you do decide to drive to the protest on the metro region’s heavily subsidized road system, be prepared for gridlock. The AJC quotes Marshall as saying the worst traffic will be during rush hour and at approximately 11 p.m. CBS Atlanta has a list of road closures. Central Atlanta Progress and the Georgia Building Authority have maps of nearby parking lots.

MARTA, however, will be your best bet. Check out Citizens for Progressive Transit’s A-TRAIN trip planner for the best route to and from public transportation.

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If Atlanta only had a few more "giving meters" the homeless problem would go away.

Remember the homeless pay “giving” meters the city installed downtown to discourage panhandling? They’re not working out too well.

From the Associated Press:

Six months after Atlanta business leaders set up parking meter-like machines to accept spare change donations and discourage panhandling, just $500 has been deposited – not much help for beggars who say they can sometimes raise $300 in a day on their own.

Despite the program’s dismal beginnings, Atlanta leaders are encouraged. They are installing more of the “giving meters” and using signs to make more people aware of the machines. In other cities, like Denver, thousands of dollars have been raised to help the needy.

…

The new program has had several problems, including confusion. Pedestrians have mistaken the new machines for regular parking meters. Atlanta also has far fewer than the 86 meters Denver had when that city started.

(Hat tip to Rogue at Peach Pundit)

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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A tipster who’s at the Central Atlanta Progress annual meeting sends word that the winning design for the Center for Civil and Human Rights is…

Freelon Group of Durham, N.C. and HOK of Atlanta.

According to this design summary, the museum’s two interlocking buildings serve as a metaphor for Civil Rights marchers. The Rev. Martin Luther King’s collection will be housed in the musem and face the downtown skyline. More details to come. To view a few more sketches of the design and read comments, check out CCHR’s site.

UPDATE: More details about the announcement and museum timeline after the jump.

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It’s one thing for a public agency to argue in support of a cause, says a honest-government watchdog group. It’s another to contribute cash, however.

Common Cause Georgia yesterday filed a complaint with the State Ethics Commission against several public agencies — including the Atlanta Housing Authority, Central Atlanta Progress and the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District — that allege the groups contributed nearly $125,000 to Georgians for Community Redevelopment, a booster group that is campaigning in favor of Amendment 2 on the General Election Ballot.

A successful passage of Amendment 2 would allow school boards to participate in tax allocation districts, a somewhat controversial redevelopment mechanism that uses future increases in property taxes to pay off bonds sold to build infrastructure in blighted areas. TADs have been used throughout the state since 1985 — most notably at Atlantic Station. In February, however, the state Supreme Court ruled that the use of educational funds — in this case, the school’s portion of property taxes — for redevelopment purposes violated the state Constitution.

“Common Cause Georgia fully acknowledges the right of the development community to lobby for the passage of this constitutional amendment,” Bill Bozarth of Common Cause Georgia said in a statement. “That is free speech, and we take no issue with that. However, we do take issue with doing so in violation of the law. We are filing our complaint with the State Ethics Commission because we believe that Georgians for Community Development – a campaign committee organized for the purpose of gaining voter approval of Constitutional Amendment 2, has accepted contributions from several public agencies which are clearly prohibited by Georgia statute from contributing to this kind of political activity.”

The AJC has more on the story here.

After the jump, the full release from Common Cause and links to the recently filed complaints.

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Atlanta’s much ballyhooed Center for Civil and Human Rights will take an important step toward becoming a reality – a site dedication ceremony – this coming Monday.

Didn’t know a site had been selected? You’re not alone.

Neither City Hall, which helped start the ball rolling for the museum; nor the Atlanta Development Authority, which will issue bonds to help pay for it; nor the Center for Civil and Human Rights Partnership, the city-sponsored group charged with raising private funding, has ever announced that a site had been formally selected.

“I guess you could say that’s what’s happening on Monday,” says A.J. Robinson, president of Central Atlanta Progress, who headed up a panel of business leaders that helped determine the cost and mission of the proposed center in late 2006.

To call the site selection a below-the-radar decision is like saying Paris Hilton doesn’t mind having her picture taken. City Councilman Kwanza Hall, who represents the area, says he didn’t know about the dedication event until just this past Monday. Other council folk we asked hadn’t heard a thing.

So when was this decision made – and, more to the point, who made it?

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As we’d reported in early August and the AJC repeated Sunday, City Hall has launched something of a crackdown on downtown panhandling. Last month, the city fired the first shot across the bow when police arrested almost 50 aggressive beggars, the first serious enforcement of the downtown “no panhandling zone” in three years.

And this Wednesday, Mayor Shirley Franklin will officially unveil the city’s new anti-panhandling strategy, of which increased police enforcement is only one aspect. Basically, the city – with support from Central Atlanta Progress, the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau and the downtown business community – will launch a marketing campaign aimed at persuading people not to give money to beggars, but rather to social-service agencies that work with the homeless.

The ultimate goal, says Debi Starnes, a former Councilwoman and Franklin’s adviser on homeless issues, is to nudge those who are actually homeless into seeking treatment and help, while discouraging professional panhandlers.

If you’re interested, the mayor’s announcement will be in the City Hall atrium from 10:30-11:30 a.m. Let’s hope this marketing campaign works better than Brand Atlanta.

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It’s like a dog park, only with bikes. Atlanta Bicycle Campaign and Central Atlanta Progress’ Downtown TMA are hosting a roundup for cyclists at Woodruff Park tomorrow from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. If it’s raining, meet up next Wednesday.

From the Downtown Connector:

BikeFest presented by the Atlanta Bicycle Campaign (ABC) and the Downtown Transportation Management Association (TMA): A three-hour outdoor event held in Downtown’s Woodruff Park. Meet cyclists, visit bicycle experts and win prizes. BikeFest is an event for everyone; cyclists and non-cyclists can learn more about biking and the benefits it provides and enjoy the opportunity to meet and mingle with fellow bikers.

When: Wednesday, May 14, 2008, rain date: Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Time: 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Where: Woodruff Park in Downtown Atlanta
Cost:FREE

In addition, ABC and the Downtown TMA will have raffle prizes including:

* A one night stay at the Ellis Hotel
* $50 Dailey’s/City Grill gift certificate
* $50 French American Brasserie (FAB) gift certificate
* $50 Maxim Prime gift certificate

To qualify you must come by the event and all winners will be announced and emailed the following day. Additional giveaways will also be on-site along with a free smoothie sample from the SoPo bike blender for patrons that bring their bike or bike helmet.

Participating Vendors include: Atlanta Police Department, City of Atlanta (Connect Atlanta Plan), Clean Air Campaign, Free Flite, Georgia Department of Transportation, Georgia State University, Bicycle attorney Ken Rosskopf, No Brakes, REI, SoPo Bike Cooperative, and more.

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