Fresh Loaf

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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First come the slots. Then come the men cavorting with white tigers and the true artistes! But until then…baby steps.

And today, the Atlanta City Council voiced its support  for a plan that could drastically change Underground Atlanta and bring gambling — well, video lottery terminals — to the long suffering downtown attraction. Council voted 11-0 to approve a resolution supporting the proposal and form a committee to study the project.

Underground Atlanta leaseholders Dan O’Leary and John Aderhold say a remake of the area could bring jobs and much-needed revenue to the city. The two recently proposed a $500 million redevelopment plan that would convert Underground Atlanta’s 12 acres into a complex featuring a 29-story hotel, restaurants, shops and lottery terminals.

(more…)

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That’s what the AJC claims in a story posted today, quoting officials in the “hospitality industry.”

The article cites the shuttering of Buckhead Village and the death of downtown clubs as the reason why Atlanta lost its party-town status — as if the Buckhead bar scene was something to be proud of.

According to the story:

Moves to curtail hours and efforts to revitalize Buckhead with high-end development have effectively killed its party reputation. … [D]owntown, where most of the conventions take place, is missing the after-hours component.

But is Atlanta nightlife really that big of a downer? It seems to me that the Midtown clubs have picked up Buckhead’s slack, and that East Atlanta and the Highlands are alive and well. And when did people ever go downtown to party anyway? Clubs such as Karma and the Royal were always something of an exception. The canned Underground Atlanta scene has historically ebbed and flowed. And after Castleberry Hill became a decent, if not rowdy, party district, look what happened in that downtown ‘hood.

The story’s implication is that touristy nightlife is dead. My questions to you, tried-and-true Atlanta partiers, is this: Who cares if that sector of nightlife shrivels up and dies? If it does, perhaps our more authentic nightlife scene will have a better chance of survival.

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One downside of living in New York my colleague Scott Freeman didn’t point out in his list of reasons it sucks to reside in Gotham: You have to look at the posh patios of your upper-crust neighbors.

A friend of mine who lived in Little Italy rented a sixth-floor walk-up behind a building rumored to be owned by Hugh Jackman. It boasted a rooftop basketball court and never once did we see someone use it. So my bud woke up to that every morning: Essentially, something she could never have, and even if she did, she’d be too busy gallivanting in San Tropez to practice alley oops.

Atlanta’s kind of wacky in the sense that for the last two decades, if you had a sizable bank account, you sure as hell didn’t live in the towers of privilege. You decamped to Buckhead, Cobb or North Fulton. But as the city core continues to evolve and these dwellings become more popular and expensive, we’re probably going to see rooftop patios and porches that try to make up for the downsizing and elimination of a yard.

But what’s out there now? Castleberry Hill boasts some crisp rooftops and patios, for one. Does anybody know of other standout examples that make you bite your knuckles? Get jealous? Maybe want to repel through their windows under the cloak of night and steal all their precious artwork and silver?

Yes, this feels dangerously like just the type of real estate porn and worship that’s so rampant in New York, but so be it. Send photos or leave comments if you’ve noticed a spot that’s interesting or something people have done that takes advantage of their space.

(Hat tip to Gawker and Gothamist, screenshot from JWilly’s Flickr)

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