I was not totally supportive of how the first project turned out and yet I love both art and community so I want to see this happen again and again all over the city in any shape or form. I also find it ironic that someone would take their time to tell everyone that they don't have the time to discuss art projects. There must be some relation between community building activities like this and the rate of crime, no? I would imagine that neighbors who work together are more likely to look out for each other. Plus, it looks a lot better than a gray, cement wall!
I actually think we should encourage people to use our streets like this. Simultaneously we should mitigate behavior like "cutting through" streets. If its true that a child who goes near the street will likely be hit by a car, then shouldn't cars be regulated? Why would we blame the victim? This is a COMMUNITY not a highway! If a child gets kidnapped in a mall, we don't say, "well, children shouldn't go near a mall, we all know that. They're dangerous." How did it ever get to this point that we've accepted speeding cars as a normal characteristic of our city streets, as something that just cannot be changed. That's sad. I hope the good folks on Ley Street can take back their street.
Wow! If we don't think drug addicts can be re-integrated into our community, what hope do we have? I walk by here at least once a day, and I never even see these guys, they're always behind closed doors. I'm much more worried about the drug addicts that do not seek treatment, the ones that we do see everyday and ignore.
I don't think this is a legitimate issue to be reported on this site, it sounds more like a neighbor's grudge. That being said, I do think having a viable retail space there would be useful. Perhaps something like a hardware store, coffee shop, bistro...? But, this isn't the place to figure that out.
I've heard similar reports of trash and recyclables not being separated. Can someone from DPW weigh in on this?