Neighborhood sustainability
I wish i had known that today was going to be link to Kevin day at DE.
He's got a great post up on the issue of neighborhood sustainability today, inspired by some of the discussion regarding "gentrification" in Cleveland-Holloway neighborhood (and elsewhere in Durham) as well as news reports this morning of what may have been a gun battle in East Durham.
I live in the Duke Park neighborhood of Durham. It has a reputation of being one of the more upscale in-town neighborhoods. We're just south of I-85 off of exit 177. But here's the deal. If you take the intersection nearest my house (Markham and Shawnee), and draw a circle of 1/4 mile radius using that as the center, you probably have about 140 - 150 houses of which between 35 and 40% are rental properties. some of these properties are well-maintained, and owned by people who live in the neighborhood, or who used to live in the neighborhood. some of them are owned by people who obviously don't give a shit about Duke Park neighborhood, Durham, or even, apparently, protecting their own investment.
I've been thinking over the past two weeks about running a series on DE, featuring one of these houses at a time, showing photographs of the deterioration that's been allowed to take place, giving a brief oral history, and calling out the landlords whose greed and thoughtlessness is behind all of this. I say thinking about it because, to a large extent, i have a policy of not naming or identifying individuals on this blog without their permission, public figures excepted. I'm not sure if i want to proceed with this.
But it's clear to me that, at least the eastern portion of Duke Park neighborhood, the part with Avondale Drive as its central corridor, is at risk of falling into the same kind of decline that other parts of East Durham have experienced over the past years. I really don't want that to happen, and not just because i own a home here.
What do you think? Do these slumlords deserve to have their privacy respected, or do the needs of the neighborhood and the city to stop this "demolition by neglect," as Gary so aptly describes it, outweigh their privacy rights?
He's got a great post up on the issue of neighborhood sustainability today, inspired by some of the discussion regarding "gentrification" in Cleveland-Holloway neighborhood (and elsewhere in Durham) as well as news reports this morning of what may have been a gun battle in East Durham.
I live in the Duke Park neighborhood of Durham. It has a reputation of being one of the more upscale in-town neighborhoods. We're just south of I-85 off of exit 177. But here's the deal. If you take the intersection nearest my house (Markham and Shawnee), and draw a circle of 1/4 mile radius using that as the center, you probably have about 140 - 150 houses of which between 35 and 40% are rental properties. some of these properties are well-maintained, and owned by people who live in the neighborhood, or who used to live in the neighborhood. some of them are owned by people who obviously don't give a shit about Duke Park neighborhood, Durham, or even, apparently, protecting their own investment.
I've been thinking over the past two weeks about running a series on DE, featuring one of these houses at a time, showing photographs of the deterioration that's been allowed to take place, giving a brief oral history, and calling out the landlords whose greed and thoughtlessness is behind all of this. I say thinking about it because, to a large extent, i have a policy of not naming or identifying individuals on this blog without their permission, public figures excepted. I'm not sure if i want to proceed with this.
But it's clear to me that, at least the eastern portion of Duke Park neighborhood, the part with Avondale Drive as its central corridor, is at risk of falling into the same kind of decline that other parts of East Durham have experienced over the past years. I really don't want that to happen, and not just because i own a home here.
What do you think? Do these slumlords deserve to have their privacy respected, or do the needs of the neighborhood and the city to stop this "demolition by neglect," as Gary so aptly describes it, outweigh their privacy rights?
Labels: bad neighbors, Duke Park, Durham
Since 1949, Durhamites have slept soundly, secure in the knowledge that, in our town, erection can be depended upon. Now, thanks to the power of the internets, we can spread that security all over the world.
8 Comments:
Do it.
It's all a matter of public record anyway.
As long as you don't say their feet stink and they don't love Jesus it is perfectly fine to post pictures of their ill maintained property, their home address, etc.
I think it is always interesting to show where they live and where they encourage others to live.
You can also pull up the citation reports and calls for service for each property.
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Natalie, at 2:01 PM
If there were a check-cashing joint operating up the street from your house, charging usurious rates & preying on low-income residents, would you call them out? If the local bodega were selling beer & smokes to underage kids, would you call them out?
Owning rental property is a business, and thus landlords aren't just private citizens, they're business owners. We private citizens have a reasonable expectation of privacy in our personal affairs, but once someone goes into business in a community, and that business has a negative impact on that community, then that person's *business* affairs are no longer a private matter.
If, on the other hand, you're really asking, given how much crap you already get from certain elements for what you say here, whether it's really worthwhile to you personally to inspire potentially more crap being flung your way, then that's totally your call. I don't think anybody would slight you if you chose *not* to engage every evildoer within a 5-mile radius of your home.
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Ross Grady, at 2:04 PM
Thank you both.
While i realize this info is publicly available, and i would only be using public sources to acquire it, the concern i have is someone deciding on their own to send a letter or make a harassing phone call to a property owner after i call them out on their destructive behavior. I don't want to encourage that sort of thing. On the other hand, i do want to impart a sense of shame, if that's possible, to these folks.
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Barry, at 2:10 PM
Its not like you'd be letting people in on some clandestine information they couldnt already find via tax records...
as for your recording the deterioration of the properties, i cant say there is anything illegal about what we can see from the sidewalk.
I may not like the idea of a random person standing on the sidewalk photographing my house, but in the end, they are not violating any laws, and all i could do was ask them why.
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Vera, at 2:29 PM
As far as whether you have a moral/ethical right to do this, I say have at it.
However, it may be worth your while to get a professional legal opinion of how much exposure you'd have to any lawsuit (even, or perhaps especially, entirely spurious ones.)
It's been known to happen.
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Brian, at 3:38 PM
As appealing as this is, I'd be careful. I'd recommend outlining steps that you/the neighborhood takes first to try to resolve the problems directly with the homeowner/property manager before waging a campaign of shame/embarrassment to get results. If they don't respond to reasonable requests over a reasonable period of time, then sicks the dogs on 'em.
Based on some of your previous posts, I think that for at least some properties the owner/property manager are already aware of the issues and just don't give a crap. In that case, it's time to open up a can of whoopass.
The new Durham ComNet program may be something you want to look into. A group from my corner of OND is taking part next week. I'm hoping that this will spur some action to resolve a myriad of issues in our neighborhood.
http://www.durhamnc.gov/news/NewsDisplay.cfm?vNewsID=1540
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Steve Graff, at 3:53 PM
I'd say do it, but that's probably not a surprise. I think just showing the neglect and telling the stories you can substantiate - with the owner's name - is enough.
What has been surprising to me is how immune highly neglectful property owners are to shame. But there is a benefit to making people aware of the cumulative and synergistic effect of creeping neglect on a neighborhood. By demonstrating the problem as more pervasive than perhaps people realize, I think you can help to create change.
But I wouldn't worry too much about hurting the property owners' feelings.
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Gary, at 6:10 AM
free speech is yours, barry. i think it's a great idea. letting a piece of property fall apart is a little more offensive than someone trying to save it.
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libby, at 8:08 AM
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