What’s up people? I’ve been missing for a while, but some stuff uptown drove me out of seclusion.
What is the deal with uptown? First the city begs us to come and enjoy the nightlife, then they do everything they can to make hanging out a hassle.
Tryon Street is a war zone with cops on every corner to stamp out the evil, evil cruisers and those scary kids in their oversized T-shirts. Turning onto Tryon Street is harder than merging onto I-77 South during rush hour.
But here’s the latest: the city is considering charging to park uptown 24-7.
In the words of Lil’ Jon – "WHAAAT?!"
Doreen Szymanski of the Charlotte Department of Transportation wants me to set the record straight: there are no proposals or meetings scheduled to discuss the topic. Researchers, however, are looking into how other cities do it.
Hmm. No real plans yet, just research. Sounds like a good time to let the Charlotte Department of Transportation and elected officials know: paying to park uptown in the evenings stinks.
I mean, come on! Many parking decks and lots already charge in the evenings and more plan to start capitalizing on the anticipated traffic from the arena opening. The city could at least resist the urge to be greedy. Gas prices are already sky high, and it’s impossible to hang uptown without dropping a wad of cash, anyway.
At least offer a grandfather clause to the people brave enough to go out uptown before there was an entertainment district. Give them a free parking pass for helping make uptown what it is today.
Monday, August 15, 2005
Boo uptown
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25 comments:
In response to Ms. Jameson's comments, I totally agree, the argument was about paying for parking in the evenings and at night for uptown entertainment being unheard of. The city wants people to come into the area and spend their money, but the hassel of looking and having to pay for parking deters alot of adults for evening/night dinner and entertainment. My fiance' and myself rode around for an hour just looking for someway close to the resturant and event to park that wasn't more than our meal and entertainment. Needless to say, it was aggrevating and we decided that uptown would be second choice until parking was made easier for our dinning out experiences and entertainment.
So to pay for parking in the evenings and at night uptown, we are against it totally.
Signed: Just trying to enjoy the City of Charlotte
Ms. Jameson, put the thinly veiled race card back in your pocket and think about this from an unbiased perspective:
What economic benefit do the cruisers, oversized t-shirt wearers, etc. bring to Uptown? I'm talking about the people who are there simply to see and be seen...and have no intention of actually frequenting an Uptown bar, restaurant or nightclub.
The goal of charging for Uptown parking at night is to allow ACCESS to Uptown to the people who intend to contribute economically...the goal is not barring anyone based on race, creed or color from enjoying an evening Uptown.
Rabble-rousers hanging out on street corners are only there for one reason. To cause trouble. They sure as hell aren't spending any money or enhancing the city's image. It's time to tell it like it is, and the fact is these "folk" have no business being uptown. They ride the city bus up there early, hang out until the last bus leaves for the hood.
After the July 4th incident, with wandering mobs of young angry black males looking to intimidate families, the stakes have been raised, and the cruising and the hanging out are a deliberate followup attempt to spark a confrontation.
If Charlotte isn't careful, we'll have another Buckhead or Beale Street situation.
Don't hold your breath waiting for Tonya to "holla' back"... She's too busy trying to make the inner city a sanctuary for hip-hop fans and violent youths dabbling in gang-related activities.
Are Brian and underscore serious? That's what i asked myself as i read their vile, underinformed, simplified, myopic view of young people in general, and african americans in particular. If they don't think that it's been the youth and ethnic culture that have turned uptown charlotte into an entertainment destination they are fooling themselves. what music is pouring from said establishments on a saturday night? were it not for the "bus riders" brian so disdainfully dismisses the mini-van set wouldn't have anywhere to overpay for a martini.
Give me a break people. Big t-shirts are no more an indicator of violent behavior as khakis are an indicator of small minded racism. And if they are - stop buying them for your sons and daughters as they try in vain to emulate the "violent inner-city rabble rousers" you so despise.
it's a called a city. say it with me: c-i-t-y. violence sometimes happens in cities. it's the price one pays for not being a suburb to Atlanta. And if you're really so easily intimidated by young black people walking city streets that THEIR tax dollars also pay to support, don't leave the house. Because there's a new gang in town called local government and they've been known to extort tax dollars, abuse women and minorities with laws that undermine our fiscal security and harboring people like Bill James. Now THEY are dangerous.
and i'm so sincere in my words i'll leave my REAL name - imagine that.
Tressie
What kind of a word is "holla? Learn English or go back to Maryland. Or to North Dakota, yo.
Speak for yourself "sister", and while you're at it, get that chip off your shoulder.
Music is trendy. Right now, the "in" music is urban.It has nothing to do with the issue at hand. If you think that excuses all the BBall jersey wearing thugs hanging out on the street at night trying to look as menacing as possible, you're sadly mistaken. They aren't doing anything remotely positive and aren't spending any money in uptown bars and restaurants. They aren't. Period.
Tell me, "Tessie", what are these young people doing uptown, besides standing around?? Anything productive?? Give me one good reason they should be allowed to loiter on street corners, and clog up many one-way streets and intersections in uptown by "cruising"
This situation is clearly well on it's way to being out of control, and it is frightening people away from uptown... much, much more than Tonya's stance against a parking meter.
The Police have the right idea, insofar as to harass them until they leave, for good. Chief Stephens knows what segment of the population commits the majority of crimes and causes the most trouble. How does telling the honest truth make someone a racist??
Tressie,
To most of the world imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
Ironically, young black males assume that if their culture (acting as though it's somehow proprietary), is being imitated (by whites) in some way that this implies a mockery, a cheap alternative to the real thing. The real thing itself is nothing but a sad, pathetic social commentary on young black America that perpetuates violence, crime, misogyny, gang-related activity and sends the wrong message of "He who dies wit' da most bling and biggest rims wins" to kids, regardless of their race or ethnic background.
I understand the young black America's dilemma, but it's tough to get behind them when their only role models are selfish "I-don't-give-a-f**k atheletes, and ex-cons grunting into microphones about drinking Dom in their 24 Karat gold-plated bathtub.
I'm looking forward to it leaving mainstream culture, and it will sooner or later.
Also, count me in on the group of people who don't want to see hip-hop slang in his newspaper every morning. Those who would appreciate such perversions of the English language don't read anyway.
After reading these comments, I could only say wow. I thought the topic of choice was about having to pay for parking uptown in the evening, not Charlotte's race relations. I'm an African American woman who frequents uptown's martini bars, restaurants and shows. The last thing I want to worry about is rather or not I will be forced to walk eight blocks to my favorite restaurant at night. So yes, I would like to see more officers and no, I don't want to pay for parking when I'm already spending an average of fifty dollars a weekend in uptown. Now let's talk about our dirty laundry. I'm a native of Charlotte and I love this place. I especially love all of the different races of our young people, but it's hard to pretend like I don't see the police officers harassing my kind while ignoring screaming, drunken youth of other races. It's not a race thing, it’s a young thing and these young people spend money downtown too. They may not be having dinner and a show, but I've seen the same African American males being harassed in line to enter a bar because they were wearing t-shirts. Just this past Saturday, my boyfriend was denied entry into a club because he had a collared polo styled shirt on with jeans. He was told his shirt had writing on it and was denied entry. Oh yeah, it wasn't a "white tee." (Is that supposed to be a criminal's uniform or something?) I mean really do we have to carry around receipts to prove that we are spending money so that we don't get harassed?
Tonya,
I must be honest and say that I usually disagree with your articles, but I do at least respect your opinion, so I have a possible story idea for you. I suggest walking around downtown for a few hours around midnight on a weekend and report on what you find. Is "cruising" productive? Do people loitering harrass people walking down the street to attend bars and restaurants? I think this could be a good article and after the July 4 debacle, I believe it's something that needs to be adressed in the Observer from an angle of someone that goes out every weekend. This is really an issue that seems to have exploded in the past year that peaked with July 4 when Charlotte looked more like a war zone.
I can’t believe some of you would twist Tonya’s words to make her sound racist; this really shows why things are the way they are today. Tonya said “Tryon Street is a war zone with cops on every corner to stamp out the evil, evil cruisers and those scary kids in their oversized T-shirts.” This is the truth, and Tonya never said that it was a bad thing; she just said that it was a hassle. So let me break it down to the ignorant undercover racist out there. The problem lies with teenagers hanging downtown “PERIOD”. I have been going downtown for some time now, and I have never seen sooo many 13 to 17 year old teenagers in my life. That’s your problem.
Now that we know what the problem is, how do we address it? Attacking the situation early and adding more police downtown was a great temporary solution to address things before they got out of hand; but a real solution has to be put in place before mature blacks are alienated from downtown. I believe a great solution to the problem is to enforce a curfew. There is no reason for a teenager to be downtown at night, what’s their purpose; they are under 21, so they can not go to clubs, and they can not drink. So basically, this is only hurting the city. Bigger cities do not have this problem, because they crew slowly. Charlotte is is growing too fast, and it’s hard for the city and the people to adjust. As long as we (Charlotte) do our research, and address the right problem, in the right way, then charlotte will continue to be a great place. Enforcing a curfew is the way to go. Charging for parking is not the way to go.
Bull
This has been one of the most entertaining, albeit disturbing, pieces of reading material that I've ever come across, and I must say I've come across many (although, according to 'Lee', because I'm a habitual user of "Hip-Hop slang", I don't in fact READ . . . if you're not big on Hip-Hop/Urban Music/Pop Culture, what are you doing reading the comments of the Observer's POP CULTURE WRITER? Seems rather counter-productive to the enjoyment of your morning coffee; I'm shocked and amazed that you didn't regurtitate it).
To the issue at hand: Paying for parking Uptown at NIGHT? What is this blasphemous suggestion?! Parking during the day is already well on the way to a five-spot if you're staying more than 90 minutes; if you show up at a nightclub at 10:45 trying to beat the price-hike, then stay until the club closes, mingle a bit in the area afterwards, then make it to your car, you've now got to PAY for 4.5 hours of parking? What, then, was the point of showing up early so as not to pay $20 to get in??? Perhaps some of you are too flabbergasted by an African American male's ability to efficiently add and subtract, let alone multiply, divide, and APPLY these operations, but for those of you who aren't, you MUST admit that's quite the costly evening, especially if you've bought a lady a drink or two or had dinner. An extra $20 on top of the nights festivities may be NOTHING in some of your pockets, but for those of us making under $75,000 annually, that's GAS for almost a WEEK.
Paying for parking uptown at night isn't going to slow the flow of young black people through the vicinity, it's going to slow the flow of POORER CLASS people of all ages, races, nationalities, religions, etc. And even that's only momentary. Hell, according to some of you, most of the "long t-shirt-wearing thugs" that make Uptown such a harrowing experience while you're drinking yourself into submission and stumbling back to your Mercedes are riding the BUS anyway, so what difference will it make to them? People who CRUISE Uptown . . . pay attention here, this is LOGIC . . . people who CRUISE Uptown are NOT PARKING!!! *moment of silence, just in case some of you missed that*
Now... to address some of the severe CLASSISM I'm noticing here; I say Classism because the race of individuals frequenting Uptown's streets at night is in fact quite multi-cultural. White, black, hispanic, asian . . . all races are chilling (forgive my Hip-Hop Lingo, hope you're not nauseous)on the corners along Tryon and College with huge t-shirts, backwards-oriented baseball caps, Air Force One's, and sagging pants. Would I be caught dead out on the town wearing such an outfit? Not on your life, it's just not my style; of course, I could say the same about an ensemble of khaki's with torn cuffs, metallic short sleeve button-down shirts, curved-bill college-caps and leather sandals that I see SOME (admittedly, mostly WHITE) people adorned in during my Uptown meanderings, but I don't hear anyone complaining about THEIR drunken presence or loud and obnoxious antics. I suppose if you're a COLLEGIATE drunk you're shown a bit more leniency.
I was just listening to the radio this morning and commenting about the lack of activities for underage individuals in evening/night/weekend hours. Perhaps if these young people had something ELSE to do besides congregating at night Uptown, they wouldn't disturb some of your weekly binge-drinking. That's a long-time coming though, and I admit that some of the things that the community has done to occupy them, they've pretty much messed up for themselves. NEWS FLASH: That's what young people DO. And it's NOT LIMITED TO BLACK YOUNG PEOPLE, so kindly leave your bias on your coat-rack at home.
The increased police presence Uptown doesn't bother me in the least, so long as they're doing their JOB. Harassing people about LOITERING??? I thought we WANTED more people Uptown...a long t-shirt and a comfortable spot to watch people walk by doesn't equal an empty pocket. I appreciate their diligence in keeping altercations to a minimum, but "shoo'ing" people along and telling them not to stand still is excessive, and a definite waste of time for all involved. I admit that if there weren't so many disrespectful youth the police wouldn't react so drastically, but if there weren't police that OVERREACTED, chances are youth would respect them more. Fact of the matter is, it works both ways.
Overall, I think alot of us need to relax and enjoy Charlotte's nightlife. It's a city; a growing, bustling city, and there's going to be a negative element to that; let's not let it outweigh the many positives it also entails.
It's sad that a comment this long had to be over-half off-topic, but ignorance befuddles me, and I have to speak on it when I see it. Forgive the length, and I hope I was worth the read.
--William D. Dingle
wdingle@hiptop.suncom.net
aka
RaQ Holiday
I can’t believe some of you would twist Tonya’s words to make her sound racist; this really shows why things are the way they are today. Tonya said “Tryon Street is a war zone with cops on every corner to stamp out the evil, evil cruisers and those scary kids in their oversized T-shirts.” This is the truth, and Tonya never said that it was a bad thing; she just said that it was a hassle. So let me break it down to the ignorant undercover racist out there. The problem lies with teenagers hanging downtown “PERIOD”. I have been going downtown for some time now, and I have never seen sooo many 13 to 17 year old teenagers in my life. That’s your problem.
Now that we know what the problem is, how do we address it? Attacking the situation early and adding more police downtown was a great temporary solution to address things before they got out of hand; but a real solution has to be put in place before mature blacks are alienated from downtown. I believe a great solution to the problem is to enforce a curfew. There is no reason for a teenager to be downtown at night, what’s their purpose; they are under 21, so they can not go to clubs, and they can not drink. So basically, this is only hurting the city. Bigger cities do not have this problem, because they crew slowly. Charlotte is is growing too fast, and it’s hard for the city and the people to adjust. As long as we (Charlotte) do our research, and address the right problem, in the right way, then charlotte will continue to be a great place. Enforcing a curfew is the way to go. Charging for parking is not the way to go.
Bull
If these are the kinds of discussions that's going to happen when Tonya posts a new article...then please, Tonya, don't post.
I hate it when armchair racists get online to say what they wouldn't in reality.
Here I was excited to see a new post and all of this crap is posted.
Tonya may be the Observer's "pop culture" writer, but she isn't mine. She writes about black culture, lesbian culture, and black lesbian culture almost exclusively.Thats not my "pop culture". The only time she covers any other types of events is so she can unfairly lampoon them in print from a black lesbians point of view. She's the "undercover racist", she's the one with the agenda, she's the one who was reprimanded and had her "blog" taken down for reviewing a strip club for god's sake.
Her and her defenders are the ones that can't handle the truth, and the truth is young black males are responsible for the majority of crime in uptown Charlotte, The City Of Charlotte,The State of North Carolina and the United States Of America.They're the ones murdering people for drug money, theyre the ones breaking into homes and raping women. They're the ones overcrowding our prisons that honest and hard-working people pay for with our tax money. Whats racist about telling the truth?? It's a fact. It's time Knight-Ridder ran her out of town just like they did with that little smarmy-ass Malcolm X Bowtie wearing "C. Jemal Horton".
Racialized journalists cause more problems than they create. She's obviously unqualified, and what kind of intelligent writer uses illiterate rappers with criminal records likeDMX & Ja Rule as reference points and uses urban slang like "Holla" and "Up in Herre" and BS like that??
Yo T-JiZZeL!!!Go work for the Advocate or some other controversial publication if you feel like thats your life's work. Don't impose it on the rest of us by seeing how far you can push the envelope in Charlotte.
Why are people complaining about paying to park on weekends and nights? It's so cheap - it's usually $5. Go travel to another city and see how it is - $60 for two hours to park, and people still come into the city. I can't help but laugh when people complain about how Uptown is so expensive, dangerous, and hard to get to (there are no tolls, traffic is a breeze, etc)... !!!!
When the student is ready, the teacher will appear. Looks like the Stones taught Tonya a lesson. Don't mess with the World's Greatest Rock n'Roll Band!
Why close Coliseum? sell to highest bidder at a public auction.refund the tax money thats been squandered.start a petition to the mayor perhaps or a city council permission for a referendum? John Haver Lancaster SC
Why close Coliseum? sell to highest bidder at a public auction.refund the tax money thats been squandered.start a petition to the mayor perhaps or a city council permission for a referendum? John Haver Lancaster SC
I agree! Uptown offers nice places to eat and drink in a fun atmosphere but I now consider twice before going up there. I don't want to park and I don't want to feel unsecure by a bunch of teenage hoodlums that look like they are ready for a fight.
Charlotte leaders- wake up!!!!
Okay...let me try and be nice. Kid/thugs hanging on the street and people cruising in their cars serve no purpose. It brings NO money to the uptown bars/clubs. The person that wrote above me - PLEASE LEAVE CHARLOTTE. I've been to dirty ass NY and what a trashy place. Yes the food is good, but what a dump. At least Charlotte is clean and if we can get the thugs to stop hanging on the streets and bring no value to life, I'm all for it. I want to be around people who have jobs and don't mind spending money. I have to ask, why are you in Charlotte if NY is so damn good? This is why we HATE people like you. Parking....pay the damn $5. If you going out to eat, valet your car. All the places uptown offer this. Stop being cheap and tip them out. If you cannot affort the tip, go to McDonalds...SIMPLE??? There is nothing wrong wearing oversized jeans, hats (tilted), oversized T-Shirts...but don't try and come in a club like that. Yes, I know, you spent over $100 on those jeans, but when there is a dresscode, don't complain. Why do you need to stand on the corner and do nothing? What value are you bringing to uptown Charlotte? All you are doing is making driving a pain in the ass and taking up space. If I'm out and spending hundreds of dollars in one night, I don't need to walk around kids hanging on the streets and getting in my way. Keep your broke asses at home.
I moved here because my fathers job was transfered here like everyone else - and NY is NOT a DUMP. It's a beautiful, COSMOPOLITAN city with so much history! Charlotte is TOO clean - it lacks character. There are plenty of cities the size of Charlotte and smaller (Charleston) that have more character! It's nice for families, but thats it. NY is a city - if you don't like NY, you don't like cities. And if NY is such a dump, why do celebrities and a slew of wealthy people choose to live there and not Charlotte? Gee, I wonder... what the hell do you know anyway - Oh, and I did leave for college after I graduated!
Of course Charlotte is clean - it's basically a huge suburb with a few tall buildings. And if people actually walked and there were more sidewalks that were actually used with places to go to, I'm sure Charlotte wouldn't be SO CLEAN.
North Carolina is one of the poorest states in the country - hows that for a DUMP!
First off, I don't mind having people of all races and backgrounds coming Uptown and enjoying all that Uptown has to offer, but when the previous posters come on here saying that Charlottes downtown is too clean & has no character or calling Charlotte a big suburb, I will take issue to that. First of all, what characterizes a real city in the first place? I take it that if there's a smell of garbage or urine in the air or trash all over the place or maybe panhandlers harassing you wherever you go, that classifies it as a real city, eh? But back to the issue at hand, imposing a ban on cruising is not the solution, like some posters suggested, imposing a curfew on underaged teenagers is much more sensible. If you're not old enough to work, you shouldn't be hanging out downtown or anywhere in the first place. Another issue is the blatant stereotyping of black males as well. I happen to be a black male and I happen to dress appropriately most of the time. If a black man is making a good salary and wants to spend it downtown, he should not have to be harrased by police or security because of what he's wearing, oh by the way, since those of you that wanted to trash Charlotte for not embracing diversity, in case you did not notice, blacks do get harrassed in New York as well, probably even worse, if black folks have a hard time catching a taxi in "The big Apple," I would say there's racism in New York, so don't say that it's a Charlotte thing, it's an American thing. I will say this, if Charlotte wants to become a world-class city, it's leaders and citizens need to have a more inclusive mindset and stop being so threatened by other people that are different from you.
GO BACK TO NY then...simple. You love it...go back. I do know about NY since I travel there every week for business. I've been doing this for 10 years. You mention Charleston....now I know you don't know shit. Good SMALL city, but have you seen downtown Charlston? Its not a clean place at all. If you know stats so well, then you would know most of the so called "movie stars" are also buying places in NC. Have you heard of the Outer Banks? I don't care what color someone is. If you are white, black, latino or asian...if you don't like to spend $5 to park, go into the clubs/bar and wants to hang on the street...leave uptown at night. Leave it to those who are spending money. Certain clubs/bars have dress codes. It might be a nice polo shirt, but if it has cheesy writing on it and you have $150 Nike's on...don't complain when they say you cannot come in. There are many places who will let you in. Stop complaining about parking...its $5. If you don't have it, go someplace else. Of course you will think I'm racist since I speak my mind and I'm white...I guess its different if I was black. Stop making it a race issue. There are many white people hanging on the streets and they need to leave too! Thank God its colder and all of you are off the street.
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