Springfield vs. Eastside

[stephendare]

Springfielder.

What is to be obtained by maintaining the separation?

[Johnny]

I would think that if their neighborhood was successfully transformed that would only benefit Springfield.

I have long thought that area could be nice if a little work was put in. I love the park @ 1st & APR. The commercial strip close to the overpass could be a hot spot if done correctly, it may be hard to funnel traffic to it though.

[Johnny]

Part of their problem is the same we deal with in many other parts of our city. Neglect & loitering, I believe they both feed each other as well.

[GideonGlib]

We had about 6-7 rental properties for years on the Eastsid (Louise, Danese, Buckman Streets), and while it is a diverse neighborhood with some nice little neighborhood businesses like Issac's Sandwich Shop and the slightly scary but generally friendly Wild Bills Bar, I think crime is less an issue for it's redevelopment than some fundamental impediments to the neighborhood like being dissected by the expressway, the heavy industrial nature of Talleyrand, and for most of our properties the large Buckman sewage treatment center that on a bad day where if the wind was blowing in your direction made being there dern near unbearable.  

The little 1940's bungalows are affordable, and some are even quite well kept, I really think that as long as the area has the concentration of railroads, shipping, trucking, and other heavy industry it will have huge obstacles to being a pleasant place to be for folks who have other options.

One bright spot for the neighborhood however is the abundance of inexpensive warehouse space that artist and bands can get for studio and practice space right now that seems to be bringing some artistic new life into the area.  

[Springfielder]

I never said that boundaries should be maintained, I said they'd always be there....which is true. No matter what neighborhood one lives in, there's always that boundary that divides that from the next...doesn't have to mean it's a negative and my mentioning boundaries wasn't intended to convey that.

I'm just asking, what is it that is being asked about the eastside vs springfield? I just am not clear on what goal is wanting to be reached. I totally agree that the eastside has great potential, and would love to see it blossom, but how that is tied to springfield, is what I don't get. Same as downtown, Durkeville, new springfield...all of the areas that neighbor springfield...

[stephendare]

Im not sure what you are talking about?  How is increasing connectivity 'tied to springfield'?

Connecting Springfield to the Eastside and creating an alternative approach to its ammenities (the kennedy center, the baseball field, the stadium, the Childrens Commission, its fully modern performance park would be more of a benefit to springfield.

Also vis a vis Springfield, the traditional boundary lines that separate the neighborhoods arent really all that traditional, but many were erected to create physical landmarks to serve as 'boundaries' between races.  The Jacksonville Expressway (I 95 now), the Downtown Traffic Loop, the Building of FSCJ, and many others created artificial and new boundaries choking off the vitality of the larger area.

The argument could be made that these new boundaries are what killed Springfield in the first place.

[urbanjacksonville]

Do we have crime numbers?  It would be interesting to see where it is as compared to New Springfield, Durkeeville, Arlington, etc.

Regarding Thursday evening’s Eastside community meeting at the East Jacksonville Neighborhood Resource Center, Beverly Toney said today:

“Our speaker was Lt. Stephen Gallaher and his topic was crime prevention.  The most intriguing item he stated all evening was for our sub-section, Bravo Sector 3, year-to-date Violent Crimes decreased by 34% and year-to-date Property Crimes decreased by 32%.  Lt. Gallaher believes this is a direct result of the changing community’s ideas and attitudes.  (Kudos to the community and JSO)  The community members were overjoyed with this information.

Elaine Lancaster of Code Enforcement then gave statistics of the drop in violations.  2 and ½ years ago, when we first called this community to action, there were approx. 800 code violations in the core area of East Jacksonville; there are now a little over 300.  What an accomplishment.”

[Doug V]

Hi Joey,

I was only attend a few minutes of the Eastside's meeting Thursday.  It is great to see that group functioning.  I encouraged them to keep connected to the Urban Core CPAC.

I am confident that they would be glad for others to attend their monthly meetings too.

Doug Vanderlaan

[chris farley]

They ae going to be the main beneficiaries of the Weed and Seed, but the extra police protection and the punishments falling under different jurisdiction will help us all.  The State Attorneys office will be involved