Our West End Newsletter “Thinking Local But in a Big Way”
July 2017 7/15
Issue 60
MULTIMOTO WEST END
WIMBY Ushers in Windfall of Opportunities By Brent Brewer What just happened? It was the best month ever. A spacious, sit-down, bar/restaurant, Lean Draft House, finally opens their doors (see page 7). With front lawn seating, cold draft craft beer, and tacos, it quickly became the de facto front porch for unwinding Monday thru Saturday on West End evenings. Next Monday Night Brewing, an Atlanta craft brewing operation, breaks ground on a manufacturing facility at Lee + White Development at 933 Lee Street. This influx of developers at Lee + White, opens up the possibility the West End can be a magnet for jobs and investment. The addition of Monday Night Brewing to the West End comes as Atlanta’s West End community has launched a Community Improvement District (see page 5). West End merchants are hoping to gather as much as $103,000 a year by agreeing to raise their property taxes and put the money into a West End Community Improvement District. The money, which they hope to receive later this year or early in 2018, will be used to hire off duty or retired police officers to patrol streets, to develop greenspace and to widen sidewalks and add bike paths.
West End has a white-hot housing market but our property taxes won’t increase in 2017 (see page 3). Who do you thank? According the Mark Pedergrast, thank the WIMBY (wanted in my backyard) West End attitude. In City on the Verge, a detailed historic summary of the Atlanta BeltLine, Mark Pendergrast says it is this attitude that welcomed the first 1.7 mile trail that would run along White Street, the first to be completed on the BeltLine. At the time, one “resident said that he hoped the new trail would help revitalize his neighborhood, hit hard by foreclosures.” Ten years later, we are reaping the benefits. We can’t rest on WIMBY seeing all these opportunities through. For example, our community improvement district will elect a board of directors, who will set the millage rate the West End CID participants will pay in addition to their regular property taxes. At $103,000, they won’t have the kind of money to make big changes that usually cost in the millions. So they’ll have to spend their money wisely by partnering with organizations that have deeper pockets. We need the kind of leadership that can champion a successful community improvement district to positively affect the residential parts of our community. In November, please elect leadership that will allow us to leverage all these opportunities.
Publisher’s Corner Where Have We Been? In 2015, Our West End Newsletter changed it’s editorial direction to focus on hyperlocale journalism. We published six issues of textheavy news from a local neighborhood perspective. After ten years of publishing, it was a fun, refreshing print cycle; however, a genuine community newspaper should not have a single narrative voice. In 2016, we took some time off from OWEN to help re-establish the Historic Westside News
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(HWSN), a proper community newspaper created from the voices of the entire Historic Westside (Ashview Heights, AUC, Castleberry Hill, English Avenue, Vine City, and Washington Park). After an entire print cycle (seven HWSN issues), it was clear that change is coming to the Westside and we all want to be a part of it. Now more than ever, there is a need for a community newspaper to document our voices. HWSN lives on in print and online! Check them out at www.historicwestsidenews.com.
Our West End News
HWSN is always looking for stories about your/ our communities. Submit stories, art and graphics to info@historicwestsidenews.com. With a true community paper in circulation, we feel better about returning to our little hyperlocale stories about West End. We are back to our normal monthly publication schedule. Enjoy!
Brent Brewer OWEN Publisher
Issue 60
Property Values to Be Frozen to 2016 Levels
What’s Happening in July at:
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Excerpts from Atlanta Journal Constitution article Property values in Fulton County will be frozen at 2016 levels, Commission Chairman John Eaves said Monday, after attorneys this weekend found an obscure law that gives the commission the ability to change the tax digest.
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The decision comes after weeks of furor over high assessments. Nearly a quarter of the 318,000 residential parcels in Fulton had assessments that were up 50 percent or more; half were up by at least 20 percent. Local governments had pleaded with the Board of Assessors to reduce the values and rescind the assessments. Residents have been lobbying for relief from the high values, which Fulton Chief Appraiser Dwight Robinson said came because Fulton had not kept up with an improving housing market. But representatives from the Atlanta Public Schools have said keeping last year’s values could be detrimental to them. Atlanta Public Schools was counting on an assessment increase of about 6 percent this year. That would allow the school district to keep the same tax rate as last year, but collect about $24 million more from local taxpayers. Cancelling the higher assessments completely, could mean sharp cuts, such as leaving hundreds of classroom positions vacant, laying off other employees and reneging on promises of raises for teachers, APS Superintendent Meria Carstarphen said. Officials are still hoping for a compromise that will allow the district to collect more tax money, but still offer homeowners some relief. For his part, Eaves said the freeze will give the county time to explore alternatives that could ease the burden for taxpayers next year and in the future. Commissioners will consider reducing the school tax for seniors, freezing property values for people who live in gentrifying neighborhoods, capping the amount that someone has to pay in a year and allowing residents to pay in phases.
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“Screens” tickets can be purchased at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/screens-tickets-35972601018
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Goal: 40 business & Institutions by August 15th 2017 calendar year. To participate, contact us at ourwestendnewsletter@gmail.com.
Introducing the Existing and Expansion Boundary‌.
West End Community Improvement District
Homegrown Writer Headlines Theatre Festival “It’s an honor to have The Essential Theatre produce my work in my hometown, and especially in my home neighborhood. I’m looking forward to participating in the process to create a truly unique experience for the audience.” - G.M. Lupo, West End– raised playwriter, 2017 Essential Theatre Playwriting Award Winner Atlanta, July 2017 – Tickets are now on sale for the 19th Annual Essential Theatre Play Festival, which kicks off in just a few weeks! This summer, Essential Theatre continues its tradition of premiering the best new work by Georgia playwrights for Atlanta audiences with the 19th Annual Essential Theatre Play Festival. The festival runs July 28 through August 27 at the West End Performing Arts Center, located at 945 Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard.
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This summer, audiences will see the World Premiere of Another Mother by G. M. Lupo, the 2017 Essential Theatre Playwriting Award winner; the Regional Premiere of Ada and the Memory Engine, written by twotime Essential Theatre Playwriting Award Winner and nationally acclaimed playwright Lauren Gunderson; a two night limited presentation of Atlanta playwright John D. Babcock III’s Independent, and three readings from the Bare Essentials Play Reading Series, copresented again this summer with Working Title Playwrights, the premiere playwright development organization in Atlanta. Shows are performed in a rotating repertory. To view the performance schedule, play descriptions, or purchase tickets, go to EssentialTheatre.com/BuyTickets-Now.
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Do Not Discount Our New Dine-In Who doesn’t like taco Tuesday? How about $2 Taco Tuesdays? Who wouldn’t love that? --the wait staff. A two dollar discount night ushered in the demise of the last sit-down restaurant on White Street across the street from the Lean Draft House location. Space. In December 2011, when it first opened, the Our West End Newsletter ran a review of Space: “In the 6 months that I have lived in the West End, I have passed by this establishment on several occasions, and every time I have inquired about the atmosphere or ambiance whether to a stranger or friend, the response was usually the same -- raised eyebrows and tilted heads. On Tuesdays, Space offers happy hour specials all night; $2.00 domestic beer and wine, and from 6pm – 7pm several appetizers such as grilled shrimp, jambalaya, or Basa fish nuggets are available to choose from for $2.00, however the highlight of Tuesday night is not the delicious food being served but the ear quenching sounds of the Lucky Street Band, led by band leader and keyboardist Sammy G. Hairston. The smooth sounds of the Lucky Street Band are a blend of about 11 band members and their style of music ranges from Classic R&B to Contemporary Jazz.” Space definitely was the place (2 bottles of domestic beer + 2 appetizers +$1 and change tip for a 2 $5 dollar bills), everyone loved it but the wait staff. On Tuesday nights, the bartender was not smiling from collecting dollar bill tips from patrons. With a Los Angeles bartending background, the owner was unfamiliar with how to price their delicious food dishes. Space could barely have broken even on food. Not a rewarding experience for a chef. Discounted drinks and live music, attracted enough neighbors to make Tuesday night a lively affair, but the constant turnover in wait staff, managers and chefs kept customer service from drawing regular return business and healthy daily receipts the rest of the week.
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“Discounted drinks and live music, attracted enough neighbors to make Tuesday night a lively affair, but the constant turnover in wait staff, managers and chefs kept customer service from drawing regular return business.” - On Space’s Demise West End dine-ins have not learned the lesson from Space’s demise. Even in our favorite West End restaurants, you order from the counter and are lucky to grab a seat to eat for your food. Our least favorite restaurants prepare hot food from behind glass partitions. No one tips, then we are surprised when the menu is an unaffordable $12-$20 per meal. We support our local restaurants out of obligation/ convenience, a charismatic owner (Tassili or Bakari), and a taste for unique cuisine (a plethora of unique vegan fare and pork-free pizza with garden fresh toppings). But nothing is driving us to multiple visits during the week. Personally, we can’t stop going to Lean Draft House. Everyone loves tacos and beer and patio seating, but extraordinaire customer service is the game changer. A hostess greets you at the door. Your server is knowledgeable about the local craft beer choices, offers taste samples, and genuinely appears to be having fun. Lean Draft House understands that good profits come from keeping patrons in their seats through great customer service or watching an Atlanta United game. If you want to support our local sit down restaurant, Lean Draft House, bring your Hamiltons and Jacksons and leave the Washingtons at home. Invest in their success. Give them time to work out the kinks while maintaining their wait and kitchen staff. On their 1st year anniversary, we can ask them to celebrate a profitable year with a $2 taco night and participation in the West End Community Improvement District.
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The commitment to live AGAPE Love is the commitment to live self-less, committed action on behalf of "the other", especially the most vulnerable and even strangers and enemies. In our faith practice, that is commanded. Jacqui and I want to thank all of you who lived that with us. Our People of the Way of Jesus gatherings, coffee house and Community Devotions, along with our advocacy with individuals was our attempt to live that in how we shared our home, resources, time and energy. Some of you were instrumental in your sharing with us, and for that we are thankful. Through AGAPE empathy, empowerment, transformation and healthy community are possible. We commend you to the living of that here. Thanks! -Jamie Kaufman
West Hunter Baptist. 1040 RDA Blvd SW
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