I heard that the fence has been taken down that blocked off the parking lot next to 88 Sports Bar, at 88 N. Main. A fence had been put up to keep the bums out. The bums are notorious for congregating in that block of the Main Street Mall, between Jefferson and Adams, where they loiter and panhandle and drink beer they buy from Jack’s Food Store.
A friend of mine told me he got mugged on that block of Main, walking home from work this weekend. He’s in the service industry, so this would’ve been late, probably around midnight or 1 AM. A bum approached him and asked him for money. He said “I can’t help you, sorry” and kept walking. The bum then ran up behind my friend and got him in a headlock. My friend pushed the bum off him, but failed to notice that he had been pickpocketed in the process. He didn’t realize his wallet was missing until the next day.
That block of Main has always been a problem and seems to be getting worse. It’s leading me to the conclusion that maybe Downtowners need to be more like Germantowners.
Let me explain what I mean. Germantowners are all about property values. Property values, property values, property values. Don’t you dare do anything that might decrease their property values. Try leaving your lawnmower in the front yard overnight in Germantown. You’ll get a letter saying you’re making the neighborhood look bad and hurting everyone’s property values.
Right across the Main Street Mall from the parking lot where the bums hang out is a very nice condo building, the Claridge House. It just went condo 2 years ago, and is nearly full with new owners now. My question to those new owners is, why do you put up with the bums across the street? Don’t you realize how much they decrease your property values? And if so, why aren’t you all up in arms about it, like the folks in Germantown would be?
By the way, when I say that the bums are decreasing the Claridge’s property values, it’s not speculation, it’s fact. I know this because I had someone e-mail me about six months ago, seriously looking at the Claridge and a couple of other buildings in the Downtown core, intending to buy. This person asked me questions about the neighborhood, and I talked up all the benefits of living down here. “Let me know which building you chose, after you make your decision,” I wrote in my last e-mail to him. But, it was not to be. He e-mailed me a couple of weeks later and said he had walked around the neighborhood, and was so disturbed by all the bums hanging out and arguing and drinking and bothering people that he decided to stay where he was in East Memphis. Wonder how many other potential buyers have been lost?
Another thing: I’ve decided I’m not going to go in 88 Sports Bar as long as they continue to allow bums, vagrants, and panhandlers to congregate anywhere near the entrance to their business. I’ve been meaning to give the place a try, because I’ve heard the people who run it are friendly and the happy hour specials are good. It’s also currently the closest “neighborhood bar”-type place to where I live, and I’ve thought it would be fun to hang out there and maybe meet some of the people who live in the Claridge, and also the Renaissance Apartments on that same block. But as long as there are bums outside the front door, sorry, not gonna happen. I’ll just wait patiently for Bardog Tavern to open, and keep hanging out at the Saucer in the meantime.
One of the projects I’ve been working on will be ready for launch tomorrow. In the meantime, expect at least one more post from me today.