MLK Plaza same as MLK Homes

**MariusPontmercy** · 09-04-2012, 01:23 PM

Man shot, killed in S. Philadelphia

Towers go down, fake rowhouses go up.

People that live in them stay the same.

**Hospitalitygirl** · 09-04-2012, 01:26 PM

http://www.philadelphiaspeaks.com/fo...-homicide.html

The neighborhood is Hawthorne; there is a thread, and your point is still well-taken, regardless.

**BarryG** · 09-04-2012, 01:49 PM

THere are still issues there but it's nothing like the towers, come on.

**Hospitalitygirl** · 09-04-2012, 01:58 PM

Originally Posted by BarryG

THere are still issues there but it's nothing like the towers, come on.

I won't walk over Bainbridge from Broad to 10th. It's much too sketchy for my tastes. I'll stick to South, since there are at least more people out and some lighting. At night I tend to avoid driving that little stretch too, if alone.

**Jayfar** · 09-04-2012, 01:59 PM

Originally Posted by BarryG

THere are still issues there but it's nothing like the towers, come on.

Seriously true! When the towers were still there, their nickname on the street was Saigon.

**BarryG** · 09-04-2012, 02:03 PM

Originally Posted by Hospitalitygirl

I won't walk over Bainbridge from Broad to 10th. It's much too sketchy for my tastes. I'll stick to South, since there are at least more people out and some lighting. At night I tend to avoid driving that little stretch too, if alone.

A good idea, I was in a cab at 11th & Bainbridge a few months ago a saw a guy ducking and running holding a pistol. Unfortunately for him there was a cop car driving on the same block (and our cabbie got out and pointed out the perp, God knows cops never pay attention to their surroundings when in a car).

**Naveen** · 09-04-2012, 02:35 PM

Originally Posted by BarryG

THere are still issues there but it's nothing like the towers, come on.

+1. You cannot even compare those towers to what is there now.

**Hospitalitygirl** · 09-04-2012, 02:56 PM

Originally Posted by Naveen

+1. You cannot even compare those towers to what is there now.

I know, but they also have but a fraction of the people living in that area now as compared to when the towers existed. Those people have been dispersed to other areas...

**MariusPontmercy** · 09-04-2012, 04:23 PM

I know it was worse when the towers were there, but the kind of people living in those projects hasn't changed one bit. There's just less of them now since there's less units overall.

**the mule** · 09-04-2012, 04:51 PM

Yes it's better than when the towers were there, but people need to be realistic. The buildings may look nicer but there is still a ton of PHA housing there with all of the complications that come with that, and it will be there forever.

**BornAndRaised** · 09-04-2012, 05:13 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GE75WMeVNAk&sns=tw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-evxS...6&feature=plcp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13YT-...7&feature=plcp

All are rap videos featuring the deceased. Make your own conclusions about why he was murdered.

**Naveen** · 09-04-2012, 11:02 PM

Originally Posted by the mule

Yes it's better than when the towers were there, but people need to be realistic. The buildings may look nicer but there is still a ton of PHA housing there with all of the complications that come with that, and it will be there forever.

Forever is a very long time! But from what I understand, the PHA housing is handed out differently than in the past; their are stricter requirements, such as no criminal background. Of course, that just goes for the people getting the unit; if Bad Cousin or Criminal Friend start coming around, there's no real accounting for that. But the requirements will inhibit that to a certain extent, since within the community people tend to self-segregate just as within any community. I'm not saying this stops crime, just that it reduces it.

**the mule** · 09-07-2012, 12:11 AM

Originally Posted by Naveen

Forever is a very long time! But from what I understand, the PHA housing is handed out differently than in the past; their are stricter requirements, such as no criminal background. Of course, that just goes for the people getting the unit; if Bad Cousin or Criminal Friend start coming around, there's no real accounting for that. But the requirements will inhibit that to a certain extent, since within the community people tend to self-segregate just as within any community. I'm not saying this stops crime, just that it reduces it.

Yes forever is a very long time. The only scenario where it isn't forever is one where our economy grows to the point where we are so prosperous that there is no more need for public housing. At that point you and I will be long dead and our descendants will be exploring the universe on Galaxy class starships so nobody will be worried much with what's going on at 12th and Bainbridge anyway. Otherwise people will still be unable to afford decent market rate housing and PHA will still have a reason to exist.

You have pointed out the precise flaws with the background checks and even affordability limits. There are often friends and family that are off the lease but living in the house who aren't subject to the background check and/or make enough money to make the household ineligible from an income standpoint. It doesn't help that PHA is pretty terrible at enforcing this either.

**RainboTeabagger** · 09-07-2012, 12:51 AM

Originally Posted by Hospitalitygirl

At night I tend to avoid driving that little stretch too, if alone.

LOL. You have to be kidding.

**RainboTeabagger** · 09-07-2012, 12:53 AM

Originally Posted by the mule

...and it will be there forever.

Obviously the MLK towers weren't there forever.

**Oladybug** · 09-07-2012, 01:10 PM

Reminds me of a HILARIOUS Chris Rock observation: "If a friend calls you on the telephone and says they’re lost on Martin Luther King Boulevard and they want to know what they should do, the best response is, ‘Run!’ "

**the mule** · 09-09-2012, 08:27 PM

Originally Posted by RainboTeabagger

Obviously the MLK towers weren't there forever.

You missed the point. The buildings may change, but there will always be public housing there.

**BarryG** · 09-09-2012, 09:00 PM

Originally Posted by Oladybug

Reminds me of a HILARIOUS Chris Rock observation: "If a friend calls you on the telephone and says they’re lost on Martin Luther King Boulevard and they want to know what they should do, the best response is, ‘Run!’ "

Interestingly, Philadelphia's MLK Drive might be the nicest street named after MLK in the country. Cleveland's MLK Drive is very similar as it also runs through a landscaped park and also connects to their art museum (itself of the same style and era as PMA, at least the original building). However the park itself is not nearly as well used as ours.

**OldMama** · 09-10-2012, 07:32 AM

MLK in DC is awful. Don't let me die famous and have something that awful named for me.

**ShoshTrvls** · 09-10-2012, 08:49 AM

A blog and flickr pool of photos from MLK Boulevards around the country (and yes, most are pretty depressing):

MLK BLVD | Images and dispatches from streets, boulevards, drives, etc. named for Martin Luther King, Jr.
Flickr: MLK BLVD

There's only one crappy photo from Philly -- since it is open source, if you've got any good pics, add them to the site.