rosspok t1_jdaobgb wrote on March 23, 2023 at 12:57 AM

Reply to comment by Expendable_Red_Shirt in 8 new restaurants are opening in Hampden. Yes, you read that right. by federal_thrill

The avenue isn't, and as far as I know has never been, strictly a "restaurants and shops" place. Rather, it's the heart of a neighborhood and as such it has plenty of mundane businesses. Off the top of my head it's got a church, a dentist, multiple barber shops and hair salons, a pediatrician, at least one bank, a coworking space, and a family center. That's part of what makes it vibrant. If places like those and the title company were prevented from being there it would be feel like (and really, be) just another soulless, master-planned entertainment district. I don't think there's too many people who want that.

> People who believe in “purity” tend not to like me

You're the only one I see here arguing for any sort of purity. You're the one suggesting that certain types of businesses shouldn't get to be on the avenue.

Expendable_Red_Shirt t1_jdaq8k1 wrote on March 23, 2023 at 1:11 AM

Who is talking about preventing certain types of places from being on the avenue?

Did you just get all angry about comments you made up in your head. Because I never said nor implied

>certain types of businesses shouldn't get to be on the avenue.

Just that I was disappointed that a bunch of stores have left and non-stores took their place. That there are now fewer stores. That's it. That's the post.

Imagine if you went to a zoo and they sold all their mammals. It's still a zoo. But you can still be bummed there aren't lions and elephants and stuff. That doesn't mean you hate birds.

Did everyone forget how to read today?

2020steve t1_jdb490m wrote on March 23, 2023 at 2:57 AM

>Imagine if you went to a zoo and they sold all their mammals. It's still a zoo. But you can still be bummed there aren't lions and elephants and stuff.

I've been living here for 20 years. I think people enjoy living here is because it's generally pretty useful. There are two grocery stores, three mechanic shops, a solid hardware store, and a nice nightlife. It's very walkable and the parking's really not terrible when you remember that you are in the middle of a large city.

These are all practical concerns. The nightlife is practical in that it helps people bond which can help build a sense of community which, in turn, maintains the safety and livability of this neighborhood.

It only took a couple years to get annoyed at the 34th street lights thing. Are you trying to go somewhere in Hampden on a Sunday in December after the Ravens pound the shit out of the Steelers? Forget it. My aunt and uncle lived on Keswick and it was bad back in the 80's too. Some years are worse than others.

Maybe the knee-jerk reaction is "Well, don't go there if you don't like it" but I live here. What's the alternative? I go over to the Waverly Giant to buy groceries?

If 36th street was a wall of bars and foofy restaurants, that means I'd have to go elsewhere for practical things. I gave up drinking years ago, so why stay in a neighborhood geared towards entertainment?

To paraphrase the Wu-Tang, Hampden has diversified its bonds. If we had all our eggs in the drinking/dining basket, we'd go bust every time the economy tanks. The population would be far more transient. But because we have a lot to offer to different kinds of people, it's pretty stable, which makes it a place you'd like to hang out in.

I hate this "purity" thing you're talking about because what I'm talking about is SO far from some hipster hangup about "authenticity" or whatever. I just want this place to serve its residents well so that it can stay nice.

Check out The Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs. Cities exist primarily to serve their residents and when they fail to do that, they begin to fail in other ways.

Expendable_Red_Shirt t1_jdcha6k wrote on March 23, 2023 at 12:34 PM

> I think people enjoy living here is because it's generally pretty useful.

Many neighborhoods have grocery and hardware stores. Hampden offered a good mixture of fun and practical. The fun has diminished with the avenue stores closing imo. That’s my point. There was a balance and it’s being lost.