brian0123

The idea was not to move the people. The idea is to have the organizations spread out a little more (the people will follow). I have no problem with Search and other organizations in the neighborhood. They try to identify the people that really do want the help and help them. The issue is that they could probably spread into other neighborhoods as well, so additional neighborhoods can share in helping these people. What's wrong with opening shelters in Bellaire, or Katy, etc.?

Farrago's is good food. I actually love that part of Midtown even though I live on the other side of Main. My wife and I love to people watch around there... and CoCo's is awesome. Also, most of the "oontzy" people are now at Washington. I now typically see young couples and more "real" people enjoying the restaurants and bars... instead of the Affliction wearing t-shirt guys and plastic girls that have migrated to Washington (good riddance).

That's great. I find that the constables do a great job... they just need to know where the problems are at (even Batman needed a spotlight to know when trouble was happening:)). Vigilance is key, and it takes active neighbors like you to help keep the neighborhood great. BTW, I actually live right down the street from you (Anita @ Austin)

So last night, the Management Board had it's quarterly night meeting and they had representatives from some of the service organizations (and a formerly homeless guy), talk to residents about the homeless and what their organizations do. I found the discussion to be very interesting, learned a lot, and wanted to share some advice that the former homeless guy had for residents. Note: This is advice directly from a former homeless gentlemen that was pulled out of homelessness by an org. in Midtown (Career Recovery Resources)... 1. THE HOMELESS ARE NOT ALL ALIKE. Treat them as human beings, not monsters. Some of them have mental illness and are confused. Most truly want to be nice, stay out of trouble, and try to get out of homelessness. Unfortunately, it's the aggressive ones that not only prey on residents (panhandlers), but also prey on fellow homeless... that are the problem. Try to keep in mind that most homeless are people that come from homes, but have made mistakes and are looking for a second chance. He said most homeless respect and admire the property owners nearby because they realize how hard we have worked for what we have. He said that it's the aggresive panhandler ones that not only make residents uncomfortable... but also take advantage of the other homeless. 2. DO NOT GIVE MONEY TO INDIVIDUALS. He said if you give them money, they will go buy drugs/alcohol with it. Instead, donate to an organization directly. If it's after 5pm, he said it's pretty much a given they are looking for something to last them for the night... even if they say it's for dinner. 3. DO NOT OFFER SMALL JOBS TO THEM. If a guy wants to pull weeds, clean your car windows, etc... politely say no. By allowing them to live off of small, pointless tasks to make money... it incorrectly reinforces that it's okay to make a living like that. By turning them down, they will eventually realize that they need to get a real job. 4. WHAT TO DO IF YOU ARE ASKED FOR MONEY. Politely say no, and ask them if they have tried to find help with Search or one of the organizations down the street. After the meeting, I actually got to try this out and it worked! I was approached by a guy while at CoCo's that asked me if he could wash my car windows. He said he needed some money to go to McDonald's. In the past, I would have said "NO"... and he would have tried to hit up everyone else around. Instead, I said "Sorry man, but have you ever tried hooking up with Search or one of the organizations down the street?" He said they denied him, and he can't work because he has messed up tendons in his arm. He then just outright asked for money. I said "We'll that doesn't mean you can't do anything. I know there are places right down the road that would love to help you find something." His demeanour totally changed (sort of a look like, wow... this dude actually cares about me). He said he tried working offshore in the past, but that didn't work out for him. I said "Well I'm sure there's something for you. Take care and have a good night." The guy said bye (sort of shocked), and walked away from the entire area. He didn't even ask anyone else for money. They also had a representative from the San Jose Clinic talk about the new building and organization. They provide medical care for people that ARE employed... but their employers don't offer medical insurance. In other words, the people that will be utilizing it are blue collar, working people that can't afford medical care. In the past, I read on HAIF worries that it would attract crime. In reality, it only adds a ton of money to our tax rolls, they help working people, and people will only be there during business hours (they are not a shelter).

I don't think that's a fair statement. The article touches on some of the things that made me move to Midtown in the first place (and a mirror reflecting light is only somewhat impressive ). In all seriousness, I think Midtown is one of the most diverse and interesting places in Houston to live (yet most misunderstood). Not many people know much about it and what is has to offer (even residents have no clue what's around). I find it hilarious when I'm at a restaurant like Farrago's and I hear some girl say how much she loves living in Midtown... but "Don't go across Main... that's the scary side" when little does she know that Beyonce's family compound is over there and tons of nice townhouses, art galleries, Baldwin Park, HCC's campus, Ensemble Theatre, etc. In this huge city of ours... is there any other neighborhood that has grown from a crap hole 15 yrs ago... to a place that now has art galleries, parks, restaurants, clubs, bars, a growing college campus, light rail, live music venues, cool old churches and buildings mixed with new homes, an active theater company, medical services, gyms, stores, (and more stuff being developed) etc.... mixed with service organizations, an abortion clinic, and a cool old frat house... all within a ten minute walk? Yes, Midtown is gritty. But considering what it has to offer, how it continues to change, and how far it has come in 15 years... I think to call it unimpressive is a little unfair.

Thought I'd share this article just published about Midtown. LINK Not far from the predictable business centers of Houston lies a more hip and eclectic emerging neighborhood. The day began with culinary and spelling challenges: Do I order “katfish and grits” or “pork chops and pankakes” at the refreshingly unpretentious Breakfast Klub, where a microcosm of 21st-century Houston—African-Americans, Vietnamese, Hispanics, Anglos, college students in jeans, glad-handing politicians—mingles each morning with hungry out-of-towners? It ended half a mile away with snapper carpaccio (not karpaccio) at Reef, the city’s most celebrated new upscale restaurant. My fellow diners included a former Texas governor and his nattily attired entourage. Welcome to Midtown, Houston’s trendiest—and still evolving—neighborhood. Frequent travelers to the nation’s fourth-largest city are familiar with the adjacent Downtown neighborhood, which houses headquarters for energy giants and Continental Airlines, the George R. Brown Convention Center, Minute Maid Park and the Astros, and Toyota Center and the Rockets. Eight miles to the southwest, Uptown has its longstanding allures, too, including the still fashionable (and still expanding) Galleria shopping complex and scores of tony restaurants. Midtown is the newbie–in style, substance and surprises. Yet it’s also an oldie. This 325-block enclave, steeped in rich history but until recently mired in decay, is enjoying a remarkable renaissance with its eclectic collection of restaurants, pubs, wine bars, shops and venues for music and theater. Convenient to visitors, the area extends southwest from the city center to the nationally recognized Museum District, spanning both sides of Main Street and Houston’s only light-rail passenger service. Don’t expect a tightly packaged neighborhood in which every block yields a distinctive discovery. With development booming, that may soon come—but for now, here stands a nightclub, there’s a gas station. Ornate churches and decades-old law offices coexist with strip shopping centers. The “big block” (Main and Travis Sts. at Alabama St.), so dubbed because of its four restaurants and two clubs, is flanked by an abandoned building and a dirt parking lot. You‘ll also witness a visual hodgepodge: Reef, for instance, occupies a dwelling that in other eras housed an automobile showroom and a Vietnamese mini-mall. The Breakfast Klub (open for lunch, too) took over a convenience store. A giant Carmen Miranda statue guards the entrance to Tacos a Go-Go. With sidewalk cafés, benches and attractive lighting, West Gray near Bagby and Brazos illustrates the potential. It’s not an artificial tourist trap. Blocks-long loft apartment buildings—almost all opened in the past decade, with more under construction—are home to most of Midtown’s 18,500 residents. Many are new to Houston; others are fleeing from, not to, the sprawling suburbs. They average 25 to 40 years old, and their vitality is evident day and night. Travelers should think of Midtown as a treasure hunt. There are no lodgings in the immediate district, though dozens are nearby. It’s best to rely on a map, three well-placed rail stops and good walking shoes. Just take heed: When I meandered without a plan one afternoon, I got penned in the Dog House Tavern (not a bad thing) and lost on the central campus of Houston Community College (oops, I forgot to register for biology class). Most attractions are either north of Main or on Main, but the opposite side has its lures, especially 13 Celsius, a sophisticated new wine bar honored by the Greater Houston Preservation Alliance for restoring a long-vacant 1920s dry-cleaning establishment. Few new residents or frequent visitors realize that this neighborhood was once a pillar of Houston society. A century ago, oil barons and their families lived here in 5,000-square-foot homes. Years later, Walter Cronkite attended Sam Houston High School (now HCC), where Lyndon Johnson taught briefly. Watergate special prosecutor Leon Jaworski was a resident. But when I moved to Houston in 1970, Midtown was in serious decline. Vietnamese immigrants initiated a short revival, but only a handful of restaurants remain from that incarnation (including Mai’s, where you can feast until 3 a.m.). By the ’90s, it was an eyesore, a dilapidated mix of boarded-up storefronts and empty lots with isolated gems, among them the revered Brennan’s of Houston restaurant, a cousin of the New Orleans legend. The 1990 census listed Midtown’s population at 490. Tourists were all but invisible. “But the location doesn’t get any better than this, and the rail line was coming,” says Houston native Marcus Davis, who opened the Breakfast Klub in 2001.“We struggled for about two years, then came the boom.” Standout restaurants What to see and do? Depends on your mood, curiosity and appetite. Above all, Midtown is a foodie’s paradise. Three standouts: Reef (Travis St. at McGowen St.), whose chef, Bryan Caswell, was recently named one of Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs of 2009, is one of the finest destinations for seafood in the country. Its redfish on the half shell with fried mac and cheese is the stuff of legends. Before or after dinner, savor an Asian margarita at Reef’s cozy 3rd Bar. T’afia (Travis St., adjacent to the Breakfast Klub) is Monica Pope’s homage to local growers and produce. Pope, a James Beard Award nominee in 2007, changes her menu daily, using the freshest ingredients. (Who knew that portobello stew with cashew-and-walnut croquettes could be so delectable?) On Saturday mornings, Pope conducts free cooking classes while her Midtown Farmers’ Market takes over the parking lot. Ibiza’s (Louisiana St.) chef-owner, Charles Clark, has a pedigree that includes apprenticeships with Texas culinary legends Dean Fearing and Stephan Pyles; he also opened a restaurant in Marbella, Spain. Faithful diners are addicted to Clark’s lamb chops with creole mustard sauce. The wine list is terrific. Other global delights: Transylvania-born Johann Schuster’s Wiener schnitzel at Charivari; pistachio-crusted salmon over primavera risotto at Damian’s Cucina Italiana; Akaushi Wagyu beef sirloin at Crave Sushi; lump-crabmeat nachos at Cyclone Anaya’s; sautéed shrimp in orange-mojito marinade at Julia’s Bistro; and Parisian-style crêpes at CoCo’s. Or settle into Farrago’s World Cuisine, where the lunch menu includes Latin pork stew, a Vietnamese salad and Jamaican jerk pizza. Brennan’s, decimated by fire during Hurricane Ike’s 2008 rampage, is due back by the end of the year, again serving “Creole cuisine with a Texas twist”—and you won’t find friendlier vibes than at the Breakfast Klub. Retail options But Midtown fun doesn’t stop at the table. Occupying almost a full block along Smith Street, Spec’s is one of the world’s largest food and beverage emporiums, so vast that employees have been known to roller-skate through aisles jammed with 40,000 labels of wines, beer and booze, plus a dazzling array of cheeses, deli meats and other products. Need a souvenir? Your buddies back home will never forget fiery, Texas-made Devil’s Lightning hot sauce. By contrast, Sig’s Lagoon Record Shop is a Main Street hole-in-the-wall whose inventory extends beyond Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald LPs—this is the place for vintage vinyl—to Three Stooges videos, Roller Derby bubble-gum cigarettes and “Wash Away Your Sins” soap. A tad more upscale: High Fashion (a 30,000-square-foot fabrics showroom), Adkins Architectural Antiques, the House of Glass, the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft and half a dozen art galleries. For an email fix, seek out Coffee Groundz, on McGowen, and set up your PC next to a cup of peach, banana and strawberry gelato drizzled with Grand Marnier. Spirits of the night? At 13 Celsius (so named because that’s the ideal temperature at which to store red wine), I counted 74 bottles of wine priced at $40 or less, and all but a few are available by the glass. Romantics snuggle on sofas, munch on fine cheeses and charcuterie and listen to soft recorded music here, but Midtown won’t disappoint those who prefer a stronger beat. Favorites include the Continental Club (similar to its Austin counterpart), Shoeshine Charley’s BigTop Lounge (motto: “No phone, no pool, no pets, no phacebook“), Howl at the Moon (dueling pianos), Pub Fiction (key lime martinis) and the Maple Leaf Pub (Canadian beers, eh?). A different kind of entertainment enthralls at the Ensemble, the Southwest’s largest professional African-American theater. Midtowners can even mingle with the elite if their pockets are deep, their connections solid and their timing right. Special events—really special—are conducted at the House of Dereon Media Center, designed by Tina and Mathew Knowles, on Crawford Street. Recognize the name? Yes, Beyoncé is their daughter, Destiny’s Child their legacy and House of Dereon their clothing line. Rent all or part of the 4,300-square-foot house for parties accommodating 100 to 1,500 guests, or just add it to the intrigue of a Midtown treasure hunt.

Do the constables show up and do anything about it... or just let them be? If they are just hanging out... no laws are being broken and there isn't much that can be done. If they are camping out... the constables should be able to move them along. BTW, I live around the block from here and have noticed this in the past; however, it seems like it hasn't been a problem lately.

Yeah, my wife called the Met Dance Academy and they said they were still trying to line up funding. The building owner was trying to get them into a 30 yr lease... but their funding fell short. It's a shame because that would have made a tremendous impact on the area. Maybe if it goes up for auction, they might be able to convince the new owner to let them in at a cheaper rate?

Drove by over the weekend and they have already started clearing the lot across the street. My guess is that these will end up being as the Chron article states... having a parking garage across the street with a skywalk over Bagby to the complex itself.

Not sure about lunch specials. I think we might have been given the dinner menu. All of their prices (at least dinner) seemed on par with other tex mex places around town. I just remember being excited about the cheap margaritas. They also have this other margarita that I haven't seen before, that is basically a margarita w/ a Dos Equis bottle sticking out of it upside down. The mixture of beer w/ the margarita was surprisingly good.

I got to attend the private parties on Thursday and Saturday and found the food (enchiladas, tamale, tacos) to be like Cafe Adobe's. However, Ruby's did have some really awesome fajitas (highly recommended). The best part of this place are their margaritas. Very tasty, and happy hour (Mon-Friday) 4-7pm, they have .99 draft beer and 1.99 house margaritas. My wife and I will probably be coming here weekly just for the happy hour. BTW, service was awesome, and the inside of the place is nice. We are excited to have this place in Midtown.

Sorry about that. I misread the post and for some reason thought it said HUD housing. Never the less, this development will be great for the area. The more people in Midtown... the better.

Well that makes sense then. I was told on the phone that they were luxury apartments... so that wasn't an overstatement I guess.

The floor plans aren't bad... but are definitely a little pricey. They do have some additional amenities from other apartments I've seen... Expanded cableHigh-endurance fitness zoneParking garage with direct apartment accessResident gaming loungeSocial network cafe with Wi-FiSpectacular pool with Wi-Fi accessTAEXX in-wall pest control systemValet waste front door trash pickup

It could also be for elderly or disabled. EDIT: Never mind. Just called and was told that it will be HUD funded "luxury" multi-family, 185 units.

Yep, HUD is lower income. I guess they scraped their plans for high-end stuff and went the HUD route. I guess the service related businesses within Midtown will have a new workforce of people that they can hire from.

Just noticed that Camden now has info about Camden Travis online (including floor plans). Link Camden Travis Street is all about location and style! Choose from a variety of spacious one and two bedroom floor plans. Great features include crown molding, ceiling fans, large soaking tubs, full size washers and dryers, and so much more! Our pet-friendly community with a dog run also offers direct access to garages, resort-style swimming pool with cabanas, and a state-of-the-art fitness center. If convenience is what you’re after, this community boasts loads of exterior amenities sure to make your life more relaxing. Best of all, residents of Camden Travis Street are just a short distance to surrounding destinations such as recreational venues, popular area dining, entertainment, shopping, and night life. Camden Travis Street is within close proximity of the Metro rail line and convenience to Downtown and the Medical Center. Come experience living excellence today at Camden Travis Street, where a world of convenience awaits you!

This is random, but does anyone know why Montrose is laid out in a grid pattern w/ roads running North-South, East-West... but the Cherryhurst/Hyde Park area along Waugh is all crooked such that the grid get's bent up? That one section between Dunlavy, W. Gray, Waugh, and Westheimer never made sense to me.

Ah, that makes sense. Thanks for the info.

I have heard that there are serious talks about the super block. Also, I found out that talks have started regarding these two blocks in discussion.

I know nothing about construction... but what makes something like this "too expensive"? Ashby doesn't seem to be "too expensive". Their are other four-five story residential buildings being planned... so what's different about this one area of Midtown?

The city put $100,000 toward a planning study of the area, which also includes the Ensemble Theatre and Continental Club. I'd love to know the results of this study. This area could be huge with everything around it. Heck, even the parking garage for HCC has places under it along Main that could probably house some sort of retail.

Interesting, I just got back from Costa Rica where the people kept telling me how awesome Obama is. As for the Olympics, I think it's great that he tried to bring it to the U.S. Plus, if Obama had come out and said "No, I think Rio deserves the Olympics over us"... he would have been called an anti-american, unpatriotic, pos by people like you. The fact is that no matter what Obama does, there are people that will always find fault in what he does... and frankly, it's pathetic. Paul Krugman had an excellent op ed on this the other day The Politics of Spite. I suggest some of you read it.

Is it this thing finally coming alive? Chron Article The sign around the property makes it look like Farb still owns the land. BTW, what's with the huge pile of dirt on that land? It looks like they are going to build it on a mountain. EDIT: I just found this thread on HAR about CitiPlace... Thread

How can you have any opinion on this when it is still developing? The story broke just the other week and is developing daily. It's not like Obama has been dragging his feet on this for months. Huh? He gave orders to assassinate them. That's cowering? Played softball? What did you want him to do... hold a press conference minutes after he signed the orders and say "Hey everyone, I just told the Seals to kill the pirates... just watch and wait!!!" Last time I checked, the Justice Department is entirely new. As for keeping SOME of the same military people, that means he made a decision to keep people that were best qualified instead hiring new blood for only political reasons. You can't give Obama credit for at least doing that?