Hey Ali, whats stopping you from getting on the road?
Posted on 06/24/2010 9:01:12 AM PDT by freespirited
When officials in Gaithersburg decided to install security cameras in an effort to stem a burgeoning crime rate, that illustrated the sad, swift decline of the once charming town center to an area of urban decay, some locals said.
Dormant streets, a mishmash of empty shops and growing pockets of gang activity now afflict the former agricultural enclave in central Montgomery County.
Even with recent pushes to revitalize the city, particularly Olde Towne, many say it has fallen too far behind to compete with increasingly popular walkable communities and already established suburbs in the area.
"Everything is old," lamented Ali Akbar at his once-bustling Olde Towne Cafe. "There is no future here. If I knew what I know now, I would never have come here."
Akbar calls the new Gaithersburg a "place where people are afraid to come out after dark," and "development is nonexistent," causing much of the city to look out of place compared with nearby communities, such as nearby Rockville and Germantown.
When asked how things got off track in Gaithersburg, critics point to several factors, including county policies that led to a proliferation of low income housing while discouraging development, and an unwillingness by authorities to stanch an exploding illegal immigrant population.
The results have been sobering. Home values have fallen more than in surrounding areas, and are now $50,000 below the median for Montgomery County, according to census data. And robberies and other serious crimes have risen dramatically, officials said.
"It's an area we've been forced to devote a lot of officers to," said Montgomery County Police Chief J. Thomas Manger during a recent community meeting.
Worried about disrupting the area's historic charm, city officials blocked many pushes to commercialize segments of Gaithersburg, some critics said. In turn, developers flocked to surrounding areas, and Gaithersburg property values for the most part plummeted -- aside from high-end pockets.
"Certainly it's a perception around here," Mayor Sidney Katz said, of the city's reputation as crime-ridden and underperforming. "People will say it's unsafe here because there is nobody on the streets. But then again, other people will say it's safe here because there is nobody on the streets."
The bashing has been tied to surging gang activity in the city. Police will install a series of cameras in the Olde Towne corridor in an attempt to reverse the growing number of street attacks.
Cops say most of the crime in Olde Towne is tied to Hispanic street gangs.
Authorities also have stepped up patrols in pockets prone for robberies. One of the most active police zones is around Lakeforest Mall, Manger said.
Gaithersburg is home to roughly 60,000 residents, making it one of Maryland's largest cities. Boosters point out that the Kentlands, a planned community, has become one of the most sought after -- and expensive -- mixed-used neighborhoods in the region.
And some insist that the transitional traumas Gaithersburg is enduring now will pass, and the city will stabilize.
Homes surrounding Olde Towne Gaithersburg have become the destination point for a growing blue-collar Hispanic community, drawn by an ample supply of affordable housing -- they account for at least 20 percent of the incorporated city's population.
Like many of the city's residents, they were priced out of Washington's inner suburbs.
Local insurance agent Dave Vidmar says the demographic shift has created a budding entrepreneurial force in the community -- throngs of artisan workers are starting businesses for the first time -- that will ultimately "fuel Gaithersburg's resurgence."
But a generational and noticeably racial divide also has formed.
Local businessman Basil Waters, who owns a longtime appliance store, said he was part of efforts to revitalize Gaithersburg in the 1970s, and he isn't pleased with the city's conversion.
"It's changed a lot," he said. "I don't think it's a good thing. There's a lot of foreigners around here doing nothing but walking the sidewalk."
Even so, some residents are puzzled by the cultural war.
"There comes a point in every historic district when it has to be revitalized," said Bret Kimbrough. "So what, there's a lot of Latino people here; there's a tendency to assign a negative karma to change. It's not right."
But reflecting on the new Gaithersburg, he added, "Some long-time residents probably do feel alienated."
Not likely without a change in policy.
Gee, I wonder how Arlington and Alexandria were able to remain vital and desirable while Gaithersburg turned to sh#t? As a kid, Gaithersburg and Bethesda were very desirable locations to buy homes. That was 1970s. Now not so much.
I know, raise taxes on the rich and invest in green energy and that will surely solve all problems.
Hey Ali, whats stopping you from getting on the road?
Alexandria, Arlington, and much of NoVa have their own problems with the "illegal amigos." The "Amish" thugs seem to prefer going to PGC when they leave the district proper.
Of course, none of this changes the fact that housing costs in Montco and NoVa remain prohibitive wherever you decide to live relative to the rest of the country. Its the rentals where the problems are.
Just doing the work white street gangs won't do.
I thought “Diversity” was strength?
So why did those towns create a bunch of rentals? Did the owners find it too expensive and move out?
What happened????? LIBERALS happened.
Payback is a Biatch.
You cater to trash the trash takes over.
So what? The rich liberals have plenty of money , they will just move and leave the stench they created, and go create another stench somewhere else.
Because originally, those rentals were built for early career professionals. Eventually, the apartments got old, areas in the District itself grew more attractive for the younger professionals, and certain immigrants found that they could afford $1600 in rent if they moved in several folks to a room.
Montgomery County Changes Sanctuary Tune
Montgomery Co. Cracks Down On Illegal Immigrants
Keep in mind that only two short years ago, Montgomery County, Maryland, including Gaithersburg, prided itself on its sanctuary county status.
The chickens are now home roosting, with illegal aliens overrunning the streets.
Its the rentals where the problems are.
I heartily agree. Whenever a townhouse complex reaches about 40% rental, you are looking at a future slum. Check out Woodbridge, VA. When buying a home steer clear of developments that have townhouse complexes attached or planned. These things can really impact the resale of surrounding property when the rental rates fall. The worst part is all the Fed efforts to depopulate urban slums by subsidizing their abode in suburban apartment buildings. Check out US 1 around Beacon Hill, also Triangle and Dumfries. While Prince William protected themselves from the international workers they have been bombarded with Section 8 housing subsidies.
No, Brett, what's not right is the fact that you're so blinded by your politically correct ideology that you can't see what's happening around you.
You get a huge influx of illiterate, illegal aliens, still belonging to a culture that produced a third world hell hole, and yes, crime is going to go up. Housing values will go down because these same illegals think nothing of not having plumbing or a leaking roof, and properties like that will be a sink on the entire neighborhood.
But you go ahead and try to assign blame to "Long time residents" who are upset that rule of law has been discarded by you and your fellow travelers so they can feel "diverse" and "virtuous" about themselves.
I spent my teen years in Gaithersburg in the 1970s. Hard to even recognize the place now.
I just love the Fed compartment building in my neighborhood. It had been closed for some time, then the feds bought it and turned it into section 8. Now it's full of spanish speaking illegals who monopolize the park next door, and won't smile or greet their neighbors (unless they're spanish speaking). I suspect they're responsible for the big increase in crime and vandalism we've experienced since their arrival.
Defund this program immediately. Deport the illegal invaders and their anchor babies.
“... Check out US 1 around Beacon Hill ...” You are SO RIGHT on that one.
Last I heard Gaithersburg was a sanctuary city.
This refers to the downtown area. Some places with a Gaitherburg address are not within the city limits. Those areas are not served by the Gaithersburg police, so are not subject to their policies, but rather the policies of the Montgomery County police. I know they had a sanctuary policy for a long time, but it may have changed recently.
But . . . but Gaithersburg is supposed to be a liberals utopia. High taxes and poor service - what more could you want? (Don’t look now, but these Marylanders are fleeing to NoVa so that they can ruin the suburbs south of the Potomac, too.)
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