Midtown Atlanta News and Events Archives

5th Annual Race To Recycle – November 19 by Keep Atlanta Beautiful

October 22, 2011 by Thom Abbott

Running is good for you. Or so I’m told. I’m not a runner. But, how about running for fun, some prizes, a t-shirt and helping Keep Atlanta Beautiful! Well then the 5th Annual Race To Recycle is just for you.

Keep Atlanta Beautiful and presenting sponsors IKEA Atlanta and WSB-TV are “setting the pace for zero waste” on America Recycles Day with the 5th Annual Race 2 Recycle in Piedmont Park on November 19. KAtlB will be joined by WSB-TV’s Jovita Moore, who will be making her 5th appearance as master of ceremonies. The Race 2 Recycle supports recycling efforts by Keep Atlanta Beautiful, an affiliate of Keep America Beautiful, and proceeds from the race will go towards purchasing supplies for neighborhood cleanups and beautification projects, graffiti removal and more.

Registration begins at 7:30 a.m. under the Pavilion at Piedmont Park. The 5K run/walk begins at 8:30 a.m., followed by an awards ceremony with prizes from IKEA, Phidippides and Zoo Atlanta. IKEA will provide food, water and coffee for all runners including their famous cinnamon rolls. This event is kid, stroller and dog-friendly. The Race 2 Recycle is sponsored by IKEA Atlanta, WSB-TV, Republic Services, Inc., Liberty Tire, and Zoo Atlanta.

Have a group from your office that wants to enter a team? Have your company sponsor you! Find out more about sponsorships at Keep Atlanta Beautiful.

TO REGISTER
$20.00 pre-registration for adults; $15 for children under 13; $25.00 race day. Register online at active.com or in person at Phidippides. For race information, contact Ed Williams at 404-327-7738 or roadraceservices@comcast.net. For all other inquiries including how to sponsor a team, contact Peggy Denby, 404-249-5853, peggydenby@keepatlantabeautiful.org.

Race To Recycle Piedmont Park November 19

Zombie Apocalypse? Atlanta Says Bring It On

October 20, 2011 by Thom Abbott

Zombie Apocalypse Atlanta As a blogger, I’m NEVER, repeat, NEVER at a loss for topics. Sure, I’m a real estate broker and you want real estate information and or listings, right? But, it’s important to KNOW about where you want to live, not just about WHAT you want to live in.

One of my long list of topics is the exploding “Hollywood Goes Atlanta and Georgia” topic. Movies are happening everywhere here. Why? Well, a number of reasons, but let’s just say that we have some cheap labor. (I’ll write about that in a later post.)

But, the country is taking note of Atlanta….Zombie’s and all! The Walking Dead is filmed South of Atlanta and just started its second season. (The first season was filmed more in Atlanta proper and used the old Bell Quarry just west of Downtown as a main scene.)

Atlanta’s zombies have even made it to the New York Times, so I’ll let you read even more about it.

Midtown Sidewalk Money Stops Falling Through the Cracks

October 5, 2011 by Thom Abbott

Every city operates in a different way. And Atlanta is…well…no different. If you have ever walked through Historic Midtown Atlanta, you’ve probably noticed some sidewalks that made it less than easy to walk, or push a stroller.

In the City of Atlanta, property owners, not the City, are responsible for the maintenance and repair of their sidewalks. Yep. Pretty amazing way to run things, but that’s how it’s done here in the ATL.

And when you have paid the city for those needed repairs, the City itself has a hard time getting the money? What? Well, it seems money went into the City’s General Fund, and then the General did not like to release it to the people (department) it really belongs to…Public Works. Ah, welcome to city government at its finest.

On Monday, the City Council approved legislation to expand the city’s Sidewalk Trust Fund which will direct monies in the right direction. Ya think?

Under the new ordinance — which was introduced Sept. 19 by one of Midtown’s representatives Councilman Kwanza Hall, one of Midtown’s council representatives introduced the new ordinance September 19 so that revenue that the city collects from private property owners for sidewalk repairs will go directly to the Sidewalk Trust Fund.

Hall said, “As soon as I learned that our Sidewalk Trust Fund could benefit from this legislative solution, I was delighted to sponsor the ordinance. Over time, monies accumulated in the fund will allow us to be more proactive when it comes to sidewalk repairs and improvements.”

PEDS , a pedestrian advocacy group has been working with the city on the issue and was in support of Hall’s legislation. “This is an important and much-needed first step toward enabling Public Works to address the estimated $152 million backlog of broken and uneven sidewalks in the city of Atlanta,” said Sally Flocks, President.

Midtown Atlanta is already a great, walkable neighborhood. It looks like walking might be just a bit easier in the future.

If You SEE Something, SAY Something

October 3, 2011 by Thom Abbott

If You See Something Say Something Atlanta Police Department One of the strong points of any neighborhood is the actual people that live there. And when they work together, for whatever reason, things can get done. One such thing is the concept of community policing.

If You SEE Something, SAY Something is an Atlanta Police Department initative that is targeted at citizens and employees of the City of Atlanta to be the eyes and ears of the APD. The more involved the citizens are in their own community, the less likely a crime will go unnoticed. The idea behind If You SEE Something, SAY Something is making criminals feel THEY are not safe in a neighborhood.

You should never put yourself in danger, but the idea is to teach everyone to be a good witness and report in detail as much as you possibily can. Just take note of:

What drew your attention to the activity?
Who did you see?
What were they wearing?
What was their location?
How were they involved?

Basically, the Who, What, When, Where and How of the incident.

If you see something suspicious, report it. Let the APD determine if it’s a problem. They would rather be called by a concerned citizen and it turn out to be nothing versus ignore what you see and it turns into a crime. If You SEE Something, SAY Something.

The program is for all city empolyees and citizens while they are at work or at home. Being observant of your surroundings at all times is just good personal safety, no matter where you are.

Midtown Atlanta is covered by Zone 5 of the APD, as well as two additional private security forces, Midtown Blue and the Midtown Ponce Security Alliance (MPSA). Additionally, MARTA has its own police force. You can reach each of them at the following numbers:

APD Zone 5 — 404/658-7054/7830 as well as dialing 911
Midtown Blue — 404/817-0500
MPSA — They only offer their patrol hotline to paid members, but you can report activity to info@midtownponce.org
MARTA Police — 404/848-4911

Take a moment, and program these numbers into your cell phone. Don’t live in Midtown Atlanta, but visit the area often? Be an alert citizen and have these numbers available.

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Thom Abbott Midtown Atlanta For More Information on how we can best serve your Midtown Atlanta Real Estate needs, please fill out the online contact form or call us at 770.713.1505.

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MARTA Takes Riders For a Ride…Literally!

September 30, 2011 by Thom Abbott

MARTA Fare Increase October 1, 2011 Come Sunday, MARTA (Metro Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority) is taking you for more than your normal ride from home to work or perhaps the Atlanta Airport. It’s 25% fare increase to $2.50 ONE WAY goes into effect on Sunday. But get this, monthly pass riders get hit with a whopping 40% increase, going from $68 per month to $95 per month. OUCH! Fares have risen 43 percent and 81 percent since 2009 which is when MARTA had their first fare increase in 8 years.

The fare is now on par with New York and Washington, D.C. But sadly the service is anything like those cities. First off, you can go pretty much anywhere in those cities via transit, and they run 24 hours a day. MARTA does neither of these.

An article that appeared in the AJC says many people will now rethink riding transit and go back to their cars. Keep in mind, parking rates in Atlanta are still very reasonable, compared to cities like NYC and DC. A Georgia State student commented they could be a monthly parking pass for $45. Heck, who wouldn’t drive their own car!

For me personally, I own a home close to the Doraville Transit station. If I choose to ride MARTA to an event downtown, it costs me $15 round trip for 3 of us. I can search and find parking for that amount, the gas cost is minimal, and I’ve got the freedom to get home when I want.

All this also comes at a time when the Metro Atlanta area is getting ready to consider adding a 1% sales tax to fund some $6 Billion in transportation projects over the next 10 years. Voters will vote on the list of projects next summer. The actual list of what will be voted on is to be set later this month by a roundtable of stakeholders from the region. However, the in fighting has already begun. The suburbs don’t want any part of what Intown Atlanta wants or needs, and vice versa.

It will be an interesting winter as this is hashed out via public relations campaigns to convince voters to approve the measure. If it fails…..who knows what commuting in Atlanta will be like 10 years from now.

Music Midtown Arrives in Midtown Atlanta

September 23, 2011 by Thom Abbott

Another big event is about to desend upon Midtown Atlanta….Music Midtown!

Set up for the 1-day music concert is well under way at Piedmont Park. And we all know that major events in Piedmont Park mean parking and traffic challenges for Midtown residents. The larger impact of such events is usually felt by the residents of Historic Midtown more so than the Peachtree Street residents, but it is noticable all the way around.

Attendees to Music Midtown are strongly encouraged to take MARTA to the Midtown Station and then walk to the park for the event.

This line up for Music Midtown is a pretty impressive one:

Cold Play

Manchester Orchestra

Young the Giant

The Black Keys

The Joy Formidale

Band of Skulls

The Constellations

The Postelles

Walk the Moon

Music Midtown has various streets partially closed and areas of Midtown Atlanta blocked to resident-only traffic. Here’s a map of the details.

Music Midtown Street Map

HomeSmart