The smiling man you see above is the most recognized purveyor of fried chicken in the world. I love fried chicken and just about anything else that can be battered and fried. Who (unless you're a vegetarian) doesn't? Problem is, in this neighborhood people seem to be under the impression that walking down the street eating chicken and simply flinging the stripped bones wherever they may fall is perfectly acceptable behavior. Do you have any idea how hard it is to keep a dog away from chicken bones? Hell, even I am tempted by the prospect of free fried chicken.
This is indicative of a larger problem in RP and many other neighborhoods. There are a large number of people who don't care if their neighborhood looks like crap. Cheetos bags, juice containers, beer bottles and an endless array of junk. I've seen TV parts in the park. I've seen doll houses in the street. Last week my dog almost got her mouth on an untouched baloney sandwich laying on the sidewalk. A week before that, an entire loaf of bread stuffed in some bushes. What are these people thinking? Forget about the rats and pigeons that feed on the discarded food. Forget about the safety hazard of broken glass in the sand at the beach. Why does it seem that so many people are hell bent on destroying anything of value? Are they all nihilists? Do they like the way their street looks when they look out the window?
If someone can help me understand the impetus behind this behavior, I'd love to hear from you. Until then, I'll be outside picking up the leavings of the day.
This is a photo of the sidewalk where a young man's body lay last night. It's hard to make out but this is a faint blood stain with a few puddles of blood near the building. The colorful splotches are from candles that were laid out in tribute to the victim. The shooting occured sometime after 8 pm about 3 doors down from my building. From what I could gather from the crowd, he was 19 and probably the victim of gang activity. I tried to learn more this morning but it appears that the murder of a young man in this neighborhood does not warrant much press. Here is a link to the only news I could find:
The smiling man you see above is the most recognized purveyor of fried chicken in the world. I love fried chicken and just about anything else that can be battered and fried. Who (unless you're a vegetarian) doesn't? Problem is, in this neighborhood people seem to be under the impression that walking down the street eating chicken and simply flinging the stripped bones wherever they may fall is perfectly acceptable behavior. Do you have any idea how hard it is to keep a dog away from chicken bones? Hell, even I am tempted by the prospect of free fried chicken.
This is a hole that suddenly appeared on the parkway in front of my building. I did not put the cigarette butt in the frame for scale but it does the trick. It's about 7 or 8 inches wide and goes down several feet and back under the sidewalk. The wash out under the walk looks fairly extensive. I have contacted 311 3 times and have been told they'd make a report. So far I have seen no response. I put a bit of garden fencing around it to keep people from stepping in it. If noone comes to investigate soon, I will try contacting the ward office.
