“The reality in New Albany is not one that many like to accept.”

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Readers, bear with me. The following appeared in the comments of a previous posting entitled, “City Hall’s rental property program test balloon, as viewed by NAC’s readership.”

To respect certain wishes, I’ve had to edit the exchange, and of course you may return to the original using the above link to see if I’ve done it competently. The point to me is that the issues raised here are worthy of discussion, and many of you will have lost sight of the thread once it began sinking down the page.

The gist will become clear fairly quickly. Please join the conversation, subject to this blog’s usual disclosure policy.

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knighttrain said…
So what is the deal with the property at 703 Main? It was for sale for months and the sign is gone now. Did it sell? I looked at it and it did not look that bad to me. Nothing a little yard work could not cure.
11:55 AM

G.Coyle said…
knightrain: Are you a slumlord wannabe? I bought Bill Baize’s other property at 619 E Main a year ago. I’m now watching as all his slumlordly cover-ups fall off and the full extent of 30 years of neglect shows thru. I will spend $100,000 before I’m done to undo the damage caused to this beautiful historic house. I also looked at 703 E Main and it’s the same stuff. Your comment is most perplexing…unless you’re a slumlord.
8:35 PM

knighttrain said…
No Coyle. I used to own a slum on Main Street for 30 years, but sold it for 12 times what I paid. I notice that there is a lot of property up for sale in the area and I cannot figure it. Speculation I guess. BTW–My slum was inspected many times by the city over the years and always passed. A couple of times I had to make some changes as the code changed. I meant that I looked at the outside of the 703 and it did not look as bad as what I was hearing. I did not know who owned it. 10:39 AM

The New Albanian said…
Congratulations, Knighttrain. You’ve excelled at capitalism. Hard to figure why other won’t do the same … but wait … slumlording is a form of capitalism, isn’t it? Doesn’t make ’em Kulaks, though, hard as we may wish it to be so.
12:08 PM

knighttrain said…
Yes, it is and I may dabble again soon. But the truth is there are many in the downtown area who have a vision that is not very realistic, or they just are not very tolerant of others outside of what they perceive to be their social class. People should realize that New Albany is a very poor community with a generally poorly educated population and poor people need roofs they can afford. NOT THAT I AM IN FAVOR OF CREATING SLUMS!!! But the fact remains that there is an economic niche to be filled. There have been many urban areas where they have scattered the public housing into many areas of the city rather than have the “projects”. Perhaps we could expand these into the Klerner Lane area and the Main Street area and we can all feel better about ourselves.
7:18 PM

The New Albanian said…
“But the truth is there are many in the downtown area who have a vision that is not very realistic, or they just are not very tolerant of others outside of what they perceive to be their social class.”

Pleasant thoughts from someone who previously bragged about turning a big profit on a slum, but I digress.

Please, expand upon this thought, Mr. K. This is looking increasingly like a topic that needs to be elevated to the marquee. If you agree, then I’ll do so — and the remainder of the unrealistic crowd can have a chance to join the discussion.
7:36 PM

(Note: Knighttrain now replies to a comment that subsequently was deleted, and in turn, I have removed his references to it)

knighttrain said…
I simply implied that there are different visions and the reality in New Albany is not one that many like to accept.

There are many properties that are up to the legal codes that many on these blogs would turn up their noses at as well as the people who live in them. Families move in and out of rental housing all of the time, why? Because they are in bad financial situations. Go ask the local school principals how many children move in and out of each school in New Albany on a weekly basis—I think you would be surprised.

AS for New Albany–41% live in rental housing–12% in public housing–the median income is far below state standards and—grab this—25% of the people in New Albany over 25 did not graduate from high school—-so lets build some nice upscale places for them to live? They are trying to get by. They do not need affordable housing by your standards—they need cheap housing by their standards. But there are many that need just the bare minimum to get by and as long as it meets the code it is the consumer that sets the standard—not bloggers.
8:22 PM

knighttrain said…
New Albanian–I was joking about it being a slum–but it was in the downtown area and an older building. It met all codes and as I said was inspected many times.
8:25 PM

The New Albanian said…
KT, duly noted, and of course I’ve been sassy with you, too.

knighttrain said…
BTW–I did not say I dabbled in being a slumlord—I have rented property—and have dabbled in making money—-and not at the expense of poor people.As long as I am on the subject though I have rented for years before I could afford my own home and I lived in some places where the cockroaches crawling on me in the morning woke me up every day–so don’t lecture to me about the poor. There is a stigma attached to renting. Everyone in the neighborhood knows you are renting and thinks a little less of you. I saw where on of the mayoral candidates said something about this situation and he referred to absentee landlords and renters in the same sentence as if the city needed to be rid of them as well. It is unfortunate that poverty is alive and well in New Albany–but the economics are not changing, it is getting worse not better I see it every day.
8:42 PM

And that’s where we pick it up again. Readers?

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