Once bitten, twice shy…

In the aftermath of last weeks meeting with Mr. Karp I’ve heard a lot of different chatter about how the whole thing went. A common refrain since last Thursday is that Mr. Karp nailed his presentation and put everyone’s minds at ease. It would seem that the most vocal are those that are now (or where before) very optimistic about the new Waterfront West. A quieter sect, however, still feels wary of the developers intentions, yet many admit that the presentation was a very good start.

I would like to say that I fall somewhere in between, but after speaking with a friend, I feel that old cynicism creeping back. This friend didn’t attend the meeting, and isn’t particularly interested in the situation, but during our conversation they mentioned something that rang true. To paraphrase, they said that of course he had a great presentation, and of course people were pleased with what they heard. He was speaking to an audience and knew exactly what should be said and how it should be delivered. He was going to tell you what you wanted to hear, to a large extent, and wasn’t about to bring up any controversial aspects to his plans at the first meeting. He was there to win the hearts and minds, not be fully forthright and honest. They said, he would act no differently than a politician would.

I hadn’t really thought of it that way, and while I continued to ponder my friends take on the whole thing, I began hearing people saying he’s “earned the benefit of the doubt”…That’s when i fell back to planet earth. NowI’m not one that thinks he’s still got secret plans for Nantucket North, but I’m gonna keep a cautious eye on the situation moving forward, and I suggest, for the sake of our city, others do the same.

Since we’ve had some shady development in Newburyport before, from Cherry Hill to this home on Ship Street that mysteriously burned down…,  you would think people would be a bit more careful with whom they trust.

As such, I have decided to launch a new segment on this blog titled “Scars on the Face of Newburyport”, featuring photos of some of the more disturbing development projects in our city. Just in case anyone needed a reminder. Stay tuned for that!

A Few Thoughts…

Thought I’d post a few quick thoughts from last nights meeting with Mr. Karp. (I’m posting via my cellphone, so I haven’t had a chance to look at any of the other blogs yet, forgive me if I repeat any of their points)

- First, I had mixed feelings about last nights meeting. On one hand it went well, on the whole, but there is something slimy about the rhetoric  Mr. Karp was presenting. He continually said that they want public input then never mentioned how anyone could provide that input.

- He constantly remarked about how Newburyport has a unique character, and even mentioned its economic and social diversity, and how he didn’t want to ruin any of that, and yet not one person brought up the fact during the Q+A that buy building these expensive condos and a hotel on the waterfront, he will totally change the character and diversity of the city.

- Kudos to Jim Stiles and Bruce Menin, both of whom, if i remember correctly, asked about affordable housing, drawing the only applause of the evening. Stiles especially deserves credit for at least bringing up how the social and economic diversity of Newburyport is disappearing.

- Many parts of last night sickened me, such as the line of people queuing up to give Mr. Karp a business card prior to the meeting. Nothing however, was as disgusting as Kathy Rush of Rush Realty on Inn St. standing up and telling Mr. Karp and the audience that Newburyport doesn’t need affordable housing because there are affordable homes in other towns such as Amesbury and Salisbury. Then to almost assure that I would vomit all over the person seated in front of me, she went on to name drop about 20 names to Mr. Karp and describe all the projects she’s worked on. (also, she was extremely rude to the woman who was just in front of her on the Q+A line, absolutely despicable)

-Along the same vein, Mark Andrews saying how happy he was that Mr. Karp was coming to town because his property value will go up…

-It was great to see the entire auditorium packed, it shows that people actually care, however, as i mentioned earlier about the line of greeters with their business cards at the ready, I couldn’t tell how many were there because they cared about Newburyport, and how many were there to schmooze and get in on the ground level with Mr. Karp. To many suits for a public meeting of that sort, that should be a read flag.

- Was I mistaken or was the purpose of this meeting originally to introduce us to his development team? He didn’t introduce a single member of his company last night…

- It seems to me that Karp’s entire plan hinges on a parking garage, which may be the best news of the night. That gives the city a lot of leverage into what Karp can build, and we should not give that up with out getting the best possible plan for the citizens of Newburyport.

that’s it for now, when i have a little more time and an actual computer to sit at I’ll probably post more…

King Of The Hill

I watched this episode last Sunday on TV and all I could think about was how well it relates to Newburyport. Check it out if you’ve got some time to waste, especially the second half of the episode.

King of the Hill – Lady and Gentrification

The Appearance of Improriety

Looks like the city council is set to meet privately with Karp Thursday evening, and while it sounds to me like it violates the open meeting law, they say it doesn’t, so i suppose we should just take their word for it. Do you think any of the councilors that attend the “meet and greet” will ask him any tough question during the presentation? I doubt it.

Questions for Lord Karp

With Mr. Karp coming to town on Thursday and holding a public forum, including a Q+A session, I have strong hopes that we will finally get some clearer idea about what the future holds. I am also hopeful that there will be a strong turnout of concerned citizens, loaded with questions. That being said, I thought I’d open up this post for people to leave their questions, either because they can’t make the meeting, or just to share what you would ask him, given the chance. So feel free to post a question for Karp, who knows, maybe he’ll (and by him I mean one of his underlings) will read it!

Let the Interactivity begin!

I guess I’ll get the ball rolling – “What is your response to the fact that some the businesses you own in town, namely Michaels Harborside, employ large numbers of illegal immigrants, and is this the sort of trend we should expect from you in the future as you develop Waterfront West?”

The Desecrator on the Move?

Last night I happened to drive past The Desecrator’s (Todd Freemont-Smith) house at the top of Lime St. and there appeared to be a moving van out front. The house has been on the market for a while, perhaps it has finally sold. Makes me wonder how long till Mr. Wheelwright gets a front row seat at the McMansion convention in his backyard…

Kent Street Parking Lot

Once again the Kent Street parking lot was full to capacity during the last 2 snow emergencies…..

I’m just saying.