In the City’s desire to attract and retain residents Downtown they are currently working on sprucing up the River South District. In efforts to make Downtown traffic more fluid, much like Gay Street City planners plan on turning the rush hour hell known of Front Street into a two way street between Broad and Rich Street. This is the first phase of the River South Roadway Project. Other changes include wider sidewalks, bio-retention planters, bicycle racks, and trashcans. Council Woman Mary Ellen Oshaunessy sponsored an ordinance to allocate $8.7 Million Dollars to complete the first phase of the project. Downtown officials claim that The River South Roadway Project coupled with the Lifestyle Communities affordable housing project scheduled for completion in 2009 is intended to make the River South District seem more like a neighborhood instead of a Downtown ghost town. I welcome this transformation, any change is good change for River South.
Click here for the Columbus Local News story.
I tell you what, Jeff Mathes (Owner of Due Amici) has to be one of my favorite Downtown personalities right now. Sure he’s a friend of ours at ColumbuING, and he contributes to some of our posts so I might be a bit biased, but we still don’t always agree on certain topics. However, I sympathize with his latest rant featured in The Other Paper regarding his being ambushed by The Columbus Downtown Development Corporation and Capitol South (I must disclose I was formerly employed with both of these organizations) with a notice that he will be paying an additional $1,200 a year in property taxes to help fund a $15 Million 682 space parking garage for the new Edwards Companies new 4th St and Gay St residential projects. Granted 36 other property owners within a $800 foot radius will be paying property taxes, however, not all of the big dogs will be like the Columbus Athletic Club, Edwards Companies, and The Catholic Diocese office (churches are exempt from this law). Mathes insists that he is not against a parking garage, he is more pissed off that he was not consulted in the drafting of this proposal to City Council. He’s mostly annoyed that the authors of this proposal try to convince Mathes that this parking garage benefits him more than anybody in the Gay Street corridor. Mathes rejects this thinking because he already pays some $27,000 annually in Valet services and compensating surface parking lots to make parking easier for his patrons. I agree Downtown needs more free/cheap parking garages, however, as a patron of Due Amici I can attest that the proposed parking garage is realistically out of reach to Due Amici. If I were Jeff already paying $27,000 in parking solutions for my patrons I too would conclude that the parking garage mostly serves Edwards Companies residents, thus they should foot the lions share of the cost. I’m interested to see how other Gay Street property owners feel about this new legislation. If you’re out there please chime in.
All you can eat and drink from 9pm till Midnight for one low cost of $40*.
Tip is included so you will not spend a penny more!!!!!
Come to spice this Thursday and Break The Bar!!
W/ DJ Dave Espionage!!!
You can pre purchase your wrist bands by contacting Chas Kaplan at 614-560-5006 or chas@kaplanartistsgroup.com
PLEASE ADD- AND INVITE YOUR FRIENDS TO THIS EVENT via FACEBOOK INVITE!
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/event.php?eid=29764521205
Last night I went to my first Columbus Crew game of the 2008 season. I’m a big soccer fan so I am ashamed that to admit this was my first game of the season. However, I could not have made my Crew debut on a better day. Our Columbus Crew played an exhibition friendly match against London’s West Ham United. The game started off pretty exciting with West Ham scoring a quick low strike in the first minute. Columbus later tied it up with a powerful header 6 minutes later. Unfortunately West Ham tied the score with the help of the Crew’s defense accidentally scoring on its own goal. West Ham would eventually go on to put the game out of reach with a game winning goal in the second half.
Interesting enough the most exciting part of the game didn’t happen on the pitch, but in the stands during the half. Apparently the Hudson Street Hooligans who are the Columbus Crew’s version of European football Hooligans or Club Firms got in a an argument of with an authentic (English) West Ham United fan. The fight eventually spills out on to the platform of the Upper Deck. All of the Hudson Hooligans follow the West Ham fans while Crew Stadium officials and Police Officers separated the two sides. The Hooligans overwhelmingly out numbered the West Ham fans. With the Hooligans impressive numbers they yelled brilliantly offensive/Patriotic chants such as, “Fuck The Queen!”, “London Sucks!”, “You fucked up!”, Co-lum-bus!”, and “USA!”. As a big soccer fan who pays more attention to European Soccer than American I was proud and slightly embarrassed at the same time. I was proud because the energy from the Hooligans is something that Major League Soccer has needed for a long time, this type of passion is similar to many of the soccer fans in Europe, Africa, and South America. It was embarrassing because the game was not competitive it was an international friendly and their should be more diplomatic and goodwill interaction among the respective fans instead of a contentious one.
Great speakers, free beer, and an amazingly talented group of people made for a an awesome Startup Weekend. Congrats to Alvin, Ashley, Chris, Jamie, Rocky, Tim and everyone else who did such a wonderful job organizing the event!
Here’s Todd pitching easyTXTR…
Oh and my two startup faves… eCloud which is a matchmaking site for air travelers (feel free to insert your ‘mile high club’ joke here) and iToot (by GiggleSeeds) which is a awesome iPhone whoopie cushion app! Awesome!
