Time to Vote!

Voting time is quickly approaching, the 2006 Primary Election will be held on September 5th.  For most, if not all of Murray Hill, our voting precinct is the Murray Hill Presbyterian Church at 940 Talbot Street, the same location as the MHPA meetings each month.  A bonus though if you hadn’t noticed is that early voting started on August 21st and will continue through September 9th at the Murray Hill Public Library at 918 Edgewood Avenue.  This allows anyone in the city to go in and vote regardless of what precinct you would be required to vote in on the actual voting day.  For The Hill that means I can vote at the library instead of traveling across town to my old district because I have yet to update the Supervisor of Elections of my move.  The problem though is you can only vote on subjects that pertain to the old district not those unique to
Murray Hill so we should all maintain current record with the Supervisor of Elections.  As of Friday, August 27th 191 people have gone to the Murray Hill Public Library to vote early.  This is a good idea to make sure you get your vote in no matter what happens on voting day as well as avoid the crowds.  Any information regarding the voting process as well as updating you personal information can be found at the Duval County Supervisor of Elections website. 

The Hill is going to follow this up with some information about the candidates and important races in the area I just wanted to get the word out and about that it is time to voice your opinion, stand your ground, and you can do it TODAY.

MHPA Meeting Thursday Night

When I first talked to the gracious organizers for the MHPA they informed me that the meetings would be held on the last Thursday’s of each month.  Unfortunately this month it is being held a little early, perfectly conflicting with the Neighborhood Watch Program meeting.  This Thursday, August 24th at the Murray Hill Presbyterian Church on the corner of Post Street and Talbot Street the MHPA will have Gary and Joel Miller from the Miller Appraisal Group come to talk about the real estate bubble and how it is affecting our neighborhood and the City of Jacksonville. 

A hot topic right now for both home buyers and sellers.  The housing market is cooling off around the country with the slow rise of interest rates, but the “bubble” has not burst and I personally don’t think it will in most parts of Jacksonville and especially in Murray Hill.  Though I’m not an expert in the real estate profession I feel that Murray Hill will continue to be a great value for home owner’s in the years to come.  With interest rates leveling off for the time being home buyers should become reassured in the market and pick up the pace on home purchases.  Only time will tell, but I have made my investment in Murray Hill and feel confident in doing so.

Post Street Road Work

Post Street is currently getting resurfaced from Cassat Avenue to McDuff Avenue.  Information on this project can be found on the Florida Department of Transportation website.  The Post Street roadwork will continue from McDuff towards Five Points as the city and state prepare to convert Post and College Streets to two way thoroughfares.

Post Street (State Road 228) – Resurfacing from Cassat Avenue (State Road 111) to McDuff Avenue (1 mile). APAC-Southeast, Inc., of Sarasota began August 7, 2006 and should finish in 180 days at a cost of $1,574.000.00. Buckley Williams of England, Thims and Miller is CEI project engineer (904-389-6370). John Kell/FDOT project manager.  (2096484)

From Murray Hill to Beacon Hill

 Out of town to Boston to regrettably take in a game of the Red Sox get their ass handed them by the Yankees. But The Hill is back and getting adjusted to the South. Getting acquainted with reality takes getting acquainted with current events and I’m not there yet.

Though some news of note is a Neighborhood Watch Meeting on August 24 at 7:00 pm in the Murray Hill United Methodist Church at 4101 College Street. The neighborhood watch is a local effort to thwart deviant activity here in Murray Hill. The Duval program was enacted in 1976 and involves micro organization of the neighborhood in ways that the Sheriff’s office cannot. Totally voluntary, this type of unification has proven to be imperative in revitalization and renewed safety for community participants.

Murray Hill is “Throwing Stars”

The cast of the indie film Throwing Stars is back in Murray Hill this week.  Not that they have gone too far from MH, just other areas of town to film. 

The filming of Throwing Stars started back In mid July at Dave’s Diner. The film’s screenplay was written by a Bishop Kenny graduate Ryan Steckloff who doesn’t appear to have any prior film credits to his name.  It is also the debut film for the director Todd Breau, although he has unit production manager credits in television for “True Caribbean Pirates“ and “Shot From the Sky.”  Also a bit of local flare is that the co-producer of the film is TigerLily Media from here in Jacksonville. 

A brief synopsis of the plot:  A dark comedy where a troubled doctor kills a drug dealer and recruits friends to help disposes of the body with the trial and tribulations that follow. 

I’m sure there is more to it than that but it’s all I could find for now.  In an article from the Times Union the director describes the movie as “Very Bad Things meets Swingers“.  Doesn’t sound too bad and when you have Wayne Knight, the infamous Newman from “Seinfeld” playing a bungling police officer, it adds flavor to the mix. 

I look forward to checking out the movie when it is released and appreciate what the local film councils have done to promote the area and entice production companies to come to the North Florida area.  The Hill will follow this up with some facts relating to what goes into filming a movie in the City of Jacksonville.

I wanted to add a link to a story about Throwing Stars from First Coast News.

Chevron Update

The gas station tank replacement seems to be complete.  Not to dwell on such a meager subject but that station at Post and Edgewood is one of two places to get gas in Murray Hill, the other being on the corner of Lenox and Cassat. 

With that said, people are interested in the improvements being done at the Chevron.  I inquired last night of the gas pumps, whether they now took credit cards or had they worked on the pumps at all?  The answer is no.  The owner doesn’t want to pay the fee to have operational credit or debit card payments at the pumps.  I assume this involves a financial service and possibly an extra phone line at the business, but either way the owner doesn’t want to pay up, and thus you have to walk into the store to pay.  I told the cashier that people would be more inclined to get gas there if they were able to complete their transaction without having to come in and talk to him.  There would be more commerce, and in turn credit card machines at the pumps would pay for themselves.

In finally the improvements at the Chevron Station were nothing more than a necessity, not cosmetic or convenience upgrades.  Shoot

Where is Murray Hill?

This probably should have been The Hill’s first post but I myself was not positive.  The question has been posed several times since moving to the area “Where is Murray Hill”.  What are the neighborhood perimeters and how does it differ from Riverside, Ortega, or other Westside neighborhoods.  A look at map quest searching for Edgewood Avenue and Post Street shows that intersection to be about the center of Murray Hill but it extends out from there. 

The boundaries are as such: Roosevelt Boulevard and McDuff Avenue to the East, Interstate 10 and Lenox Avenue to the North, Cassat Avenue to the West, and Park Street to the South. 

So now all those in Avondale know, when you cross those tracks on Edgewood you have entered The First Block of Murray Hill.

Billiards at the First Block

In case you haven’t heard, the current owner of the old Woods Pharmacy at 1136 Edgewood Avenue, on the First Block, has been trying to get approval from the city to covert that building to a Billiard Parlor.  Since the building is currently zoned CCG-1 there could only be a Billiard Parlor there by exception from the City of Jacksonville Planning Commission.  

This proposed use has created quite a stir with the residents here in Murray Hill.  Many have voiced their opposition at the public meetings or just to themselves and neighbors in private.  Their main argument is that particular area of the neighborhood, being so visible, does not need, nor does anyone want, a dark, seedy pool hall, attracting unsavory characters at all hours of the night.  I completely understand and agree with that viewpoint.  The owner on the other hand argues that he is a billiard aficionado, and that is his love and hobby.  He wants to open a family and community friendly, upscale billiard establishment.  Furthermore he argues, and is correct, that he could open a pub, or sports bar at that location without anyone’s consent.  This would in turn create the potential for the same type of establishment that those in opposition of the Billiard Parlor fear.  To top it off, rumors and assumptions have spread on the subject that I would like to clear up.  I have included an excerpt from a recent post on The Metro Jax forum concerning the speculation that in conjunction with a “pool hall” there would also be a plethora of gaming machines: 

“I just read the minutes from the Planning commission meeting from June 15 concerning the Exception E-06-24 for a Billiard parlor at the old Woods pharmacy. The only mention of gaming machines was a hypothetical assessment of what the owner could do if it were not granted the exception. Their (the owner and legal council) argument is that they could open a sports bar, with two pool tables, darts, and gaming machines in that location immediately without approval from anyone. In addition, a coffee shop was mentioned, which I think we all agree Murray Hill needs. Instead the owner claims that his passion is Billiards and as previously stated wants to open a family and community friendly billiard parlor.

There were six Murray Hill residents that showed up to oppose the exception. Their main arguments were related to parking, late hours of operation, and the general opposition to the idea of a “pool hall” in the neighborhood. They argue that there are as many as four locations in the area to get a game of pool. Not many of the opposition had very valid arguments. They mostly referred to the chaos that was Fat Cats, the previous bar that is now Martini’s.

With that said a brief synopsis of the owner’s intent…..these conditions were part of the public record and ultimately are going to be part of the legal requirements of the exceptions approval:

-Reduce the maximum number of tables from 22 on the original application down to 17.
-Beer and wine only, no liquor
-Maintain the existing Wood’s Pharmacy facade….this included not tinting or smoking the windows to create the dark, gloomy look.
-Make the exception non-transferable upon sale of the property. Thus the next owner would not be able to operate a Billiard parlor.
-A dress code. Men on the weekends required to wear collard shirts. This is in response to the oppositions concerns that there will be an overflow from Martini’s across the thoroughfare and the two could combine crowds to increase traffic and noise in the area.
-No live music or outdoor amplification of music.
-Tables rented by the hour required a deposit of a driver’s license or credit card.
-Limit the hours of operation to 1 am Monday through Thursday, 2 am on Friday and Saturday, and 12 midnight on Sunday.

There were twelve conditions the owner submitted in his package but I could only find the one’s listed above in the minutes.

With that said the commission ultimately decided to approve the exception, overturning the staff recommendations of denial. They almost had to. This proposed used does not contradict the intent of the Zoning Code. I understand why the neighborhood is apprehensive of the idea but we have to take the man (Owner – Gary Goff) at his word. The Commission approved the exception but in doing so leveled some restrictions on it, all listed above. In addition they added a condition that the closing hours be 12 midnight every night no exceptions. Their main concern in the end was the enforceability of those conditions.

Parking also came up a bit. That argument goes like this: A building of that size (7,800 square feet) at the previous use as a pharmacy, at retail parking generation rate would require 26 spaces. For a pool hall three parking spaces are required for every two pool tables thus at 17 tables the required parking would be 25.5 = 26 spaces. Since the pharmacy originally required 26 spaces, the owner vested these spaces and is now going to use them. The commission further pointed out that if the exception was denied and the owner opened up a sports bar there would be a much higher demand for parking and thus the Billiard parlor parking would help mitigate the parking problem. It’s semantics at that point but that is the logic.

I’m the last person that wants a seedy pool hall opened on the First Block Who wants to be intimidated in their own neighborhood. You would want to walk or ride your bike to Moon River. Or take your children down. Without any prior knowledge of the owner, I tend to believe that the owner has community friendly intentions. Legally there is little to stop him now so why not embrace the idea and visit the place. If he opens an upscale Billiard parlor and we all visit generating business and the buzz then why would anyone want to change that into a run down pool hall (not that he would be able to).”

From here I’m not sure what will happen.  There has not been any visible activity at the site, and all efforts to contact the owner have been to no avail.  It will come down to……is the owner telling the truth?  Can the area support an upscale Billiard Parlor?  If so, what other venues will be attracted to the First Block?  If not, can the City enforcing its own restrictions on the exception they approved?