RFK neighbors not happy about fireworks, whine like little girls
In a NIMBY move that makes it look like the residents around RFK could be related to Chris Zimmerman and the other whiners in Arlington, residents around RFK have successfully derailed Fireworks after the Friday games at RFK. What’s more galling is that they will not even allow fireworks for Opening Day or for the Fourth of July.
All of this leads me to the question…
…Who doesn’t like Fireworks? I mean, c’mon. They’re FIREWORKS. They’re a staple of American Society, right up there with Baseball, Apple Pie, Mom, and Little Yellow Fuzzy Ducks!
The only whiners are the little baseball bitches and Pentagon City bar owners who didn’t get their stadium– which Arlington didn’t need or want, especially people on the south side whose property values would have plummeted from the noise, traffic and the waves of drunken hicks pouring in when NASCAR wasn’t on TV.
(what I want to know is, why would you drive 40 miles to see baseball in Virginia but not then go another mile across a river to see it in the city? Is DC that scary to these hayseeds?)
At least DC now gets the development it needs and the low paying underskilled jobs its residents need.
Welcome Nationals! A Washington team that plays in Washington. How novel.
Hey, I live in South Arlington. I totally wanted that Stadium. As for your other comparison, I think you’d best do some soul-searching about your “tolerant” opinions.
You might even want to shove them up your ass.
You were in the minority. The people who wanted the stadium in Arlington were largely non-Arlingtonians, renters and business owners on the South Side (like the Crystal City Sports Pub). Just count the No Stadium signs. I’m guessing you rent, FYI but I could be wrong.
As for NASCAR and hicks, take a joke, will you? If you can dish it out to the “whining” NIMBY people you’ve got to take it– and Zimmerman is the whiner? RFK is just a metro ride away.
I don’t even live on that side of Arlington, but I opposed the stadium because it made no sense. DC needs the jobs and the development more, has the right labor force and can get the land for cheaper. Not to mention getting a million people in and out of an area next to the most locked down military fortress in history. At least the anacostia waterfront is a ghost town. If they want to do something with Pentagon Shitty, they should build a technology park there or something that actually generates jobs and revenue for Arlingtonians.
I own my condo in the South Side of Arlington. I’ve rented in South Arlington, lived in North Arlington, and most of the people I spoke with are fans of the idea. They liked the idea of a baseball stadium in their backyard a la Wrigley Field in Chicago.
I really don’t think it’s fair to say NASCAR and MLB share even remotely the same fanbase in any city outside Atlanta, not even close. Business owners liked the idea, the ones I talked to, and while traffic might have gotten worse, how is the giant convention center going into Pentagon City going to make things better?
Besides, I think we could have definitely served a team, and there certainly was support from both the state and local communities, with the exception of the Arlington County Council, who made their fiat exception in a HIDDEN MEETING with no public attendance. In California, that’s a jailable offense.
But now, we lose all that taxable revenue to the district. Have you seen your property tax assessment? Have you seen how HIGH it is? I’ll bet you kiam to kittycats some relief could have been managed out of the added baseball revenue.
I wouldn’t want to live near Fenway, Yankee or Shay Stadium either. Or RFK for that matter. And I’m a baseball fan.
The stadium failed for several reasons. 1, it made no sense because we didn’t need the development not to mention the expense. 2. we were bidding against several real cities with deeper pockets. 3. space is at a premium in Arlington and 4. the pro-baseball movement was far too belligerent, frankly, to assuage people’s concerns. I mean, calling people who opposed baseball panzies and other names isn’t exactly a way to make them feel safe about gambling their property values on new development. I saw some of the pro baseball rallies, and rather than trying to convince people they were out for the blood of anyone who opposed them. Not quite the way to do things.
Not to mention lining the pockets of millionaire team owners with a publically financed stadium, which is dubious in of itself let alone for a town which doesn’t need the minimum wage jobs that come with it.
The council was smart. People like me wrote letters to him and Warner and said 1. I voted for you and 2. I don’t need, want, or want to pay for this stadium– give it to DC. Why should they even consider it? Would we commit to building a theatre or a rock concert hall because some band or troupe *might* come to Arlington? No way. So the council tabled the issue, which was procedural, since the debate had never even been introduced. The MLB never approached them as far as I know, which of course is the way they do business. They want people to want them more than they return. That way, they get sweatheart deals. If MLB had actually made an offer to Arlington, perhaps there would have actually been a debate. But as it was, it was a bunch of fans begging the council to kiss the MLBs ass for a team that DC wanted more.
If they end up building a convention center there or something else that is great. You can work and have conventions all year round and generate more business and more tax revenue and more high end patrons. Baseball is only there for the season. Not to mention, you can still live near the stadium. Look at the cranes over the Anacostia Waterfront. They can’t build the condo foundations fast enough, and they’re taking land worth nothing and turning it into the next hot spot in DC. Whereas in Arlington, property values were so high (being rich is a bitch when the tax bill arrives) that the incremental development would be marginal compared to what could happen in DC.
Anyway, I’m glad the Expos moved here. See you at the game.
But here’s the real issue… who doesn’t like fireworks on the Fourth of July? What kind of ‘Merica-haters live near RFK that the Nats can’t have fireworks when the whole rest of the country does?
You admittedly don’t live in South Arlington, but felt you knew well enough to insist you, a northern arlingtonian, knew better about the needs of South Arlington. South Arlington already has a larger lower-income base than North Arlington does. They could have used the jobs, admittedly not as much as the resident of Southeast, but still enough to warrant a team. Also, I find it unlikely those in Southeast would be unwilling to commute to work for the Nats. Just sayin’.
While DC wanted the club, it was clear to me that Northern Virginia was a better site in the eyes of MLB. The state of Virginia was willing to pay for the stadium, and in fact had already set the money aside to begin the bond processes. Regardless of who’s fronting the cash, Arlington still stood to gain financially, to the point where they could provide more services to the community (can you say Metro improvements?) or tax its citizenry less.
I, too, wrote a letter to the council, I wrote two: one before they did their dirty backroom deal, and one after. I was deeply disappointed that the council refused to hear out in public sessions the potential benefits of the team, in contrast to the close-minded fools who ran baseball into the arms of Southeast.
I don’t think Baseball in Virginia (or whatever their name was) acted in the best interest of the sport at all times, but I can say their heart was in the right place.
It’s like my friend says, nothing completes a weekend like blowing stuff up and throwing shit off cliffs.
HAH! You can stay :D We may disagree on baseball, but on the basics, we see eye to eye.