It’s back to the drawing board for the proposed Atlanta ordinance to crack down on “nuisance properties.” The Public Safety and Legal Administration Committee held the controversial piece of legislation in committee at its last meeting. This means that the ordinance cannot be voted on by the City Council until it makes it out of […]
Money
Posted inHousing, Money
Local Housing Forum to Discuss Strengthening Tenants’ Rights in Georgia
With an increasingly unaffordable market, Atlanta’s housing crisis has become a hot topic over the past year for many residents. For the Black community, the stakes have never been higher. Eviction threats, uninhabitable living conditions, and rising home prices have housing advocates and community leaders alike calling for stronger tenant protections across the metro area. […]
Posted inHousing, Money
Facing Eviction, Forest at Columbia Residents Meet with DeKalb Commissioner
Tenants from Forest at Columbia — the Panthersville-based apartment complex at the center of an alleged illegal eviction controversy — have gained new allies in their fight to keep their homes. DeKalb County Commissioner Larry Johnson arranged for staffers from the county’s Community Development Department to visit Forest at Columbia on Aug. 5, less than […]
Posted inHousing, Money
‘An Illegal Eviction’: Forest at Columbia Residents Feel Blindsided By Ownership
Freshly packed and stacked cardboard boxes formed a pile in front of the wall-mounted television inside Cynthia Arnold’s living room. The 68-year-old grandmother had “Sanford and Son” on the tube, but it was harder than usual for her to watch with medical gauze taped over her lacerated right eye. It’s an injury Arnold said she […]
Posted inBlack Businesses, Money
Nightlife Businesses Make Presence Felt at City Hall
On 26 separate occasions since late March, Our Bar ATL reached out to the Atlanta Police Department for help. The business owners were looking to hire off-duty police officers to provide safety and security for their patrons, according to Sarah Oak Kim, co-owner of the bar on Edgewood Avenue in Downtown. As Kim addressed the […]
Posted inBlack Businesses, Money
A City Proposal to Fight Crime Could Hurt Black Business
When Johnny Mims first learned about the city of Atlanta’s current nuisance ordinance, he was reading a news article about the closure of Encore Hookah Lounge in Downtown. The nightlife entertainment venue had a two-year streak of violence that led to two shooting deaths, a reported aggravated assault and more than 170 incoming calls to […]
Posted inHousing, Money
A Guide to Atlanta’s NPU System
The city of Atlanta’s 2023 fiscal year budget feedback and approval process is over, but you can still have a say in how your tax dollars are spent. How, you ask? Neighborhood Planning Units, aka NPUs. NPUs are advisory councils designed to amplify the voices of city residents, giving them a way to express their […]
Posted inBlack Businesses, Money
What’s Next for Atlanta’s Black-Owned Food Trucks?
Food trucks have evolved over the past decade from a trendy culinary phenomenon to a staple of urban life across the country. Vibrant food truck scenes now surround cities such as Los Angeles and Houston. It was once thought that Atlanta would be next in line, but boundless red tape and restrictions stood in the […]
Posted inBlack Businesses, Money
Black Entrepreneurs Find Hope With New BeltLine Initiative
Ashley Carlton started his gourmet cookie and ice cream business, Not As Famous Cookie Company, seven years ago as a mobile food truck, with the mission of serving unique and decadent treats. At the time, Carlton was traveling across metro Atlanta to different festivals, catering to customers on the go. He realized that his customers […]
Posted inEconomic Development, Money
Black Residents Want Their Voices Heard on West End Mall’s Future
Sandra Goodwin has been going to Dendera Cosmetic Studio for decades. Goodwin came from Savannah to attend Spelman College in 1988. Like many women who stumbled into The Mall West End as young students of the Atlanta University Center Consortium, she discovered the small storefront that’s known for its eyebrow services. The beauty salon has […]