The endangered Crane Loon

Oh, how sweet it is to live in a 'boom' city. I recall when I first got here that the Darlinton Apartments on Peachtree used to have a sign that said " Atlanta Population Now"...Apparently, they had a deal with the hospital across the street and every new birth would be totalled and added the following am. My Father used to live in this building. He still lives close to it: walking distance. The sign no longer works, as it was designed with only 7 led type numerals. According to the latest census and Arbitron, our fair city now is in the double digits, if you include the surrounding suburbs.

But there has been a vast expansion of condo units all over this city. Ridiculous amounts of construction occur everywhere. The condo's being built near my Father boast 6,000 units alone! Who will buy these things? The market is flooded, yet they build even more of these! And still: I have no issues finding renters here in East Atlanta, so they must be coming from somewhere. Will the last person out of Jersey turn off the lights, please?

The by product of all this construction is a large amount of crane's being located in a 'pub district'. Combine alcohol and depression, add an unguarded crane, and you have all the makings of a good ol fashioned clusterf*ck!

The guy on the crane can stay up there for days, effectively stopping the traffic on the city's busiest and most famous boulevard. People cant get to work. Businesses suffer. The police answer to the corrupt 'Good Ol Bro' network downtown, so they cannot snipe these loons, even with rubber bullets. They tried that in 2001, and the guy got caught up in some rope and hung to death! In 2005 a murder suspect stayed there for 6 days, before a cop offering water tased him.

Last month, four men — one wearing a Superman T-shirt — were apparently looking to "see the sights and do something exciting" when they scaled an 18-story Midtown construction crane, Atlanta police said. The men told police they climbed the crane "for giggles."

So I think it's incumbent on these construction companies to make sure nobody can get on thier GD crane's anymore,even if they have to pay for armed guards overnight. Or, they should have to bear the cost of all the lost revenue.

Tonight @ the Northside Tavern: a benefit for Cora Mae Bryant, grandmother of the Peidmont blues. I'll be there: will you??