More Lee Harvey’s

A big-picture-seeing FBvian writes in with a good explanation of why I, and others, would be quick to put the blame for what’s going on at Lee Harvey’s at the city’s feet. It’s a bit lengthy, so let’s go ahead and jump.

Here’s the thing about the Lee Harvey’s situation: it was easy to
believe the City of Dallas was behind the effort to push this place out of
business.  The fact that the city government here seems to have it in for
certain types of businesses should be a concern to everyone in this region.
Look at the wasteland that used to be known as Deep Ellum. The place
that used to have so much creativity and life is now all but dead. I know
some are fighting to save it, but you won’t find anyone on the council who
really cares enough to do anything about it. Fixing the crime problem would
certainly help, but it doesn’t fix the bigger quality of life issue facing
the city.
Often times I’m asked by friends “what is there to do in Dallas?”  It’s
becoming much more difficult to answer that question.  Not only is Deep
Ellum dying, but the West End is in dire straits. Downtown Dallas is
dangerous and has nowhere to go. Greenville Ave. has fewer options than it
used to and you never know what Avi and his gang might do to get your car
towed or otherwise ruin your evening. Victory Park might someday be
something, but it’s got a long ways to go.
I’m honestly beginning to tell folks to go to Sundance Square in Fort
Worth. Even the Shops and Legacy in Plano has more life than most places
in Dallas. It’s bad.
A lack of a good entertainment district is a surefire way to kill a
city. Yes, Dallas is a great place and there’s a lot of good things going
on here. It’s been 25 years since I’ve seen the kind of construction that’s
going on now. But if we don’t come up with a better answer to “what is
there to do in Dallas” soon, all this is going to be rotting away in
another 10-15 years.