July 14, 2009
Atlanta Preparatory Academy is a new Kindergarten through 5th grade public charter school opening August 10, 2009. Although the school is not actually located in Westview it is a great alternative for parents seeking specialization in hands on and research based education and a focus on languages and humanities. For more information about Atlanta Preparatory Academy as well as enrollment information visit their website at www.atlantaprepacademy.org.
July 10, 2009
Westview can be proud of being a key puzzle piece to making the BeltLine a realty:
“By securing the Southwest corridor [GDOT land in Westview along Muse Street] and a portion of the Southeast corridor, the BeltLine is now ahead of schedule on Right of Way acquisition, and controls close to 50 percent of the BeltLine corridor. This agreement will allow ABI to continue transit and trail planning activities and open parts of the corridor up to the public within the next year.”
Read the related AJC article “Land deal adds another link to Beltline“.
June 29, 2009
Westview neighbors got together to hold the second annual Ontario Park Cookout this past Saturday. Burgers, hot dogs and chickens were cooking on the grill, drinks in ice tubs provided refreshment, old Oaks trees provided shade during the swelling summer heat, and our beautiful neighborhood provided the backdrop. The Westview Community Organization made up the backbone of the event with support from police to close off the roads, the fire stations for providing seating, local politicians, candidates, and neighbors donations to provide the food and drink. The cookout provided a great opportunity for residents to meet other neighbors, or to mingle with existing friends. Children were enjoying chalk drawing on the street, water balloons games, and jump rope. There was even a glimpse of the occasional hard working new homeowner breaking away from renovation work to enjoy the community gathering.
Please click on a thumbnail to enlarge:
June 24, 2009
With KIPP STRIVE Academy opening its doors to the first 95 5th graders in two weeks on July 8th volunteers were hard at work this past weekend to get the school ready. Neighbors, teachers, and parents joined efforts to get the classrooms, offices, auditorium and hallways furnished and decorated. Desks and filing cabinets were hauled from the basement to the designated rooms, bulletin boards were setup, artwork was hung on the walls, and tennis balls attached to the feet of auditorium chairs. Exciting features of KIPP STRIVE is an outdoor classroom, as well as raised vegetable beds and a compost all overlooking the future BeltLine trail. As a “thank you” gesture lunch was provided for the volunteers.
Please click on a thumbnail to enlarge:
June 16, 2009
Hi all,
We are less than two weeks away to our June 27th cookout! Thanks SO much for all the neighboors who really have been helping to get this together (see your shout out below). We do still need volunteers for some upcoming things. There are a lot of ways you can support, and the cookout will not be succesful without it, so please help where you can!
Thanks!
Ayana
404-345-3209
1. Donations
We are really short on donations. Last year neighbors provided most of the items needed. Right now we don’t have enough donations or money to pull of the cookout. Please contribute what you can.
– Cash Donations (checks can be made out to “Westview Community Organization” OR donate online via Paypal)
– Food: Hot Dogs (20 packages), Chips (5+ bags), Hamburgers (5 packages), Bottled Water, Cans of soda, desert, vegetables, beans, any food you like
– Other: Paper plates, napkins, burners and stenos
2. June 20 Clean-up
You can also contribute your time. We are cleaning up Ontario Park this Saturday, June 20. If you can come out to help, please do so. The park is where East & West Ontario and Stokes Avenues come together. The WCO will supply trash bags but we ask you to bring your own gloves, shovels, and any other tools you might want. We will decide on exactly what areas to tackle at the day of the event. If we have a lot of volunteers, we’ll get more areas cleaned up. For more info, please contact Scott at 404-752-6423.
3. Pass Out Fliers
We need to pass out fliers to the neighborhood this weekend. We will start passing them out after the clean-up on Saturday, about 10:30 am. If you want fliers for your street, just contact me and I can drop them off.
4. Help Pickup Furniture Day Of
Firestation #17 and other neighbors are gracious enough to donate chairs and tables. We need neighbors with pickup trucks who can help collect the furniture and deliver to Ontario Park on June 27.
5. Got a Tent?
It may rain that day, and we would like to get a tent for backup.
5. Setup Day Of
We need neighbors who will help setup the food, tables, and chairs on the morning of June 27. We will do setup from 8:00 – 11:00 am.
6. Clean Up Day Of
We need neighbors who will help clean-up after the event. It ends at 4 pm.
Shout Outs – Thanks to all neighbors who have been helping out
Tonyel – Met with Major Perdue of Zone 4 to get police presence, helping to plan everything, volunteered to cook and prepare food.
Patrick and Steffi – Got donations from CT martin, designed the fliers, found the house for electrical POWER.
Scott – Volunteering to cook and prepare food, asking for donations from politicians, volunteering his grill.
Shawnika – Volunteering to cook and prepare food, volunteering her grill, donating food.
Juliet J. – First neighbor to donate a pack of hot dogs!
Mr. Park – Getting donations from Kroger.
Kapp – Volunteering her house to provide electrical.
You – ???? :-)
June 8, 2009
The Westview Neighborhood Cookout is just three weeks away! It is time for us to ensure we have everything we need to make it a success.
So, how can you help? In two ways:
1) Donate money or items! No amount of $$ is too small. Having monetary donations will allow us to buy the items we need.
If not, please see the list below and decide what you can bring.
Donation List
– Cash Donations (Checks can be made out to “Westview Community Organization” or pay via PayPal)
– Hot Dogs (20 packages)
– Chips (5+ bags)
– Hamburgers (5 packages)
– Bottled Water
– Cans of Soda / Coke
– Paper Plates
– Napkins
– Folding Tables
– Tents
2) Visit a local business and ask them to donate money OR items. Download a donation letter that you can print and take to businesses. Please contact me, Ayana at 404-345-3209, if you visit a business.
Don’t know where to go? Checkout the list of local businesses below:
– Kroger, 590 Casacde – I will be going here this week. Any neighbors who would like to come along?
– Crazy Cajun Restaurant, 1540 RDA
– SPACE, 1310 White St.
– Precious Peices, 1535 RDA
– The Barber Loft, 1538 RDA
– Sweet Teez/Studio J. Boutique, 1539 RDA
– Pam’s Boutique and Accessories, 1534 RDA
– Fried Rice King, 1372 RDA
Thanks for all your efforts!
– Ayana
June 4, 2009
Little by little the Westview Community Organization is working on improving the neighborhood. A recent project included the commercial corridor along Ralph David Abernathy Blvd. Many neighbors envision a bustling commercial district with boutique shops offering unique clothing or where a glass of wine can be enjoyed over dinner with neighbors. The Atlanta Westview Holdings LLC has already played a large role in renovating some of the old structures and attracting new businesses, as well as building the newer loft development for residents; however the landscaping along this corridor hasn’t provided the most aesthetically pleasing atmosphere for pedestrians. Thanks to the hard work of the Westview Community Organization the previously out-of-control shrubs have been replaced by beautiful Princeton Elm trees in March. The trees have now filled in with leaves and already provide a much more attractive ambience for walkers.
Photography shows the streetscape prior to trees, the newly planted trees in March, and the filled in green trees in May.
Please click on a thumbnail to enlarge:
May 22, 2009
Although the article is three month’s old it is a piece that is sure not to be missed. AJC journalist John Kessler explored the BeltLine corridor along Westview’s commercial strip with the BeltLine Partnership’s Heather Hussey-Coker in February 2009. Not only does Kessler recognize the difference between the Westview and West End neighborhoods (for which we greatly applaud him!), but he also sees the same potential that so many Westview neighbors see: a flourishing commercial corridor amidst historic Craftsman Bungalows along a future stretch of the BeltLine. Additionally the timing of the Crazy Cajun restaurant opening couldn’t be better!
Read the “Beltline opens lunch-stop possibilities” article.
May 19, 2009
The Crazy Cajun restaurant is now open in the Westview commercial district! Neighbors have been excited about this new restaurant for a while, but the owner faced a number of challenges with the City – zoning, parking variances, etc. After a lot of hard work and waiting he was finally able to open his doors last week. His menu contains a variety of Cajun favorites, such as gumbo, red beans and rice, jambalaya, and shrimp etouffee, along with some specialty items – check out the alligator sandwich and boudin sausage links. For the less adventurous there are also burgers, wings, and chicken tenders.
Crazy Cajun
1540 Ralph David Abernathy Blvd.
Atlanta, GA 30310
404-752-7702
Hours:
Monday thru Thursday: 11:00am-7:30pm
Friday and Saturday: 10:30am-8:00pm
Sundays: Closed
April 20, 2009
Illegal tire dumpings around the Westview neighborhood had become a serious nuisance over the last couple of months. So when Councilwoman Carla Smith and a number of commercial sponsors held an electronic waste and tire amnesty day on April 18th Westview neighbors Patrick Berry, Joe Gunby, Steffi Langer-Berry, and Scott Smith met up to de-litter the community. As a result Westview now has 61 less tires junking up the neighborhood!