Ontario Park Cookout

Ontario Park Cookout Photos

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.

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Ontario Park BBQ Ontario Park BBQ Ontario Park BBQ Ontario Park BBQ Ontario Park BBQ Ontario Park BBQ Ontario Park BBQ Ontario Park BBQ Ontario Park BBQ Ontario Park BBQ

KIPP STRIVE Preparation

KIPP STRIVE Preparation

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.

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KIPP STRIVE Auditorium KIPP STRIVE Decorating KIPP STRIVE Move-in KIPP STRIVE Outdoor Classroom KIPP STRIVE Vegetable Garden KIPP STRIVE Lunch Break

RDA Commercial Corridor Improvement

RDA Commercial Corridor Improvement

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.

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Westview Commercial District Before Westview Commercial District After Westview Commercial District After Green

Crazy Cajun Open in Westview

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

Crazy Cajun Menu

Hours:
Monday thru Thursday: 11:00am-7:30pm
Friday and Saturday: 10:30am-8:00pm
Sundays: Closed

Annual WCO Holiday Party Photos

The annual Westview Community Organization holiday party was held at Fire Station #17 on December 13th. Neighbors donated food items, the fire station donated their space, and everyone got to socialize while eating some delicious home cooked food together.

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Christmas Party 2008 Christmas Party 2008 Christmas Party 2008 Christmas Party 2008

Time To Drop The Stigma

Last winter an unfavorable article came out about Westview and southwest Atlanta that left us disappointed and angry at the author, Janna Elphinstone, and feeling the need to retaliate with a response article. The other day I visited NBC’s 11Alive website only to find myself disappointed at the news once again – an article wrongly making a stab at southwest Atlanta. In the screen captures you can see the homepage headlines: “Celebrities at Shooting Scene” with the location listed as “Southwest Atlanta”. Of course I was immediately shocked reading those headlines, franticly trying to think where “Club Dream” could be? I clicked on the article link only to notice a discrepancy – the location was listed as “Northeast Atlanta”! Sure enough, I typed in directions of how to get from my house to Club Dream and map told me to head to northeast Atlanta – 15 miles away from my southwest Atlanta home!

I don’t understand where the news gets it. The Westview and southwest Atlanta I know is a wonderful place – a place with beautiful, old historic Arts and Crafts style homes; a place where I greet my neighbors daily; a place where I enjoy dinner parties with neighborhood friends; a place where community members fight for causes like reopening fire stations and creating community gardens. In the meanwhile grocery clerks get shot to death in Roswell, people get tied up and robbed at gunpoint in the Briarcliff area, and 4-hour SWAT team stand-offs happen in Loganville…yet somehow southwest Atlanta remains the one with the stigma? Needless to say I was upset to see 11Alive wrongly accusing the southwest Atlanta area of a club shooting.