Three-Bay Going Down

*This post was deleted by Blogger on about Thursday of last week. It has re-appeared, as shown below:

Here's what the house at 216 S. Johnson looked like yesterday.


The salvage crews have extracted a great deal from the building.

Here's what the building's facade looked like today:

Just down the block, proving there's rarely a dull moment in the Footprint, a car was being searched by police.  The occupant was arrested for distribution of heroin.

Fencing in the VA Hospital Footprint

For several weeks now, more and more fencing has appeared around the perimeter of the VA Hospital Footprint.

While the few strips of street that remain can't be closed off until no residents or business remain, there's an increasing sense that the site is being pushed toward status as "construction site" only with no public access.

The situation for those visiting the site to take photos or video footage has been less than welcoming at times.  Here's a facebook account from someone who visited the site in recent weeks to take photos:

"the VA cops made me stop photographing the vacant hospital and threatened to seize my camera. I hadn't thought about the fact that one day the feds will likely stop us from photographing the new hospital site."

Here's another facebook account, from a visitor who tried to take photos a bit earlier in the fall:

"When I visited the area in November, I got hassled by cops five times in under an hour for taking pictures and walking around -- they don't want us to see what happened."

Just be sure to stay on the public right of way - the street and any remaining patches of sidewalk - if you visit the VA Footprint from here forward.  I've done my best to stick to that method, particularly after receiving official notice in front of a police officer from site contractors, and it generally works out.

A New Neighbor

This vehicle appeared recently on the site of an old corner store and residence building that had been renovated in early 2010 prior to its demolition.

In the background, Outer Banks persists, still open in the evenings.

Someone in the S.W. Green House Tonight

This evening, as I drove through the VA Hospital Footprint on the way to dinner with a friend, I saw shadows moving in the S.W. Green House.  The floodlights revealed silhouettes of people moving in a first floor room.  I screeched to a halt, took a few photos, and called the authorities to report the trespassing as the cat catcher drove by in his truck.

If you enlarge the photo above, you'll see the figure in the lower window.

Two officers arrived within about 10 minutes or so - it was difficult for them to find the address of 219 S. Miro because the street is literally gone between Banks and Cleveland.  They searched the entire house, but did not find anyone inside.  It's a large house, and I'm guessing those inside saw/heard me and left out the back.

At this stage, we're still watching the house closely because it's unclear what's going to happen next.  While many preparations are in place, we had also heard from some sources that the house was meant to be moved over the course of Thanksgiving weekend.  At present, the preparations necessary for a move are not evident from the outside of the house.  In the meantime, it's crucial to prevent anyone from further damaging the home.

"a property dispute"

This morning, as I pulled up inside the Footprint, three police cars were parked at varying angles on S. Galvez near this house.  One officer told me it was "just a property dispute" because the former owner came to get his air conditioner...and he doesn't own the property anymore.

People have been living in the property up until the last few days, as far as I was aware.

Little Ms. Bettye, Wielding Crowbar...

...had an encounter this morning in front of the home on Banks Street she believes is her own.

"This whole thing is screwed up," she said to a neighbor shortly before this scene developed.  She said they had boarded up her property, and she was going to take the boards down.

I told her that her home may have already been expropriated, even if she did not get notice - which happened with an owner on Palmyra, as I reported yesterday.

The Green "VA" spraypaint indicating an ownership change is already on the sidewalk out in front of the house.

Crime in the Footprint

Criminals, it's become apparent, are targeting the rapidly de-populating VA Footprint.  And that comes even as the NOPD has stepped up patrols of the area.

Last evening, I encountered a man next to his van, its windows broken.  A police office filled out a report in a squad car just behind.  The man, a member of a band, had multiple keyboards and speakers stolen after deciding he was in no position to drive home from Deutsches Haus on Saturday night.

Crews also moved to secure this artist's home at 2310 - after it was burglarized for the third time, according to a neighbor.  The house is one of four being considered for moving intra-site by the VA for use in the final complex.

Special Detail

An NOPD Officer watched over the partially deconstructed Frenchman Inn this Sunday morning, inside the footprint.