Downtown Austin Blog

downtown Austin's real estate and neighborhood blog

El Sol Y La Luna – it's all good

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El Sol y La Luna: a catalyst for change on east sixth street
El Sol y La Luna: a catalyst for change on east sixth street

Quick… think of the top three table-service restaurants, east of Congress, which are open at 7am to serve breakfast on weekend mornings?

Stumped?  Can’t even think of one?

There weren’t any, until now.

This morning I had breakfast at the new El Sol y La Luna restaurant at 6th & Red River.  THIS is what is needed on East 6th Street!  There are so many residents and visitors in this area ready to spend money on items other than alcohol.   I’ve never been to their first location on South Congress, but the vibe was a combination of Magnolia meets Las Manitas meets Habana.   The food was very good (I had an american breakfast of eggs, bacon, and waffles).  Two entrees, two drinks, plus tip was $25.  El Sol y La Luna gave me a reason to walk on the northern edge of the 600 block of East 6th street, which is a good sign for other businesses to move to the district.

I don’t want to sound overly grand, but I really think that in combination with the efforts of the DAA, DANA, and 6th Street Austin, El Sol y La Luna is the catalyst for change on East 6th.  Show your support through patronage.

El Sol y La Luna

-Jude

Brazos Streetscape Improvement & Reconstruction Project

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It’s been a few years in the making and it now appears that Brazos St will get the make over we’ve been expecting.  This month, the city should begin to send out RFPs for the construction work, which is expected to begin this summer and stretch from Cesar Chavez to 11th Street.  There will be significant infrastructure improvements.  The most visible improvement will be the addition of Great Streets sidewalks.

http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/publicworks/brazos.htm

Bill Spelman

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4waRVxV_Flk]

The light is shining bright on Downtown Austin, at least as much as city council place 5 is concerned.  Bill Spelman is running, unopposed, for Austin city council place 5.  Spelman, professor at the LBJ School of Public Affairs, is also the chair of the Waller Creek Citizens Advisory Committee and an advocate for the Waller Creek Tunnel Project.

Perhaps even more relevant to Downtown Austin’s interests is Spelman’s curriculum vitae includes research in criminal justice, police operations, prison policy, and urban economic development.

Go Bill!

panhandling is not the real issue

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I learned something interesting this week.  The anti-panhandling ordinance is only enforceable if the ‘victim’ or another witness requests that the ‘offender’ be cited.  Otherwise, the police are not obliged to intervene.  I’ve come to a conclusion regarding the perceived safety of downtown Austin: panhandling is a red herring issue.

The real issue is the ARCH doesn’t have the capacity to service the thousands of homeless people in Austin.  They try, but can’t, and those under served are relegated to the streets of the Entertainment District.  These people are easy prey for drug dealers.  Over the past six months I’ve seen a surge in drug dealers and gangs staking their turf.  Ask any resident that has a view of East 5th street if they’ve recently seen some hooded guy loitering in the middle of a sidewalk for hours on end.  What are they doing?

The convention center, hotels, retailers, and residents are becoming more vigilant and zero tolerance on Downtown Austin crime is becoming the battle cry.  Downtown stakeholders seem to have reached an unofficial consensus that the police must begin to: 1) shift to a beat system of patrol 2) spread out on weekend nights 3) be more effectual in responding to 911.   As a participant in many of the Downtown Austin stakeholder groups, I tell you that the Police force is given plenty of slack.  Judging by the frustrated voices at recent meetings, I don’t know how much longer that will continue.