TKC EXCLUSIVE CROSSROADS QUESTION: WILL KANSAS CITY FIRST FRIDAY FAIL OR THRIVE WITHOUT STREET PARTY?!?!
The fate of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of downtown Kansas City investment is quite literally at a crossroads tonight.
Last month an innocent women was tragically killed by gunfire during a fight among an unruly mob.
In the aftermath, the Crossroads District lost its insurance and was subsequently unable to maintain a street festival which had become a signature Midwest event highlighting the ascendance of an elite neighborhood.
Now, local leaders continue to mourn the young life cut short and walk a political tightrope begging people to partake in a boring display of mediocre art and snobby hipster fare.
The reality is that lowriders & drifter car burnout antics, hip-hop streets performers, all manner of questionable street vendors and food trucks entertained the EPIC crowd far more than anything related to Crossroads art and condo snobbery.
Nevertheless, tonight the streets won't be blocked and more police will be in action to keep traffic moving and monitor potential trouble. All the while KCPD officials remind the public that Donwtown is still "relatively" safe despite recent murders.
And so we ask . . .
IS DOWNSIZED FIRST FRIDAY DETRIMENTAL TO THE GROWTH AND FUTURE OF DOWNTOWN KANSAS CITY OR A BLESSING IN DISGUISE FOR THE CROSSROADS?!?
Given that social media is merely a platform for partisan vendettas, TKC is the only place wherein progressives won't seek to get readers fired for speaking their minds. Longtime Crossroads residents seem happy about the change despite the tragic circumstances. Meanwhile, street merchants and activists of the "East Crossroads" are politicking to keep the scale of the event intact.
We look to our blog community for thoughtful consideration of the dilemma and a reality check for the evolution of a highly touted Kansas City visitor festival.
Check the links:
Informality Blog: "The August shooting could have happened anywhere. Kansas City has a problem with gun violence and this tragic event is one among many that plague our city."
KSHB: Artists, gallery owners celebrate return to 'foundation' of First Fridays
KCUR: After Fatal Shooting, A Quieter First Friday In The Crossroads Might Be A Permanent Change
KMBC: Downtown church to honor life of woman killed at First Fridays
You decide . . .
Should be a fun time. Keeping the low class crowd away should now be the priority. They had already ruined the first Friday this Summer anyway. Reclaiming it for art was the right thing to do.
ReplyDeleteA street festival over that many blocks was just dumb. There's not way that could've lasted. This way, visitors can focus on what's important and maybe buy something. Not just loiter.
DeleteThe thugs can still driver through. Not that much has changed. The extra police is the only real difference.
Delete^^^^ But that makes ALL the difference. More police down there might actually make it a good night. KC needs more police on the streets desperately. More patrols at this event were needed a long time ago.
ReplyDeleteFirst friday was over three years ago. They just forgot to tell the boomers.
DeleteAllowing the "event" to change from an arts crawl to a mob scene was just fine for Sly's false narrative about how "vibrant and diverse" downtown KCMO had become.
ReplyDeleteAnd a crowd of pretty much anybody doing pretty much anything was fine.
The restaurants and galleries didn't have many customers from the mob. In fact, many folks who attended First Fridays in the early years stopped going.
The "optics" of a big big successful event in downtown may change, but the new policies at least have a chance of making First Fridays a more financially and orderly event.
And safer.
The KCMO rah rah crowd can always make crowd estimates like the number of tourists or the millions that attended the Royal parade.
It almost seems like the STAR is blaming Erin for the collapse of First Fridays and Tony's is carrying the banner right along with them. This woman didn't go there to get killed and her family still grieves. The blame falls 100% on the thugs and thieves that roam our streets. They carry guns and don't have the mental capacity to have a discourse with another person. They can not comprehend that we all have our own opinions but if you don't agree with them on theirs you get a dose of lead in the head. You can probably blame drugs too. Until we educate young people in the ways of properly discussing differences without name calling or shooting this unacceptable behavior will continue. Thanks thugs.
ReplyDelete"The August shooting could have happened anywhere. Kansas City has a problem with gun violence and this tragic event is one among many that plague our city."
ReplyDeleteNo, it could NOT have happened anywhere.
It "Happened" because Black people were there and they bring death and destruction where ever they go.
^^^ B.S. White people in Independence shoot each other all the time. Grow up.
ReplyDeleteBut they don't. Grow up and grow acquainted with a tual crime statistics.
DeleteKeep the food trucks. Food trucks didn't shoot anybody!
ReplyDeleteGreat. A bunch of shut-ins from Frogville giving us their opinions about places they will never go. These are some pretty worthless takes.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDelete@ 7:34 White people in Independence don't shoot each other, most of the shootings there are black people. Get your facts straight!
It will probably (and deservedly) devolve back to what it was, another excuse for the "Artsy Crowd" to leave their comfy little dens in Kansas and go slumming around in the wellspring of their prosperity while drinking cheap wine and patting each other on the ass about how sophisticated they are and how much more deserving they are than "those people".
ReplyDeleteViolence at Cross Roads will hurt this good art district’s positive community activity. If the violence does not cease , people, who spend real money, will not come.
ReplyDelete^^^ +100
ReplyDeleteVery simple math. More police, less crime and better traffic control.
It’s the beginning of the end for downtown period, word on the street is people will be bailing as soon as their leases are up, the murderous blacks are the reason for most to want to leave, taxes and ridiculous rents are the other, they moved down there thinking they could get away from them but the blacks are like locust, they fly in, destroy everything and leave.
ReplyDeleteSaying Kansas City has a problem with gun violence is a diversion from the problem - people that don't value human life, including their own. This has gone from a Friday event in which a concentration of art galleries opened late to something entirely different. It's a free for all street party with no organization. Even Bourbon street has rules, organization, and concentrated policing to ensure that street remains relatively controlled.
ReplyDelete^^^ Really like this comment @8:23 - If we're gonna compete with big cities we need to be prepared to talk about big city strategies and develop sophisticated models to cope with traffic and crowd control. KC wants to park a bunch of food trucks and start a party. That's a country approach to business, we need to be more sophisticated about it. Great comment @8:23.
DeleteSorry KCPD but it's a relatively safe bet someone will die in Shitty City today from violence.
ReplyDeleteThis is a one month change...things will get bad again. The city "is doing something" but sadly its not something that would have prevented or will prevent future killings.
ReplyDeleteTaking guns away from minors would not have helped this poor girl live. The killer was 18 or over. But the city is doing something...
Getting rid of food trucks will make them show up somewhere else like N Kansas City...but the city is doing something...
Cops will flood the district and the gangsters will go elsewhere...but the city is doing something.
Imagine what will happen on hot summer days if the city builds a stadium on the east side of city hall and federal courthouse. This shit show will continue until the city gets rid of the earnings tax, gets rid of regulations, attracts businesses and get these products of the KC school district real jobs so they are not desperate thugs.
Imagine what will happen if the status quo stays and the only change is a street car from entertainment districts into the killing districts?
Maybe if some of the 25,000,000 ANAL Tourists get shot in the ass it will help.
ReplyDeleteMidwest is best!
DeleteAs usual I look at this blog and all that I see is negativity. What the crossroads has done is the best thing for everyone. What's unfortunate is that there are so many people who think that Kansas City won't support what's best for artists business owners and downtown. Trying to say that people don't support the Arts Community is ridiculous when so much of our development is is part of that community and it takes a great deal of cooperation to achieve that. From downtown, the streetcar tdd, and into the Plaza we see one of the most vibrant cultural districts Kansas City has ever created. So, yes, first Friday should have a great turnout tonight and in the future it will continue to be one of the places that makes our city best.
ReplyDeleteWow I hope Quentin is paying you for that per word.
Delete^^Wow. I hope you have an actual life. It appears you don't!
ReplyDeleteGo4KC, you asshole - some of us remember that the City's first response to the Crossroads, way back when it was just getting started, was to propose a freeway running through the middle of it!
ReplyDeleteAs usual, the City resembles a fat little man, waddling along in the dust left behind by the Crowd, shrieking
"See what I've done for you, now FOLLOW ME TO GLORY!"
The City got its hands on the Crossroads, and when it found out it couldn't control creativity, let the Out-of-State Developers move in and squash the "vibe" flat, running the "creatives" out to the West Bottoms!
So don't post on here about "negativity", you squat in the cesspool that lies at the heart of that attitude in Kansas City!
^^You asshole! You post too much, lack a coherent theme, have no point, and are utterly fucking ridiculous! Quit posting here turd, and go flush yourself. You're all done!
ReplyDeleteOh, Chimpy. You're not fooling anyone! So mad today as you try to act human. Lol ;)
Delete10:25 FUCK YOU
ReplyDelete^^Ha! You got run!
ReplyDelete10:11 OUCH! Gopher just got knocked the fuck out! That one is gonna leave a permanent mark! Hahahahaha!
ReplyDeleteThe crossroads made itself without any help from the city, Kay Waldo hated them because she wanted her p&l district to be the bestus place, funkyshit just flat ignored them, sLIE tried to push them out and who knows what Lucas will do to them, the crossroads is resilient and will be around longer then p&l which should be empty in another five years or so, people are tired of paying those people to stay here. It’s really sad that we have to pay businesses to stay her to begin with.
KC residents like to pretend they're in a big oh lah lah metropolitan city until it comes time to deal with actual big city issues. First Friday was a huge and awesome even and should stay that way but with a much larger police force. This is the kind of shit actual cities deal with and the don't start whining and crying that that we need to downsize our city event, they find a way to make them grow but be safer.
ReplyDeleteGod damn this city and its residence are an embarrassment. All these people pretending to be "urbanites" after living in a shit condo downtown for two years hoping for smaller events. Big events is literally how you grow your city and now not only will it be worse, but more dangerous since they aren't shutting down streets. This will be a perfect example of the law of unintended consequences. More police are needed, not a smaller event
You don’t see the Plaza, Westport,Brookside,Prairie Village,Waldo have these non stop street party’s/shootings. If you did no one would live there..
ReplyDelete^^^Time to leave your trailer Cletus and scrounge for some copper to feed your meth habit. You can come back and be stupid after you sell some scrap.
ReplyDeleteLook @10:25, when the truth hurts, then his/her/its thoughts are, automatically, of assholes, turds, and toilets! Ha! Ha! The triggered toilet water sucker has no valid argument, so the butthead spouts about what surrounds it/her/him in the Bathhouse.
ReplyDelete^^come on out Nancy, it gets better!
ReplyDeleteMy guess is someday there will never be another shooting at First Friday. Violence is skyrocketing in KCMO. Even with police nearby the poor gal was shot. Yes she wasn't the actual target, but she died and is gone. People need to be aware that many police were close by when it all took place. No place in KCMO is safe. Its a bad idea to continue this First Friday thing. The cost is already far too high. Far too high.
ReplyDelete^^yea, so let's all run and hide away. That's a stupid take. Do better!
ReplyDeleteWhen the shooting started they all tried to run and hide . It’s sad the young lady didn’t make it. Let’s all do better!
DeleteChimpy is very active today, looks like he’s working hard for his banana! Hahahaha!
ReplyDeleteStill not good enough chimpy, do better if you want your banana today!
"We look to our blog community for thoughtful consideration of the dilemma"
ReplyDeleteStill looking
^^Ha! True, so true.
ReplyDeleteWhere else can you tell the truth? Do you think you have the answer? Post your name and please give us all the answers to all the questions raised. Take my banana and stick in your ass. Then go drink some goat diarrhea that’s the new drink of the crossroads area.
ReplyDelete^^OK Pops..time for a diaper change. You've shit yourself again!
ReplyDeletefirst Fridays at your own risk.
ReplyDeleteFirst Friday is like the Christmas Holiday "shopping season" for merchants - they just want $$$$$, revenue, cash, greenbacks. Its an event for people to earn money to buy cars etc. They are VERY UNHAPPY that revenues are going to drop. By the way - there are no rare art pieces for sale down there, nothing like you would see at a Christie's auction.
ReplyDelete7:34 that is a outright lie.
ReplyDeleteNone of the vendors or stores would give away their products for free. Its all about money. The city wanted it to bring in sales tax and people. Its just a revenue generator. Nothing there is free.
ReplyDeleteOk I changed my diapers now give me the answers. Oh I see, you don’t have any. Go back to your parents basement and play video games.
ReplyDeleteStick a fork in 1st Fridays. They're DONE.
ReplyDelete