El Dorado Park, more commonly known as “Sin Cityâ€Â to most Fresno State students, is finally getting the attention it needs.
The City of Fresno, Associated Students Inc. (ASI), Fresno State, Stone Soup and several other faith and community organizations have teamed up to improve the declining neighborhood.
They are hosting a neighborhood meeting on Saturday, Feb. 2, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Wesley United Methodist Church on Barstow Avenue, and have invited anyone who lives in the area to attend. This meeting will be the beginning of planning for the revitalization of El Dorado Park.
“This is the time and place for students [and residents] to discuss their visions and concerns,â€Â said Juan Pablo Moncayo, president of ASI.
The meeting on Saturday is the first of two meetings regarding the development of the economically underdeveloped area. The idea of the meeting is to get a grasp of what residents of the surrounding area would like to see happen.
“This is just a sliver of the big picture,â€Â Moncayo said.
The big picture involves strategic planning committees in Fresno and rebuilding El Dorado Park to be a safer and more productive contribution to its residents and the surrounding area.
The second meeting will present residents with three different plans composed from the ideas presented at the first meeting. From there, discussion will be closed to the public and the city will take over.
The extent of time the project will cover depends on what residents want to see happen to the area. Addition of streetlights, new pavement on the roads or a park could be done relatively quickly, said Josh McDonald, chief of staff for ASI. If it is renovation of the buildings and new landlords they are looking for, it could take longer.
El Dorado Park is located between Bulldog Lane and Barstow Avenue on the north and south ends, and Millbrook and 6th avenues on the west and east ends.
Located so close to campus and the popular Bulldog Stadium, the decline of the neighborhood affects more than just the residents. This is a unique and moving project
that reaches out to the public in efforts to improve the community.
El Dorado Park is an area with an increase in crime such as reports of cars being broken into, people being attacked and things being stolen, according McDondald.
If you are a resident living in the Bulldog Apartments, Campus Place complex or anywhere in the area, you are encouraged to attend the meeting and let your voice be heard. The organizations will also be providing a continental breakfast and lunch.
dw • Apr 23, 2009 at 5:23 am
Well Turd, I deal in facts not emotions.
FACT: The City of Fresno is working on the specific plan. The University is a partner.
FACT: When John Welty came to campus in 1991, he was shocked to discover that Fresno State was surrounded on all sides by a slum.
FACT: That slum affects the campus in negative ways. And, students live in that slum.
FACT: The frats and the sororities are not good neighbors. They would not be there if the University wasn’t located where it is.
FACT: The student ghetto has always been a high-crime area. That was true in the 1960s and it’s still true today.
Hope your Honda survives.
dw • Apr 23, 2009 at 12:23 pm
Well Turd, I deal in facts not emotions.
FACT: The City of Fresno is working on the specific plan. The University is a partner.
FACT: When John Welty came to campus in 1991, he was shocked to discover that Fresno State was surrounded on all sides by a slum.
FACT: That slum affects the campus in negative ways. And, students live in that slum.
FACT: The frats and the sororities are not good neighbors. They would not be there if the University wasn’t located where it is.
FACT: The student ghetto has always been a high-crime area. That was true in the 1960s and it’s still true today.
Hope your Honda survives.
Remember the Mackee Incident • Apr 22, 2009 at 10:22 pm
This is an OLD OLD article but what i think happens is others that dont like the comments made from current ASI events are trying to sway attention to other topics by commenting on old stuff so we may forget about what is being currently gossiped about.
Remember the Mackee Incident • Apr 23, 2009 at 5:22 am
This is an OLD OLD article but what i think happens is others that dont like the comments made from current ASI events are trying to sway attention to other topics by commenting on old stuff so we may forget about what is being currently gossiped about.
Turd Burglar 27 • Apr 22, 2009 at 10:02 pm
ok. some historical perspective, DW——Thanks. that seems to be your most rational response since this message board’s inception. A real contribution as it were.
Turd Burglar 27 • Apr 23, 2009 at 5:02 am
ok. some historical perspective, DW——Thanks. that seems to be your most rational response since this message board’s inception. A real contribution as it were.
dw • Apr 22, 2009 at 9:49 pm
Turd (the name fits based upon the tirade above)–if you choose to live in a high-crime area, not fnding your Honda out front is a risk you obviously willingly assumed, otherwise you wouldn’t be living there.
The City of Fresno is the lead here. The University is attempting to be a good neighbor as neighborhood issues come onto campus and campus problems (loud parties and out-of-control students) slop over into the neighborhood.
Sn City was not “zoned” for low-income housing. It became low-income housing because of absentee landlords who let their property fall into ruin, to a point that given the glut of better-maintained apartments elsewhere in Fresno students refused to rent there.
When I lived on Bulldog Lane in the late 1980s, the Village Apartments was where all the student-aged drug dealers lived (resulting in a high number of home invasion robberies, for dope and cash), the old Californians was Party (and Drug) Central until the cops threatened to lock up the management and the owners for conspiracy. And the Campus Chalets were dumps. Sin City was having drive-bys constantly. The good people finally convinced the city to put a police substation in, and the crime dropped dramatically.
Now that the substation moved north, the crime has moved back in. My cop friends tell me they’re regularly doing parole/probation sweeps and undercover ops along Bulldog Lane (all the way from Cedar west).
The brand-new University Village has issues. Just last week, the cops reported a forcible rape at or near UV. So, even the “upscale” folks have problems.
dw • Apr 23, 2009 at 4:49 am
Turd (the name fits based upon the tirade above)–if you choose to live in a high-crime area, not fnding your Honda out front is a risk you obviously willingly assumed, otherwise you wouldn’t be living there.
The City of Fresno is the lead here. The University is attempting to be a good neighbor as neighborhood issues come onto campus and campus problems (loud parties and out-of-control students) slop over into the neighborhood.
Sn City was not “zoned” for low-income housing. It became low-income housing because of absentee landlords who let their property fall into ruin, to a point that given the glut of better-maintained apartments elsewhere in Fresno students refused to rent there.
When I lived on Bulldog Lane in the late 1980s, the Village Apartments was where all the student-aged drug dealers lived (resulting in a high number of home invasion robberies, for dope and cash), the old Californians was Party (and Drug) Central until the cops threatened to lock up the management and the owners for conspiracy. And the Campus Chalets were dumps. Sin City was having drive-bys constantly. The good people finally convinced the city to put a police substation in, and the crime dropped dramatically.
Now that the substation moved north, the crime has moved back in. My cop friends tell me they’re regularly doing parole/probation sweeps and undercover ops along Bulldog Lane (all the way from Cedar west).
The brand-new University Village has issues. Just last week, the cops reported a forcible rape at or near UV. So, even the “upscale” folks have problems.
Turd Burglar 27 • Apr 22, 2009 at 8:55 pm
nuke the place—–that’s what you can do to improve the area. Why is my tax money being used for Tyrone to have a place to rest and relax and drink King Kobra on his front porch while Little Donrell skips school for the fourth time in the week and mama Lashanda gets beat by Tyrone when she drives her Benz back from the welfare office? Now you want to allocate student funds in order to analyze what can be done to improve quality of life for the residents? NOTHING—THAT’S WHY THEY LIVE THERE. Force Section 8 housing away from the CSU Fresno campus—-why the hell was it zoned for low-income housing anyway—–give me increased Fresno State police patrols so I, as a recent Fresno State, can have confidence that my Honda isn’t stolen when I go to bed early because of work the next morning.
Turd Burglar 27 • Apr 23, 2009 at 3:55 am
nuke the place—–that’s what you can do to improve the area. Why is my tax money being used for Tyrone to have a place to rest and relax and drink King Kobra on his front porch while Little Donrell skips school for the fourth time in the week and mama Lashanda gets beat by Tyrone when she drives her Benz back from the welfare office? Now you want to allocate student funds in order to analyze what can be done to improve quality of life for the residents? NOTHING—THAT’S WHY THEY LIVE THERE. Force Section 8 housing away from the CSU Fresno campus—-why the hell was it zoned for low-income housing anyway—–give me increased Fresno State police patrols so I, as a recent Fresno State, can have confidence that my Honda isn’t stolen when I go to bed early because of work the next morning.
dw • Apr 22, 2009 at 4:57 pm
The City is writing the environmental document for the El Dorado Park Specific Plan; the plan itself is due to be discussed by the Planning Commission this week.
One of the big issues for the neighborhood is the Greek housing. The neighborhood want the Greeks cleared out by the city. Fresno State has been working with the city to mitigate the Greek issues. I understand that Frat/Sorority Row will not have access to the neighborhood after the plan is implemented. The walkway into the back of the Alpha Gamma Rho house will be closed off permanently.
dw • Apr 22, 2009 at 11:57 pm
The City is writing the environmental document for the El Dorado Park Specific Plan; the plan itself is due to be discussed by the Planning Commission this week.
One of the big issues for the neighborhood is the Greek housing. The neighborhood want the Greeks cleared out by the city. Fresno State has been working with the city to mitigate the Greek issues. I understand that Frat/Sorority Row will not have access to the neighborhood after the plan is implemented. The walkway into the back of the Alpha Gamma Rho house will be closed off permanently.
old artickle • Apr 22, 2009 at 4:21 pm
Isn’t this an old article? The dates, names, etc. are all wrong.
What happened?
old artickle • Apr 22, 2009 at 11:21 pm
Isn’t this an old article? The dates, names, etc. are all wrong.
What happened?
DD • Apr 22, 2009 at 3:58 pm
I would like to let Tiny know that, if she not in the low income Fresno families please don’t say anything bad, if don’t say good thing about people don’t even say at all. I believe low income people have try their best to raise kids in that area and would like the city to help them make the place a better place to live. My husband and I both work walk around that area for so many years and nothing have happen to us, the Sin City is like a home to us.
DD • Apr 22, 2009 at 10:58 pm
I would like to let Tiny know that, if she not in the low income Fresno families please don’t say anything bad, if don’t say good thing about people don’t even say at all. I believe low income people have try their best to raise kids in that area and would like the city to help them make the place a better place to live. My husband and I both work walk around that area for so many years and nothing have happen to us, the Sin City is like a home to us.
Tiny • Jan 30, 2008 at 10:26 pm
This seems like a problem for the city to figure out—–not Fresno State. If my student activity funds are used to provide lighting for some slumlord’s dwelling I would have to argue that is misappropriation—–Get the city in there. And the place between Bulldog Apts and Campus Place should be zoned for student housing. I’ve nearly been robbed there three times——–why is that still zoned for low-income Fresno families?—–they are a major problem as well.
Moncayo—-you have many spots on campus that need repair or fixed lighting—–there’s your focus.
Tiny • Jan 31, 2008 at 5:26 am
This seems like a problem for the city to figure out—–not Fresno State. If my student activity funds are used to provide lighting for some slumlord’s dwelling I would have to argue that is misappropriation—–Get the city in there. And the place between Bulldog Apts and Campus Place should be zoned for student housing. I’ve nearly been robbed there three times——–why is that still zoned for low-income Fresno families?—–they are a major problem as well.
Moncayo—-you have many spots on campus that need repair or fixed lighting—–there’s your focus.