Jackson Jambalaya

Cool, not a vagrant to be seen!

MORE OF BEN ALLEN'S BULL SHIT !!!!!

What a waste of money....that money should have been spent on the store fronts on Capitol Street in the form of grant money to each property owner.

Get the "FELLON" off DJP's payroll. What a F..K up !!!!

They should throw around a few mattresses for the bums to sleep on.
And how about a porta pottie so they will not be making a mess on the streets.

Don't worry 2:29 they'll be back.

How much has been and will be spent on this project. I guess it is more important to have this park than water and sewage service. How will people be able to get there without tearing up their autos on the crumbling streets?

This project was funded completely by DJP. The board voted unanimously to fund phases one and 2 at a cost of a little over $130,000. There is absolutely no city funding in this project, but the city has been a pleasure to work with. Phase 3 will hopefully begin in the next 2 years. The park will not be recognizable from the nasty concrete mess the city has endured for years.

I swear for the life of me I cannot understand so many of the people that frequent and opine on this website/blog. People trying to actually help the city and are bombarded with senseless criticism. Geez. Happens here like clockwork on anything positive regarding Jackson.

https://www.facebook.com/pg/FriendsofSmithPark/photos/?tab=album&album_id=531789233854477

3:19, most of the time the criticism is warranted. This does not appear to be one of those times.

2:57 when is the last time you were downtown? People won't tear their tires up there as all the streets have been repaved....Now getting TO downtown....at your own peril!

Ahhhhhhh....rearranging the deck chairs on Titanic. Same end result!

So....if the citizens of Jackson don't do something to help improve the city, they are criticized worthless layabouts.

And if they band together to do something, they get heckled from those who watch from the bleachers.

The park looks great, and after many years, has a group committed to supporting it.

https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/7-it-is-not-the-critic-who-counts-not-the-man

LOL, @3:42

It does not matter if you spend $3,000.00 for a paint job on a 1974 Ford Pinto, it is STILL a 1974 Ford Pinto.
While it may be a worthwhile effort to help Jackson, it is still Jackson.
Until the criminal element is contained, it's pretty much lipstick on a pig.

I don't see a narcotic injection facility. Nor a safe needle disposal bin. I thought they were doing these improvements for those who use the park the most.

IT'S LIKE PUTTING LIPSTICK ON A PIG !!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't care where the money came from...if they would fund the remodeling of the dilapidated store fronts and fix the sidewalks on Capitol Street it would help spur the growth of Downtown. The city needs to step up and tear out the parking lot in front of the Convention Center and landscape and put in a new parking lot or parking garage....somehow DJP misses the point regarding redevelopment....I blame that on their leader "MR.FELLON" aka "THE DREAMER". He has no clue !!!!!

How dare you people poke fun at this wonderful project....this has been much needed since the glorious days of Smith Park's being a playground for cruising in the 70's. The choices there since the mid 80's have been horrendous. One can only hope that this brings some peace of mind to the locals who like to relish in all that Smith Park has to offer: picturesque views, scenic landscape, natural aromas, and so forth. Why, the other day, I played a friendly game of chess there on a board made from a pizza box using acorns and dried squirrel droppings as chess pieces. Winner got to pee on the good side of the pavilion.

One of my most cherished memories of Smith Park is watching the children play in the vile water fountain during Gumbofest. The abnormally large parasites basking in the sun painted a glorious picture. I believe it was the Summer of 2014. Endless Bummer

How can anyone look at Smith Park and not want it to progress?!?! It is a relic of history, it deserves some TLC. It has earned it! Come back to me in 100 yrs when some rinky dink park in Madison or Pearl is not a parking lot...then we'll talk.

4:33. "Fellon" is spelled "felon". JPS grad?

I commend Ben and the Dittos for getting this project going and appreciate their hard work. Now if we could just convince Galloway to change their methods it would really clean the park up.

9:01. AMEN AND AMEN.

Those making jumping to false conclusions and who don't know what is or isn't an analogy are making yourselves look like pigs trying to put on lipstick!

If you think a problem can't be solved , it won't be solved.

Either do or suggest something positive and constructive to improve Jackson, or stay away and out of the way and shut up.

If we want to " waste" our time and money trying to do something we hope will be worthwhile in the long run, I would remind you that it's OUR money and OUR time and NONE of your business.

Here's a more appropriate old saying: Can't never did do nothing.

We'll be down there shortly feeding the homeless. Thanks.

9:30. Please do. We welcome you, just be sure you get a permit.

I hope they filled in the tunnel to the Governor's mansion that Bill Allain had installed back in the 80's

Let me explain why Allen and Ditto were pushing this project so hard...particularly Ditto. Ditto owns the multi story building exactly across the street (corner of Amite and Congress) and to be exact he owns most of that square block. Ditto is not fooling me, he was hoping that the revitalized park would help him get his mostly vacant building leased. Allen has always been a lap dog for Ditto !

As I've said many times "IT'S ALWAYS ABOUT THE MONEY". No one donates anything without a motive even if it's an act to ease a guilty conscience. Allen and Ditto are two peas in a pod.

Antar Lumumba is not going to create any impediments to feeding the poor at Smith Park. Permit or not. Not going to happen just as the homeless are not going to be stopped from frequenting the park.

I don't see what would be wrong with having a solid canopy of trees, to be viewed from surrounding buildings. If the homeless want to live beneath those trees, more power to them! Nobody else loiters in parks, anyway. I cannot even imagine having the time or the inclination to do so.

The new "plan" is as ugly as was the old "plan". But I assume there was an ORIGINAL PLAN (part of the original layout of the city). Why can that original plan not be followed, with the resultant system of walkways running through dense plantings of trees?

All we need, is a pretty green backdrop for the buildings. The new "plan" does not provide that. Take a look at Grammercy Park, in NYC. It's a huge asset to the surrounding neighborhood, even though few people actually go inside. Grammercy Park is wonderful to see, from a window, from a passing car, or from the surrounding sidewalk. And look at Forsyth Park, in Savannah. Again, it's the TREES that make it beautiful. The last thing Jackson needs, is another expanse of ugly, toxic, SWELTERING, grass lawn.

@ February 8, 2018 at 9:01 PM

It is too profitable for "Galloway to change their methods." Poverty-pimping, in the name of Jesus, is a multi-million dollar business, especially in Mississippi. Galloway, like a few others, needs the homeless population to stay relevant in order to collect a check. This is the reason for the charitable organization's existence after all. Want to get rid of Galloway, get rid of the downtown homeless population. Want to get rid of the downtown homeless population, gentrify downtown Jackson and its city center. Until then, poverty-pimping is hard work, someone (Galloway) has to do it!

FYI, Downtown Jackson Partners is a joke!

So you gripe about white money leaving Jackson yet when a honky invests money in Jackson and doesn't run for the burbs, you still gripe. Got it.

The last five mayors have allowed the downtown area, including the entirety of Capitol Street, to become a haven for recalcitrant ne'er-do-wells, assorted soup kitchens, boarded up windows, sidewalk hustlers, hookers, churches converted to flop-houses and other once vibrant blocks we're now scared shitless to traverse via sidewalk of roadway.

If all the buildings downtown that are over two stories high were magically sliced down to one story, ground-level, every business would immediately desert the area because of concern for their employees' safety. Working above the second floor of a building gives this magical illusion of safety.

The Jackson Zoo is about ten blocks to the west and all the animals are caged. Do we really need a branch of the zoo at Smith Park?

The outbreak of non-sequitur JJ comments continues unabated.

Who's gonna cut and maintain it? The city?