Gateway Center-City of Albuquerque’s dumping ground for the homeless

Do not get me wrong I am all for housing for the homeless but strongly feel that all six city council districts should share evenly in the responsibility of helping the city’s unhoused population. Mayor Tim Keller went on the news to tell residents living near the Coronado Park that they should apply pressure on the City Council to force zoning changes that would allow him to dump all the homeless from the Coronado Park onto Gibson in the Gateway Center.

Mayor Keller does not care about the residents of the Southeastern part of the City of Albuquerque. So much for One Albuquerque. The homeless population already in the area have destroyed businesses on San Mateo and San Pedro. They are now moving into the Ridgecrest and Parkland Hills area and are now attempting to break into apartments, cars and homes.  

Once the Gateway Center opens all the drug and alcohol issues will move to the southern part of the city. The few remaining businesses will be forced to move just to survive. Residents will be forced to move out of the area in order to feel safe and that part of the city will become a slum. Property values will drop like a rock.

The City has zero credibility when it comes to how the Gateway Center will be run since they totally lack the foresight to plan for all the negative consequences of a homeless center that large near local communities. The people in the area surrounding the area are not rich like in the Country Club area where Mayor Keller and his family have a nice home.

 

National Night Out and the Decay of a Neighborhood

The entire purpose of National Night Out is to get people to care about their local community. If more eyes are on the street than less crime happens. You would think that a mayor would want communities on the edge of troubled areas to be the first to have gatherings on such a night. You would think that the mayor would reach out to community groups that were falling a part to help them to develop the network to have strong neighborhood associations. With Mayor Berry and the communities that surround the International district in the Southeastern part of the City of Albuquerque you would be entirely wrong.

Parkland Hills Neighborhood association is just one example of a group that has falling by the wayside during the administration of Mayor Berry due to a lack of caring and administrative support. The Parkland Hills Neighborhood Association has not updated it website since December of 2013. It did not put on a gathering during National Night Out. This neighborhood association is on the fringes of an area of the city that has been in a downward spiral since the beginning of the Great Recession. The first major business to go in that area was a movie rental store on the corner of Kathryn and San Mateo. Next was the Lovelace Hospital. Lastly, came all the small stores along San Mateo between Kathryn and Gibson along with the local branch of the Bank of the West.

The bank moved because it became unsafe for people to work in that neighborhood across for the old hospital site. Customers were being approached by aggressive homeless people at the teller machine. Drugs were being sold out of the local McDonald’s parking lot on the corner of Gibson and San Mateo. The local Seven-Eleven on Kathryn and San Mateo was selling tall cans of beer to individuals who clearly had a drinking problem. Police can be seen next to that store on a weekly base. The City would do nothing to stop the behavior. The Mayor moved a needle exchange into the neighborhood down the street on San Mateo. Businesses like payday loan companies started to move into the strip along San Mateo.

The homeless are beginning to spend more time moving into the Parkland Hills neighborhoods. It started a few years ago when people in the neighborhood notices that businesses along the West side of San Mateo were being broken into for their cash. Drug addicts were shooting up behind the stores. Within a few months one car wash was just out of business because of all the break-ins. Next it was the laundry facilities at a local apartment complex where individuals were breaking in to get the quarters. Before long groups of homeless individuals were crossing the streets every morning to invade the nicer neighborhoods looking for places to break into and just hanging out. On one occasion you would have saw a homeless women wrapped in an old dirty blanket ambling down Ridgecrest Drive while being passed by well-dressed joggers. Parkland Hills is an older neighborhood with residents in their later stages of life. This makes them a prime target for drug addicts looking for an easy mark. Yet, you see a mayor who cares nothing for the community. He is too busy dumping sex offenders in the streets across San Mateo to be bothered with what it is doing to an old neighborhood in that area.     

Young Dropout Students and Behavioral Health Services

Is the State Behavioral Health Services Division (BHSD) providing the services needed to youth at risk in the City of Albuquerque, New Mexico? Did Governor Martinez make a huge mistake by taking over the behavioral health services in the city? How well are our young adults being serviced by the current system? A system ran by outsiders from Arizona who has no understanding of what is going on in our city.

You have to wonder why the three young men that killed two Native American homeless men in our city did not show up on the radar of school officials when it came to their mental health status. Our society does not approve of children attacking adults from any culture in this city. The parent of one of these young men told a local news station that he did not know where to turn for help. Has budget cuts by Arizona companies caused an increase in violent crimes committed by young adults in our city. Should the Governor take the blame for failing these young adults? Where is the outreach to parents of children who drop out of city school early?

Should our communities really be surprised that young men who have no hope of getting jobs turn to violent crime as a way to make money?  Homeless individuals are among the most vulnerable in our communities. The homeless have no place to lock up the small amounts of money they have that would be safe. They are often on drugs and/or alcohol so that their judgment is impaired. Some are returning veterans who have difficulties due to brain injuries from the wars. Some of the homeless are just mentally ill themselves. Homeless individuals make prime targets for young possibility mentally ill individuals looking to harm others and make a few dollars in the process. The three young men who killed the two homeless men clearly displayed signs of antisocial behavior.

Where is the governor in all this mess? Why has the major not done more to deal with the homeless in this city? Crimes against the homeless have been around for a long time yet little has been done during the current recession to reduce the number of people on the streets of our city. Heading Home is a good program but it is far too limited in resources to handle the thousands of homeless in this city. Why is there not already an outreach program that makes sure that homeless individuals feel safe to report crimes committed in our city. Could these deaths have been prevented if other crimes had been reported earlier? Mayor Berry’s answer is always to deal with the crisis rather than to spend enough money on prevention.       

It's The Economy Stupid!

New Mexico is now in yet another recession because of the failure of Governor Martinez to work with the federal government and her inability to convince any company that New Mexico would be a good place to open a business. Her failure is hurting families across the state. By the time someone else is elected our state will have dried up and blown away with the winds.

Mayor Berry has shown that he knows nothing about how to run a city as large as Albuquerque. His police force is out of control. It is driving away any hope of attracting outside businesses. His Chief Administration Officer is causing problems.  Mayor Berry spends his time in public meetings on $300,000 artwork while businesses close all around him. People are leaving the state because they cannot find jobs in the state’s largest city.  He is rude to anyone that points out his failures. He might as well install a giant violin downtown.

We need a Democratic Party Chairman who can raise the funding to get Gary King elected to the governor’s seat before it is too late. Our current chairman should be organizing a ground game but little is heard from the man. Where is the money to get King elected? Where is the statewide ground game? Where is the fire this chairman promised the voters? 

Mayor Richard Berry a Failed Administration

Ok, Mayor Berry had to dismiss Darren White because of his misconduct when it came to appearing at the scene of an accident that his wife caused. Now the Chief Administration Officer of the City of Albuquerque Rob Perry is allegedly rumored to have a drinking problem and is showing up at shooting scenes by the Albuquerque Police Department drunk and unable to drive. Never mind that this behavior should get the attorney disbarred for creating an appearance of impropriety. The Department of Justice (DOJ) has stated that the Albuquerque Police Department is guilty of violating individual’s constitutional rights with the usage of excessive force. How is having a drunken attorney at the scenes screaming at officers going to help?

Berry’s administration has hired an expensive attorney on the taxpayer’s dollar to defend his administration. The public is being kept in the dark as to the process of those talks with the DOJ. Mayor Berry’s office has shown a callus disregard when it comes to the citizens of the city and their safety. You would think that if the Department of Justice was serious about fixing the problems with the police department that they would at this point take over the department. The police are spying on peaceful protesters. One of the officers that shot an individual was at the last protest with a camera taking shots of the protesters and we still do not know what was done with those photos.  That behavior in and of itself displays the lack of respect that the mayor’s office has for citizens of this city. Mayor Berry has been careful to remain in hiding from the public as his office circles the drain.   

We are also looking at the fact that making national news because of these issues are driving away businesses; therefore, adding to the lack of high paying jobs as the city and state continue to lose jobs even as other states around us gain thousands of new jobs. One has to wonder where Governor Martinez is while this is going on in one of the largest cities in the state. At what point is she going to demand a Department of Justice takeover? 

Has Governor Martinez been a do nothing governor?

No! She has been far from a do nothing governor. Our governor has done many things to harm our state. 

Our governor started out by opposing job creation by cutting the tax credit to the film industry. She opposed our spaceport. She opposed our commuter train. A well-supported commuter train could promote small businesses growth around the local stops. Rather than spending time promoting our state as a place to do business and visit, she went out on the campaign trail to increase her own job profile. Less time supporting the GOP and more time supporting local employers would keep New Mexican workers employed. How about a real all of the above approach to energy production, where is the governor’s support for green energy jobs?  Where is the governor’s support of our National Labs?

The governor’s appointee for Secretary of Education has been busy selling our educational system to private for profit corporations, which drains taxpayer’s dollars for our school systems.  Why is the appointee not promoting parent interaction through programs directed at education? She could encourage parents to work with the schools to get children to eat healthy and exercise.

The governor could have promoted bicycle trails to and from local schools. She could have encouraged employers to give employees paid time to exercise during working hours. She could have encouraged local farmers to provide healthy foods to school systems through tax breaks. No, she was far too busy selling off our school systems to Corporate America.

Governor Martinez is opposed to illegal aliens getting driver licenses. As a former district attorney, she should have found ways to speed up getting people the correct paperwork so that they could legally work in our country. Working with Mexico on this, guns, the drug issues could have promoted more jobs and international trade all at the same time. We do not have to support illegal immigration to fix the problem. We could have fixed the problem by designing a different license that would have solved the problem long ago and meet federal standards at the same time.

Governor Martinez failed the residents of the City of Albuquerque by cutting backroom deals for our fairgrounds. She supported the hiring of a disgraced law enforcement individual to run a building project where he has no skills.

Governor Martinez promoted and signed into law tax cuts for corporation, while forcing local cities and towns to increase taxes on working New Mexicans to pay for that tax cut.  

Governor Martinez is no friend to the women in this state. She should be replaced with a candidate who puts working New Mexican families first and foremost above any party.  Governor Martinez has done a lot in the last few years and none of it has been beneficial to working middle class New Mexicans.

What is the Plan? Mayor Berry

Mayor R. J. Berry has no idea on how to attract business to our lovely city. He knows how to watch as they leave. He knows how to ask everyone else to come up with ideas. He failed to know which would produce results. So Mayor Berry here are just a few good ideas. With any luck a democrat like Pete or Margaret will be able to put them into action during their term in office.


Cover the irrigation ditches in the South Valley with solar panels. It will provide clean energy and slow the loss of water. Get the farmers involved so that they can say that they are working hard to protect their natural resources.

Build an artificial lake near but Not in the Bosque, surround it with a board walk, add restaurants and shops. Call it something cool and promote it! All you need is a piece of land and a developer. You are in business and you can use any revenues created by the project to help protect the Bosque. Provide tour buses to the green spaces near the river and promote bird watching. Extend the little train between the Zoo and the Bio Park so that it takes people to the Hispanic Cultural Center, the airport and the boardwalk town square. Create a website that tells the world what a great place Albuquerque is to visit. Include a list of place to see, restaurants and shop to visit, and things to do in our great city. Add a map that directs people to all the great things to do in our city.

Create a weeklong event every year and promote it loudly between business owners in the city and engineers at Sandia National Labs. Hold it at the convention center in the city. Encourage business owners to talk with engineers on how to improve their businesses both with new technology and with improving their old technology. Promote Albuquerque as a world class environment for growing your business because we have the national labs at our fingertips for any business needs they might have in the future. No other city in the country can offer the intelligent or the educational skills of our national labs.

Promote cultural events all summer long. Encourage schools to plan things like music and drama in the parks. This could make our parks a lot safer since the homeless would be driven away by all the crowds. Ask local interest groups and promote events like sword fighting from the Society of Creative Anachronism, miniature war reenactments from the Civil War reenactment groups and/or Native dancing from the pueblos. Provide vender space so that shops can sell food and their goods at these events. You could even do it at the balloon park as well. Promote! Promote! Promote!

R.J. Berry has no ideas on how to run or promote a city the size of Albuquerque. Let’s find a person who will encourage business and bring back the jobs! A mayor may not create jobs but he or she can create an environment where business develops and thrives even in difficult economic times. Berry does nothing but blames others for his failures as a mayor.

Mayor R.J. Berry Not a Successful Business Man for Albuqureque

R.J. Berry promised to run the City of Albuquerque like a business. He has but the problem is that Berry is not a successful business man. He lacks the skills and abilities of former Mayor Chavez. Berry has failed to promote Albuquerque as a product worth investing in for businesses. As a result we are ninety fourth out of a hundred of the largest metropolitan cities when it comes to recovery from the Great Recession.

Mayor Berry lacks the vision to get behind large city improvements that would attract employers and tourist to our city. He has no skills in promotion nor does his staff. Berry has not reached out to the environmentalist in this city to help him promote a partnership between them and the city that would aide in the development of attractions along the river. Mayor Chavez built the channel in the nature center that not only attracted tourist but protected the silvery minnow. Berry has totally ignored that project over the last few years.

Look at Tingly Beach as an example, Mayor Chavez redeveloped that areas for fishing and recreation. He cleaned up a very dirty place and turned it into a show place. Yet, Berry has done nothing to expand that development. Where is the public and private partnership that would develop that area further? Why not upgrade the rest of that tract of land and build restaurants along a nice pond where people could sit out on a deck and watch the water and the local bird life. During the day you could rent little boats.

Lights and landscaping could be placed around the ponds to make the place more inviting to tourist. An entrance could be built to allow people to enter the Zoo. People could be encouraged to eat at the restaurants maybe do a little shopping, play some golf and then take the little train to either the Zoo or the Bio-park. That train could be expanded to make a trip to the Hispanic Cultural Center. Local hotels could be encouraged to provide van trips, which would take tourist to the area for activities.

One has to ask Mayor Berry, where is his vision for our city? Where is the push to expand and build upon the projects that Mayor Chavez so successfully started for this city? Why is he such a failure at working with community groups when it comes to the development or redevelopment of areas in our city? Why is he not working with state senators to improve parts of our city? .

Albuquerque a Republican Run and Owned City

First Mayor R.J. Berry is elected to run our city. His police force is more concerned with protecting sex offenders and preventing property crime to care about any other crimes. His administration is fighting tooth and nail to prevent low-income individuals from getting a pay increase. Our city has the most job losses of any city in the state and also cities in surrounding states.

The city council is about to become a supermajority controlled by republicans. You can be sure that things will not go well for city employees who are union members. The council will back any plan for things like not putting large construction projects on the ballot for the voters to consider. We will see pet republican construction projects pass with no voter input in the future.

The Bernalillo County Commission is also about to lean to the right as the governor will appoint either a republican or a fake democrat to the position being opened by Commissioner Michelle Lujan Grisham. Grisham is running for congress and gave up the position so that a democrat could be appointed to the ballot this November.

The problem with all of these changes is that no one appears to care in the Democratic Party. Candidates are either charging large prices for pay-for-view events in the city or they are moving their events north and south of our fair city. The State Fair Parade, which has been a big deal in the past, is looking like just another no show this year by candidates and the party. Democratic voters have nothing to talk about or attend that would encourage their desire to vote in the November election.

Why should anyone care if Bernalillo County becomes a republican haven in our state? Well let us just say that without our county someone being elected to a statewide race has very little hope of winning. Our city and county is the largest voting bloc in the state.

Mayor R. J. Berry Defends First Amendment Rights of Sex Offenders

Mayor R. J. Berry welcomes sex offenders to our city for a conference to reduce laws that protect women and children. Berry would make Albuquerque a welcome haven for people who destroy the lives of women and children.

Berry has done away with many of the administrative rules put into place by former Mayor Martin Chavez that were aimed at protecting women and children in this city from sex offenders. It is outrages that a mayor could defend individuals who have a proven record of re-offending.

Police are not preparing to defend the citizens of this city but are attempting to protect the sex offenders from the citizens of this city.

Citizens in this city have a right to be safe in their communities. Now the mayor is encouraging sex offenders to move to our city by his very behaviors. He would create a community of sex offenders in the Southeast heights side of our city.

This is no way to attract businesses to our city. It is no wonder that New Mexico is losing jobs while other states are gaining them. Who in their right mind would want to start a family in a city known for its sex offenders. Mayor Berry’s actions make you wonder why he is so supportive of these individuals.