Celebrating New Years that special East End kind of way
Last year was quite “festive” up here (mp3), you might want to step away from the window…
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It’s quiet over here in what’s left of Woodville next to Fairfield Court. I haven’t heard a single shot so far since I got home before 7:30. It’s not as bad as 1994 and I don’t think it happens just here.
Spoke too soon… well at least it was just one person with like 4 shots.
That mp3 just made my dogs fight.
Reminds me of the good old days in Beirut.
So far, nobody’s been abducted downtown this week,
This was the quietest new years’ we’ve had over in South Side since we’ve been here. Either everyone is too cold to come out and shoot, or else it’s the price of bullets.
Happy New Year regardless!
So… I had never heard such! Quiet at 11:59PM! They started shooting at midnight and the bulk of it was over by 12:02. It was a few pops from less than 10 people. After that, there would be a few shots here and there spaced several minutes apart, nothing heavy. By 12:30 it was really quiet. Amazing!
Just a couple of fireworks around 26 and M…I always look forward to some rounds going off, it’s just the traditional way we roll up here!
It was quiet here on 36th & Marshall. I agree, the mp3 does sound like a sountrack from the streets of Beruit in the 80′s. Amazing. I prefer the peace, thank you.
Happy New Year all!
That was Fairmount last year, and this year wasn’t much different except that it started later. I actually saw someone shooting off their gun this year, down the street in profile.
It may be an odd question but where are the police when these shots go off? ARe they patrolling the area? They’re wonderful responding to any of the concerns I’ve had here in the neighborhood.
I was talking to a friend on the phone last night when I realized how late it was getting. She was pretty upset when I explained that I had to hang up so that I could go outside and stack some plywood on the roof of my soft-top Jeep, just in case.
I guess that does seem kind of crazy, if you are not used to it.
On bright side, maybe they used up all their bullets and it will quiet for a couple days.
What is the point of stacking plywood on top of a soft-top jeep?
And, what kind of sense does it make to say:
“…maybe they used up all their bullets…”
I just want to understand.
What goes up must come down, Joe. I prefer the rain to stay on the outside of my vehicle, if possible.
I believe that was Tiny’s attempt to make light of a bad situation.
Doh! Smart thinking, Ms. Shannon.
Wishful thinking, Tiny & Paul. Would that it were so …..
Greetings. I stumbled upon this site as part of exploring a possible relocation to Richmond. Church Hill is particularly interesting because it seems–at least to this novice–so well located. And the housing stock is intimate in scale and quite charming.
But when I read about guns, I start to think, maybe this isn’t the neighborhood for me. Not that I’m a wide-eyed suburbanite; I live one block from a New York City low-income housing project. I know you develop strategies to deal with petty crime and stuff like that. But gunshots in the night? Only twice I can remember in the last 30 years.
What’s the story? Am I overreacting to some holiday hijinks, or what? Your comments much appreciated.
@Dan:
It all depends on where you are in the area.
When my wife and moved into our house just off of Fairmount Avenue five years ago, we heard shots every ten days or so. Except for maybe once or twice in the past year, the shooting is holidays-only. It has been a nice change. There are areas that haven’t made the switch yet, though.
I’m not sure if folks on Grace Street or Franklin Street even hear the holiday shooting.
Hi Dan,
I had the same concerns when my nephew was looking at VCU as a possible college. Being a protective aunt I came here to check things out. That’s how I found this site too. Richmond had become a far nicer place than I remembered from 10 years ago. I looked all over the city for a property to restore and settled on Church Hill for many reasons. The Hill had a special charm to it and the people define the word friendly. I’ve found Church Hill as an area in transition, and as John said, some places worse than others. It’s all changing for the good. I’d vote for you taking a leap and looking at making this place home.
I must note that this blog covers several neighborhoods. I would think that the actual Church Hill would be quiet. That’s one reason I’ve always been against calling practically the whole East End of Richmond (minus the Fulton/Fulton Hill/Montrose Heights area) Church Hill.
We’re in the St. John’s old historic Church Hill area and two years ago, a New Year’s bullet fell through two panes of thick old window glass, wood, and into my husband’s wardrobe where it lodged itself in a stack of sweaters.
Greetings all – Happy New Year!
@Dan…to be on the real; Church Hill is not a bad place to live; but most of your experience will depend upon on who you are; your ability or inability to afford a really good security alarm system; whether or not you can afford to put your children in private school; and if you are black or white.
As an African American raising a young male teen in the Church Hill area who attends public school–and trying desperately to keep him on the right path–it’s the most frightening and challenging experience I’ve yet to experience. . . although I was born and raised here, in Church Hill.
My opinion is based upon black-on-black crime; thus, if you’re white. . . go for it!
Peace, Light and Love for ’09 . . C.
Dan, the amount you have to buy a house will depend on where you end up in the large area that most, incorrectly term “Church Hill”. The entire area is indeed changing, but if you’re looking for no bullets you should be looking at East Broad, Grace or Franklin, towards the River and probably not too close to Chimbo, 35th and 36th Streets (only speaking from a friend that lived up that way in late 80s thru early 2000 and was single female). I’ve been in CH for 10 years, single female, in St. John’s district and have never heard NYE bullets. I have heard the occasional distant gunfire but probably not enough to count on one hand. Gunfire on NYE is typical in all inner city area neighborhoods whether in Richmond or another city – or at least that’s what I’ve read. : > )
Once a year raining bullets is certainly better than the muggings my friends have suffered over the years in the Fan. Richmond is a city and people must practice crime prevention, i.e., don’t go walking around at night by yourself, lock doors…. I tell my kids living in the city is like walking in country fields and woods with copperheads; be on the look out, don’t hang out in tall grass wearing sandals, etc.
My sister just moved to Richmond from hillside country in Texas where tarantulas cling to the screen door, scorpions are common, rattle snakes nest around the water heater, and a coral snake pops it’s head up between bales of hay lining the garden. And she’s scared here in Richmond –talking about protection, dogs, guns, and mace and I, on the other hand, wouldn’t have lasted a second in her Texas yard.
Schooling is a huge issue in the east end like in most areas of Richmond. If you’re not wealthy enough to afford good private schooling (tuition starting around $10,000 a year), you’ll be scrambling for a spot in one of Richmond’s few good public schools every few years. And if the space is filled, your choice will be to pack up and move or send him to a poor school that might operate like a fiefdom where the voices of a few concerned parents and bullied teachers are squashed because of a dictator principal overseeing a complacent majority. No sitting back and relaxing like my friends and relatives living in parts of West Henrico where the elementary through high school education is excellent and where democracy exists.
Killer website, cordieb!
@Shannon. :) Thanks Shannon. I’m delighted you enjoyed it. Do visit again!
Blessings to you and yours…
[...] particular East End New Year’s Eve tradition of shooting off what you’ve got turns out to be legal: But shooting a gun on your own [...]