Saturday, November 17, 2007

Like Flies to a Rotting Carcass

The local taggers now smell blood after the events of this last Sunday. Open season has now begun on the Santiago Street Lofts.


Last night at 10:50PM, two hoodlums made their mark on the Urban West loft, the unit on the Southwest corner of Santiago Street and Santa Ana Boulevard.

While one stood as a lookout on the North side of the street, the other, with a can of white spray paint in hand, tagged the usual garbage tag that can be seen all over town.

A call was placed into SAPD at 10:51PM, but by the time officers arrived on the scene at 11PM, the vandals were long gone. Being that no one actually lives in the nicest unit in our complex (which also helps make that unit an easy mark too), no police report could be filed because there was no victim to come forward.

Some may ask why I make such a big deal about graffiti. Other than being a firm believer in the broken window theory (or etched window theory in our case), graffiti is the gateway for more serious crimes. Next comes petty theft like something goes missing from your garage or I don't know, like a plasma television being stolen. Oh wait.
After that will come the burglary of an actual residence and not a model home, then armed assault and robbery are shortly to follow.

Think I'm crazy or a little paranoid, perhaps. But in Santa Ana, you can never let your guard down.

A call was placed into Keystone Pacific's emergency hot line as of this morning informing them of what happened last night. Hopefully this recent vandalism incident will be cleaned up by the end of the day as requested to the operator.

33 comments :

Unknown said...

The "HxL" portion of this tag is also all over the going out of business billards place as well. My guess is these two dirtbags live over in the 'hood across from OC Register..

Ben Dayhoe said...

Those HxL guys are probably one of the reasons why the billiards store is no more. Every weekend, that building and sign would get tagged.

That corner of Grand and SNA Blvd has so much potential should someone come in and buy that lot and the old car wash lot adjacent to it.

These kids are ignorant animals. By driving homeowners and businesses away, they are potentially chasing away quality tax revenue that could mean a better future for themselves and their families.

But expecting them to see the big picture is out of question.

The reality is that the police can't get here quick enough and most civilians don't have the means to detain them.

Anyone up for some good ol' fashion vigilantism?

Stephen Manning said...

The HOA is the victim - The crime was on the exterior of our condominium community building, which is not owned by the resident of the condo. Someone from the HOA should be able to give us guidance on how to report it "by proxy" as a resident who is part of the HOA.

Unknown said...

We're all victims brother, the blight of our community is the blight of all of us.

Anonymous said...

UrbanMessiah is right, from a "reporting a crime" perspective, any homeowner should be able to file a report for anything like this anywhere in the common area, or at least "on behalf of" the HOA. Right?

Anonymous said...

Yes, we can have "Santiago Street Lofts" as the victim, especially since it will come out of our budget to sandblast the bricks. Officers take reports for condo and apartment complexes all the time.

I'm doing more "foot patrols", meaning I'm walking the complex as often as I can. Even late at night. If you can't sleep, take a walk. The presence of people can make a difference.

It will take all soldiers living here to participate. Take your cell phone and a camera if you have one.

It's very frustrating, I know. But many of these little pieces of poop get caught and are linked to previous incidents. The etching is felony vandalism. (Anything over $400.00) and juvi's will go to the hall and stay longer particularly if it's gang related.

and the beat goes on....
Batwoman

Anonymous said...

headed out for my night patrol right now. Also, our CC&R's state in Section 18 that "The Association...shall remove graffiti from the Perimeter Walls... within forty-eight (48) hours of occurance" This graffiti must be removed by 11 PM Sunday Evening. No Exceptions.

Anonymous said...

The following Exterior HOA Lighting is out on the "North" side of the community: Building 14 - Above Garages, "doghouse" wall, Building 15 - Side facing Building 8, Building 11, Side facing building 12. What's the easiest channel to get those fixed?

Anonymous said...

Calling Kim Dean and letting her know directly is the best and fastest way to get the lights taken care of.

The main number for Keystone is (949) 833-2600. They have a "dial-by-name" directory.

Anonymous said...

it may not help that the lennar office has their extremely limited hours posted, as a "come break in" invitation. The guard service they have watching the dirt lot should be watching the models as well.

Anonymous said...

Any way the association could install cameras to the exterior of buildings? Sharing the cost over all the units may not be so much.

Unknown said...

And as of 5 minutes ago...it's gone. Now that is some pull with the city, getting a worker out on a Sunday morning to pressure spray it off..

Anonymous said...

I don't think it was the city that cleaned up the graffiti.

If you go back and read the last paragraph, I believe Ben stated that a call was placed to Keystone demanding immediate removal. The city is not responsible for clean up on our buildings. Which now makes me wonder: If Keystone is responsible for the exterior of the buildings, why not our glass roll up windows?

Anonymous said...

I'm in the process of reviewing that part of the CCR's now. That's my thoughts, there is budget in the HOA budget for replacement of roll up and commerical style front doors every 20 years... So wait... They are on my house, "owned" by the association but I have to replace the panes when they get etched? HUH? Gas Grills and fountains listed in the aforementioned HOA budget are not and may never be existent. Maybe it's time to look at how we can maximize the HOA dollar by doing something related to security, safety, and investment protection?

Anonymous said...

It's people like you who keep me excited about living here.

Thank you for reviewing the CCR's and please let us know of your finds.

Why the association doesn't cover the glass on the roll up doors is beyond me. In a neighborhood like this, it should have been a no brainer!

Jason said...

Wow... we have our own blog! I had no idea until a new neighbor told me.

Great work, Ben ... thank you. I'll be a frequent visitor.

By the way, I'm in one of the newer building, and haven't received any mail in my 10-12 days here. Does anyone know if the post office is delivering here yet?

Looking forward to meeting more of you. (I'm the one always working late in 732).

Jason

Anonymous said...

Federal. Organized. Labor.
Thats when the mailboxes will go into service.

My neighbors and I have a coffee social in line at the Spurgeon station retrieving our mail every morning, it's fun! *NOT!*

Anonymous said...

We didnt get mail for the first 3 weeks. As it turns out, we had two mailboxes. The one Lennar told us to use, and then one the USPS was actually using. So once someone finally figured out that error. We opened the "other" mailbox and found 3 weeks of mail. Though in all fairness the mailboxes are kind of weird. Our mailbox is on Santa Ana Blvd, even though our address is Santiago St. It's also not the closest mailbox to our unit. You should check with both Lennar and the USPS and make sure they are putting it in the right box.

Anonymous said...

When i go to the post office, they always have mail for me (after looking for it for 5 minutes). So it's not getting on even getting on a truck for delivery yet.

Spencer Hoo said...

Jason, welcome to the blog. It was nice meeting you yesterday.....a little bit relieved now that I see some people.....if you saw my earlier blog comment to another post, I noted that it was like a ghost town in "our neck of the woods" when I first started moving in.

As far as the mail goes, that is kind of frustrating....would have helped if Lennar told us this.....I guess I get to add a post office visit to my list of stuff to do. :)

Anonymous said...

Your call was placed to SAPD at 10:51pm and they arrived at 11pm -- that's less than 10 minutes. You're lucky. In my neighborhood (not one of the worst in SA by any means), we rarely see a response within a half hour.

Jason said...

Thanks for the tips on the mail ... I had no idea!

Spencer, thanks for turning me on to the blog, and it was good to meet you. This is the first time in ... ummm ... 12 years or more that I've actually had neighbors that I talk with, it's quite the nice change.

See you guys at the post office!

Jason

Unknown said...

How do you prove your address to them? I'm curious as I don't have any bills addressed to me here, obviously, and the DMV won't recognize the address either? Did you bring your loan papers in??

Thanks!

Spencer Hoo said...

we should all goto the post office as a group outing....lol

urbanmessiah, I am going to stop by later today...its technically on my way. Will let you guys know what I find out.

Anonymous said...

UM, Spence, name on mail = drivers license. they are reasonable about it. Otherwise you're commiting mail fraud and then they'll shoot you on the spot. ;-)

Stephen Manning said...

GOOD NEWS!
Gang Boxes 4 and 5 have their USPS Master lock installed! Woo Hoo! They were still empty today... We should expect mail in the next few days....if you sleep with your fingers AND toes crossed. ;-)

Jason said...

Thanks to your comments, I went to the Post Office today ... and the first dude said I had no mail, that it was floating in the ether somewhere, surely to return once I had waited long enough.

Thankfully, someone with a brain overheard, and said she had sorted "all the Lofts' mail" this morning ... and went and found my 2 weeks worth of mail. She also said she was going to pester the maintenance people, so hopefully the rest of the locks (and mail) will be on their way now. Thanks again for your tips!

Jason

Anonymous said...

Does the "security guard" really guard anything? Every time I see him he's parked over by the guest parking off of the Civic Center entrance, sitting/sleeping in his car.

Also, suggestion....can the comments remain related to the subject...it seems this thread changed to post office probs, which BTW I think is a right of passage for our lofts. ;-)

Anonymous said...

He's guarding Lennar's stuff, their materials and dumpsters and stuff, not our homes or anything else. The funny part is, he's only there till 10. Which seems like a complete waste of their money. Like any would-be thief wouldn't wait till later hour anyway. A few months ago we had our car parked in one of those spaces right where he sits. It got broken into that night. I'm sure they just did it sometime after 10 when it was pitch black (the lights weren't up then). Though even if it wasn't after 10 he probably wouldn't have noticed it anyway from his folding chair he sits in the whole time.

Unknown said...

Concerned: we need to lobby Ben to set up a general comments area/site so we can all discuss open topics. In the meantime this is all we have to come together here on Loft Island, so let's not discourage open communication amongst ourselves. Ben, it would be awesome if we had a site to to discuss issues, taggers, safety, etc. Wouldn't it?

Ben Dayhoe said...

UrbanMessiah, unlike many politicians in this city, I hear the needs and concerns of the SSL residents and I do have something in the works.

I've been working on setting up a community forum where residents of the lofts can freely post concerns, thoughts, events and what not.

When putting a forum together (properly), a lot of planning has to go into it before launch for it to be successful. The "wouldn't it be cool factor" is something I want to get done right at time of the launch and not have to worry about later.

Another factor is moderation. I want the forum to be a great place where people can come together and share ideas while keeping in mind flaming, spamming and other forum related issues could lead to its demise.

I am very grateful and honored that what started out as an experiment has brought many of us together, bridged the "Boulevard Gap", and raised awareness amongst homeowners. The fact that people take time out of their day to hear my thoughts and post their own is the biggest reward anyone could receive.

At the end of the day, it’s you folks here that make living here awesome….and let's not forget the Poo Lady.

Anonymous said...

Here's some discussion on Lennar's now abandoned project in Irvine:

http://forums.irvinehousingblog.com/discussion/346/7/foreclosure-and-distressed-property-topics/

Currently post number 339

A project is part physical design and part financial design. Both have to be successful in their design and implementation for a project to be considered a success. It sounds as if this one was a successful physical design but the financial proforma required an unrealistic market price to succeed.

We have a similar project here in Irvine. There is a place called Central Park West which Lennar just mothballed. The design is great, but Lennar overpaid for the land and needs to obtain a sales price per unit which is over market. Lennar will probably end up selling this place for about 30 cents on a dollar. The second developer will make money on the place because the design is good.

Ben Dayhoe said...

Heads up everyone! Around 5:15PM, I saw the two dudes who tagged DiRienzo's place walking west on the north side of santa ana blvd.

There is a possibility that they may be planning another hit. Keep your eyes and ears open tonight and tomorrow night.

Thanks everyone.