Hi Colleen, I saw your mail and appreciate your frustration. I can only give you advice from the principles I am following. I hope they are useful. I believe with determination and CONSISTENCY, we can solve the problem, even if we as a community have to resort to legal means of doing so.
*Principle one: Go after the person making the money out of your misery* Forget about the students. Target the owner!! Go after the person who is the ROOT cause of your misery. The students are in a risky health and safety environment because the landlord wants to maximise his profit. The problem with the noise in the clubs is that, there is no soundproofing and *Principle Two: Find out which Council regulations are being contravened and keep documentation, dates, times and names of all complaints.* **In your case, there are health and safety violations. Collect affidavits from your neighbours. Do everything in writing or by email. Council is slippery, they will almost always blame someone else. send the same letter to all possible departments. Coordinate your actions with all the available civic bodies (OCA, OBSCID) and use the OBS websites and discussion groups *Principle Three: Go after management: they earn the higher salaries and performance bonuses:* Force the city council to do their work. Do not tolerate incompetence. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE DOCUMENTATION TO PROVE INCOMPETENCE. There is always a superior to escalate to as most management are concerned about their performance bonuses. It will be a lot of work at the beginning. *Principle Four: Work with the Police in our community and Support them:* The police have adopted a zero tolerance policy with the support of the community. Under the current conditions, we need to give them at least three months to show some results. They need to understand and PROACTIVELY USE the powers they have. If the police do not perform, we go to their superiors and then to their superiors and then to their superiors and so on. *Principle Five: Use the facts!!! Don't allow any of your or the prejudices of others to get the better of you!* Don't let any underlying racism, sexism or agism cloud your judgement. It can also be used as a way to dismiss your valid complaint. Observatory is a multi cultural and multi ethnic community. we want to keep it that way. My view is that the underlying racism in this country has affected the management of our city and they are letting our community decline. Maybe they don't believe that diverse communities can live together and are subconsciously acting on this. I am using this as a way to standardise the principles of our fight to clean up our community. I hope they are helpful. Best Regards Mervyn Maistry On 31 March 2010 07:49, Colleen Bester (CI) <[email protected]> wrote: > I really appreciate all the replies thus far.However , matters in Donne > street are taking forever to be resolved. > It's been over a year that I approached authorities & people who have been > placed in positions to "help" us...to no avail. > Here is an excerpt from one of the mails that was sent in March last year: > > > > *As per telecon this morning:* > > I need someone to urgently take action regarding the following issues all > of which are occurring in Donne street,Observatory : > > There are presently about* 5* lodges in this street : 4 of which are > directly opposite my home with 4 bedrooms housing 4 people each with only > one bathroom i.e.* 16 people/students per house with one bathroom……..* > > The resultant noise levels are totally inconsiderate & unacceptable : > > Resident students have friends visiting at all hours , resulting in > constant traffic , doors banging & music blaring ; > Cars picking up/dropping off people at all hours playing their music LOUD ; > Students have no concept of speaking at normal levels as conversations are > shouted from one end of the road or house to another ; > > There are parties which happen* **throughout* the week & go on till the* * > *next* morning -some evn start st 1am & continue till someone quietens > them down ; > > Crime has increased - due to the increased traffic one does not know who > belongs there & who is merely "casing" properties ; > > Most evenings , weather permitting , students sit outside (with chairs & > tables!) & drink & play music loud while their friends park in the road > obscuring traffic & also playing loud music from their cars ; > > Soccer games in the road result in dents in cars which no-one owns up to ; > > I have called the Woodstock police , Metro Police & Law Enforcement on > numerous occasions to deal with the problem but once they have left , the > noise resumes. > > The lodge owner , being the owner of Rainbow Lodge as well , Mr Willie > Crouse is uncooperative & does not like to hear complaints & has been known > to hand out ear-plugs to residents who complain (funny under any other > circumstance. > > He does sometimes try to quieten the students but is not always > successful.Basically , he seems more interested in collecting his rent than > anything else. > > I start work at 7am , an engineer at Telkom , currently working on the 2010 > World Cup Soccer Tournament &* **really* need my sleep , as I'm sure do > other residents who have been here for years.(I have actually had to take > days off from work to catch up on sleep!!) > > I have tried all other avenues & spoken with other residents but no > solution is forthcoming.I really hope you can rescue all of us out of a* * > *very* desperate situation. > > > These endless mails have been flitting back & forth & the only person who > has really been of any help is M.Price (a government worker) & recently > David Raphael (Vetus Schola). > A few weeks ago , one of my neighbours went outside to get the students to > quiet down & was subsequently beaten up.......I really do not know what to > do anymore!What do I do in the interim as things have steadily got worse? > I've also considered selling up & moving but that also has it's drawbacks > as it's impossible to try to sell your house when your road looks like a > street out of Mitchells Plain with people sitting outside on the pavements > drinking & partying (even on a Sunday!!)........ > > Anyhow , I'd appreciate any response & will definitely be checking out the > NAG group.... > > > ------------------------------ > *From:* [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] *On Behalf > Of *Sascha Polkey > *Sent:* 30 March 2010 10:15 AM > *To:* James Cowley > *Cc:* [email protected]; Dr Mervyn G Maistry; Henk Munnik; Kris > Marais; Cedric Reginald Thomas; Senior Superintendent P van der Riel; Brian > Amery; Chris Clarkson; Helen Swart; Brian Gray; Knarf Boatmaker > > *Subject:* Re: [obsnw] ENOUGH NOISE!! > > Dear James > > I am heartened to report that I have had some wonderful contact from the > community. > > I am willing to assist in taking action. > > In a letter from Frank - he suggested that I mobilise some of my neighbours > - I have these people ready to go! > > Henk - please let me know how I can assist NAG - I am also happy to write > letters and lobby local government. > > Thanks so much for making me feel like I am more than a collection of cross > thoughts in the night! > > All the best > Sascha > > > On 2010/03/30 01:32 AM, James Cowley wrote: > > Hi Sasha > I live further off from that scene you are affected by, but I became > active, as it is just not right to see my birthplace and other's interest > nackered. > We have to do something. Possitive action from concerned people will make > the difference. > We need to set that tone. > We need to take back Obs and prepare it for the next generation. > Let's make the difference and support the inititiaves currently at hand > dealing with this scourge you so well noted and reported on. > Its all in the wolf we feed, Wolf Apathy will bring about more mahem. Wolf > Active will bear possitive fruit. > Sympathetic to your dilemma. > Kind regards > James > > > > On Mon, Mar 29, 2010 at 8:00 PM, Frank Schuitemaker < > [email protected]> wrote: > > *Hi Sasha, > > What you tell us still shocks me and I have been living in Obs for close to > 25 years. Then there were no bars, clubs, drunks or many of the other > problems you referred to. Its not true that we always had them. > > Its nearly a month ago when my neighbour wrote many e-mails to head of > departments demanding answers who and how liquor licences were granted to a > mainly residential area which has no infrastructure for the cars, parking, > sewage and otherwise. This was off the Google sites and thus not public. As > result we have since seen cluster exercises on the 6th of March and the last > weekend. I went out into the streets on the 6th from 19:00 till 05:00 the > next morning and was appalled which what confronted me. Music was unbearable > excessive loud, fights of groups of people with knives, urinating without > shame, laughing at the cops out there who were there to uphold the law it > was too much for me. > > Sasha I don't really hear the music from where I stay, but I do hear the > revellers, cars, breaking bottles and find body traps the next day. This all > propelled me into action as I'm disgusted with all this unsocial behaviour > and devaluation of property prices and I joined NAG the Noise Action Group > and other initiatives to turn the tide. > > Also I started a small Google site which is not quite ready - or approved - > to be launched but it seems (like another neighbour said) "Now is the time". > Please go to Noise Action Group - > NAG<http://groups.google.co.za/group/NoiseActionGroup>and bookmark this site. > It is not a chat site but aims to provide the tools > to make sure that the clubs, pubs and bars keep their licences with our > support or loose their licences as simple as that. > > There have been meetings in the past weeks with the SAPS Woodstock Station > Commander, DPO Officer, CPF and many other roll players and we need to > support these initiatives and authorities. This I intend doing by keeping a > register and records and filing warning, pressing for fines and at last > resort insist on closure of these pubs, clubs or bars who cannot or will not > co-exist in what is primarily a residential area. You will find also links > with reference to sites to help us to fight for OUR RIGHTS. > > Will you help us to help yourself? And what about all the others who have > kept quiet and been outshouted by most likely outsiders. > > PLEASE JOIN THE "NOISE ACTION > GROUP"<http://groups.google.co.za/group/NoiseActionGroup>NAGNow and play your > part. Keep tuning in we intend showing reality movies > taken at 05:00 with warning for the faint at heart. > > Kind Regards, > > Frank Schuitemaker > * > > > On 29 March 2010 17:32, sascha <[email protected]> wrote: > > I am strongly considering moving on from Obs. I have simply had enough > of the nocturnal scene - the world outside (specifically on the Reload/ > Groove Lounge etc... stretch this Friday and Saturday night sounded > positively apocolyptic. > > There was a woman screaming like a banshee in the parking lot behind > our house (behind Trump Towers), there were people schreeching tyres > and yelling, smashing bottles, dumping trash in noisy metal cannisters > and revving motorbikes and car engines.A constant din of voices, > shouting and laughing in the street carried on all night - as it does > EVERY weekend. > > The mixture of at least five different strains of music (so loud I had > to turn up my TV to hear it properly) became even louder as the night > wore on. Of course, around four in the morning the shouting and > swearing and pissing and bottle throwing starts in the road (Trill) as > people weave their drunken ways back into their cars so as to drive at > outrageous speeds the wrong way up roads, over our pets and out in to > the night to kill themselves and others on the their way home. > > Saturday night my husband was out and got home at about midnight. A > man and a woman were having a physical fight in the street outside our > house and he was physically threatened when he tried to intervene - > luckily a Vetus Schola patroller happened around the corner at that > moment. > > Why is Cozy Bar open again? I thought they were closed down and denied > a licence to operate further based on the previous contraventions? > > Where are the police when these drunk people fall out onto the street > to vandalise property, disturb the peace and drive drunk. Yes - I do > hear them sometimes - pipping their sirens and talking over their > loudspeakers but I have given up calling them to intervene as it has > no effect. > > I thought that these bars and clubs were meant to be silent from the > outside now : doors closed when playing loud music, bar shut by 4am. > Good things were happening at one point - things quietened down and it > was looking like the tide had turned. Its back to bad. > > Why do we have to have drug-turf wars that result in stabbings right > here in the midst of where we live. You might choose it but I do not. > Would you accept this if it happened in the day? > > I know that there are plenty of people who have spent time and energy > on trying to get these bars and clubs to tow the line. I cant > understand why the few steps forward we take are always followed by > those same steps back. > > What can be done to fix this problem? How can I try and ensure that > walking outside my front door will not result in a broken bottle over > the head, how can I stop these places that are not invested in the > sustainability of Obs, from robbing me of my sleep every weekend (incl > but not as bad on Thursday and Sunday nights). If I beat the OBSID > clean-up team onto the pavements on a Saturday morning, how can I know > that I will not have to ask my two year old son to pick his way > through the glass, cigarette butts and litter as we walk towards a > place where I can get a much-needed strong coffee. Do they people who > left this mess behind even live here? Why do we have to drive through > a seedy alleyway of dark,dingy clubs filled with drinkers at 2pm on a > Sunday afternoon? > > These are the thoughts that I lie awake with on weekend nights as I > contemplate where I can move to and how soon. > > We are doing much to clean up Obs by day. I am seeing the improvements > and I am believing in the results. I dont even know if OBSID has the > financial resources or the power to sort out our night-time hell. What > can be done? A study of how SeaPoint and town got rid of their drug > and alcohol offenders? A task team? Partnership between business, > police and OBSID? > > Or do I just have to move? I have lain awake at night asking these > questions for too long.Maybe I am just too tired to see this thing > from any other perspective right now? > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "The Observatory Neighbourhood watch" group. > > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected] > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/obsnw?hl=en > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to obsnw+ > unsubscribegooglegroups.com or reply to this email with the words "REMOVE > ME" as the subject. > > > > > -- > > > *Sascha Polkey > Director > Rabbit in a Hat Communications * > > [image: logo] > > *021 447 3197 or 8 > 083 414 0552 * > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "The Observatory Neighbourhood watch" group. > > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected] > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/obsnw?hl=en > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to obsnw+ > unsubscribegooglegroups.com or reply to this email with the words "REMOVE > ME" as the subject. > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > This e-mail is subject to the Telkom SA electronic communication legal > notice, available at : > http://www.telkom.co.za/TelkomEMailLegalNotice.PDF > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Observatory Neighbourhood watch" group. 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