Who planned this (bars and ice cream shops) Around Town, posted by Bernie Brightman, a resident of the Whisman Station neighborhood, on Jun 25, 2007 at 3:02 pm
Have you ever strolled down Castro St. in the evening? Right next to the ice cream (gelato) shop, what do you find? Two bars. Does this strike anyone as strange? Just where you have families and children congregating, next door you have people who are drunk or smoking or barely clothed emerging onto the sidewalk. The Books Inc. bookstore with its large selection of books for kids is not far away either.
Why were these things permitted to be so close together? Why aren't bars forced to stay on El Camino Real where they have traditionally skulked?
Posted by Matt Raschke, a resident of the The Crossings neighborhood, on Jun 25, 2007 at 5:18 pm
It seems that the hours of operations of the two establishments don't overlap too much. Young children are not hanging out at the Gelato shop at 2am when the worst bar traffic is leaving. These businesses should be able to happily co-exist. I have young children, and we went for gelato on a Sunday afternoon not long ago. I recall the adjacent bars being either empty or closed. If the gelato shop is open past 9 or 10pm, then I could see some issues with older teens mixing with the bar patrons. But that could happen just as easily on El Camino or any other area bar.
I don't really see a problem with these businesses located side by side. When I was a boy I used to deliver newspapers, and my route included a bar. It was the most interesting part of my route.
Posted by eric, a resident of another community, on Jun 26, 2007 at 2:48 pm
One of the businesses that was first to inject some needed energy into dt. Mtn View years ago was... a bar. The Tied House was, at the time, the biggest thing to happen to MV in a long time. Same could be said about Gordon Bierch in PA.
Posted by Resident, a resident of the Waverly Park neighborhood, on Jun 26, 2007 at 3:15 pm
I've frequented Castro Street for years, with and without my kids. Have yet to see anyone drunk or barely clothed emerging from a bar--at least in the hours I would have my kids out. 1:00 am on a Saturday night might be a different story, but I don't have my kids out for ice cream then. And I usually read the police blotter in the papers, I haven't seen a rash of drunk and disorderly reports on Castro. I think the nightclubs and bars have been good neighbors, I see no problem with it.
Posted by Bernie Brightman, a resident of the Whisman Station neighborhood, on Jun 26, 2007 at 3:19 pm Bernie Brightman is a member (registered user) of Mountain View Online
You folks should try wandering by on a warm Friday or Saturday night before sunset.
As to drunks, I think there's a good reason paramedics are permanently parked just off Castro every Saturday night.
Whenever someone brings up a topic for reform, it's the people who are benefiting from the status quo that pipe up to say they dont' see a problem.
Posted by csma, a resident of another community, on Jun 26, 2007 at 3:38 pm csma is a member (registered user) of Mountain View Online
Not sure how I'm benefitting from the status quo. I don't go to the bars, I don't own/work at the bars or the gelato shop; I'm just a resident who has had no experiences with drunk or disorderly people downtown, in the 20 years I have been frequenting Castro Street. Most of the people I see downtown look like young engineer-types. I haven't seen that any of them were any more scantily-clad than some of the girls who hang around the frozen yogurt shop in my neighborhood in the afternoons. The bars have not caused any problem. If they do--if there are lots of fights on the sidewalk, vandalism, loud drunks making themselves obnoxious--I'd be with you. But I have not seen that to be the case, so I just don't think it's a problem.
Posted by eric, a resident of another community, on Jun 26, 2007 at 9:55 pm
and what "reforms", Bernie, are you proposing? Would you like to turn Castro Street into a mall and replace the bars with a Hot Dog on a Stick franchise? I spend a lot of time on Castro (very little in bars and, sigh, even less with scantily clad women), I have NEVER seen an overtly intoxicated idiot wansering around, NEVER felt uncomfortable walking with my young kids.
Posted by Resident, a resident of the Shoreline West neighborhood, on Jul 2, 2007 at 12:18 am
I agree that the peak hours for the gelato shop and bars don't really overlap or cause problems.
My only complaint about the bars is that their patrons huddle around to smoke on the sidewalks. Then again, that's just a general complaint about smoking on crowded public thoroughfares. But that's off-topic. :)
Posted by ex-castro_dweller, a resident of the Castro City neighborhood, on May 30, 2008 at 3:10 pm
I've been hanging out on Castro for 10 years because it is a relatively safe place. I've gone there with my then boyfriend now husband and I have also felt safe enough to go with my girlfriends. We took the kids out nightly for walks down Castro without for the most part, any issues. We once took the kids out to the Gelato place in the evening and there was a crowd of young men blocking the sidewalk and they had already started drinking. One of them fell onto our stroller. At least he was apologetic. One incidence over the course of 5 years we've taken our kids down there is nothing. Castro is tame. The cigar bar on the other hand is a different story. They should not have opened so close to Park Place, nothing like opening your windows to air out and having smoke come in every night.
Posted by resident, a resident of the Old Mountain View neighborhood, on Jan 22, 2009 at 4:11 pm
The cops will have you car towed and you wont get it back for thirty days. The tow companies begin to sell your car as soon as they get their hands on it. I think their should be an investigation how much these tow companies pay for the cops business, how do they decide on one of the 5 tow companies Most people cant come up with the money after 30 days especially when the bill is about 2 k. You loose your car, and they sell it for a profit and stick you with the storage bill anyway. What a bunch of crooks...Stay away from the bars and the MV police.
Posted by Carly, a resident of the Monta Loma neighborhood, on Jan 22, 2009 at 4:50 pm
I was once downtown on a Friday night and ran into my son's teacher from Crittenden Middle school coming out of one of those bars completely drunk and crawling all over some man.
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