The conversation about hiring security guards was one of the strangest things about last month’s epic apartment building meeting.
“I can give you a daily happy hour, or I can give you security guards,” the building president said. “But I am warning you, armed security guards are going to change the vibe around here.”
She was right.
Now I routinely run into packs of 2 to 4 security guards when I leave my building. Most of the security guards just glare at residents without saying anything, so it is highly awkward.
Our building Happy Hours were abruptly canceled yesterday, which will kill iLume Park’s unique social atmosphere.
Swaths of the building appear to be empty, and very few of my neighbors intend to renew their leases. The apartments around me are empty, so it feels like living in the hotel from The Shining.
To make matters worse, many of the vacant apartments are unlocked, which seems like a huge security problem.
Aside from making the residents uncomfortable, the new security guards do not appear to be very effective – a car window was smashed in the parking garage on the first day that the security guards appeared. The thieves made off with golf clubs and a gun.
The security company’s answer? “Well, we can’t stop all crime on the property.”
Another one of my neighbors recently called the security guards to handle an unruly party that was throwing things from their apartment balcony.
The partygoers cursed at the security guards and threw a water bottle at them. The guards didn’t do anything beside tell the partygoers “You shouldn’t have done that!” and the party continued on.
I’m surprised they didn’t call the real police.
My landlords back in downtown St. Paul would have evicted anyone who threw something at a building employee, but the bar seems higher here.
Security enhancements are not limited to iLume Park.
Many of the businesses in the neighborhood have new cameras and it is not uncommon to see armed security guards inside of the bars now.
The police response to bar incidents is also extreme.
Police cars at Sue Ellen’s Bar in Oak Lawn Dallas.
The Round-Up Saloon even hosted a self-defense class.
Round-Up Saloon gay self defense training in Oak Lawn.
All of these security “enhancements” are a natural reaction to this fall’s Oak Lawn crime wave, but the police state atmosphere is almost as unsettling as the robberies and attacks.
Many of my friends who were initially attracted to the gayborhood are now migrating to areas like Uptown Dallas, which feel safer, albeit less policed. We’ll see if things change, or whether a new crop of residents will actually be attracted to the newer, supposedly safer, gayborhood.
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