Tuesday, September 01, 2015

The Star Suddenly Discovers Neighborhood Opposition To Blue Indy

After months of cheer leading for the illegal monopoly Mayor Greg Ballard unilaterally gave to Bollore's Blue Indy electric car sharing program through the theft of public assets, The Star's John Tuohy finally acknowledges in a story tonight that there is legitimate neighborhood opposition to Blue Indy that's not driven by the partisan politics he's assigned to the criticism to date from members of the Indianapolis City-County Council.
“They just showed up one day tearing up my front yard and put these chargers in,” McCarthy said. “I feel like these cars, parked there all day, are going to devalue my property. I put a lot of money into this house.”
Despite the protests of McCarthy and other residents, businesses and City-County Council members, Ballard and BlueIndy will roll out the controversial electric car rental service during a ribbon-cutting ceremony Downtown on Wednesday . . .
The program has been 16 months in the making and dogged by criticism, much of it from council members who contend the city is illegally ceding right of way to the private company and inappropriately subsidizing the operation with $6 million in city funds.
But most of the recent complaints have bubbled from the neighborhoods as work crews — without warning — began digging trenches on prime parking spots to make room for electric cables, chargers and kiosks. Each of the stations has five spots reserved for the compact, four-seat plug-ins.
Chas Navarra, a 60-year-old health care worker, was alarmed when a station went up near his home in the Old Northside neighborhood at 13th and Alabama streets.
“I live in a historic neighborhood, and I’ve got a rental car business in front of my house,” he said. “What’s the difference between having this and Hertz or Avis parked out there? How is this going to be good for my (property) valuation?”
Navarra has organized a petition drive on Facebook called “Stop BlueIndy NOW” with 32 likes, and he has contacted council members Joe Simpson, Zach Adamson and Christine Scales, all critics of the way the city has implemented the program.
Navarra said he was never told the chargers would be built on his block and was shocked by the size of the operation.
“When it smacks you on the forehead like that, it’s really something,” he said. “Do we even know if these chargers are safe or if children should be playing around them?”
Several Democratic council members held a press conference this morning to express their opposition to the deal. Talk is cheap. Mayor Ballard accused the council members of just making stuff up when they suggested spending on program like Blue Indy has resulted in fewer dollars being spent on public safety despite the 10% income tax increase that took effect for that very purpose in January, the umpteenth time Ballard has raised taxes and fees during his two terms as mayor. It's hard to believe this phony got elected originally on a anti-tax message.  

7 comments:

Chas. M. Navarra said...


"Mayor Ballard accused the council members of just making stuff up..."

THE KETTLE CALLING THE POT BLACK

Anonymous said...

He didn't just accuse them of making stuff up...he directly called them liars. This ingrate is the epitome of why people do not trust their own government anymore. Hogsett typically absent on this issue as well. Didn't the lesson from Bart Peterson in not listening to the public cost him an election? And no one..not ONE has the courage to file federal corruption charges on Ballard. I guess they are too busy busting sandwich guys.

Anonymous said...

I am picking up everything Anon 7:45 is laying down. I have no doubt I am but one of the legion sensing I am lied to by those on both sides of the aisle. Nothing in politics ever occurs without being planned in advance... nothing. [Good Luck, Meridian/Kessler: that apartment building on the old AT&T site will happen if the politicians on both sides want it, your voice be damned.] Raising valid questions and concerns often results in elected "public servants" deriding citizens as "nutjobs" [or with even worse calumny].

Just the other day on broadcast news video I saw the Fountain Square Councilor with two mouths completely ignore the public outrage of Vision Fleet and Blue Indy by urging that the concerned citizens move beyond their "negativity". Really? That's the problem, that's the issue??? Wow. Just wow...

There is a huge and growing undercurrent among voters everywhere that the career politicos are missing... either intentionally or through their sheer ignorance. The rapidly growing voter discontent with the political status quo and the corruption endemic to both Democrat and Republican politicians is beginning to break surface.

Anonymous said...

I suspect it won't be long before these cars and the charging stations will be vandalized.

Pete Boggs said...

Charging station is beyond metaphor...

Anonymous said...

914, while I hate that building proposed near Kessler and College, as do most all folks in that part of meridian Kessler, part of me hopes it does get the green light. The developer pissed off a lot of very vocal and wealthy residents last night and I'd love nothing more than to watch MK residents unleash hell on the downtown hacks rubber stamping these crummy development deals. Should make for a colorful hearing in a few weeks if the developer sticks to their guns with the zoning request.

Pete Boggs said...

A friend has a great question: Are there any BCI spots in front of the CC, Statehouse or ISTA Bilkings? If not... why not?