Life, food, events, and community in Albuquerque, NM
Trying The Downtown Experience
Tonight we're returning to the Asian Noodle Bar. I order the basil chicken, C gets something spicy with udon and tofu. It's early by downtown standards so they're not yet rushed and our entres arrive in just a few minutes. Both dishes are great- The basil chicken is a lot of like pad ki mao (aka drunken noodles). This is actually the best food I've had in the vicinity of downtown- I'm informed that I'll be sent back in weeks to come for more udon. The experience thus far is charming.
90 minutes till show time- we start walking toward the train depot. It's been a couple months since I spent time downtown and at least 6 since being there in the evening. There are a fair number of people here- and a whole lot of motorcycles running up and down the street, engines revving. I spot an onion dome I hadn't noticed previously. We track it down to the federal building- anybody know the story on this?
After a good 45 minutes of wandering, we head toward civic plaza via the pedestrian path on 4th. Just north of Copper there's a ~30 panhandlers laying in wait. We see a couple people get harrassed and opt to take a different route to the plaza. That's just not the sort of experience I've brought my wife down town to have. Once we get to the plaza, all is delightful once again. The screen is setup to the north, a wall of clean portapotties/wash stations to the SW and the standard frito pie truck to the east. We brought our own chairs, but there's already seating on account of tomorrow's Summerfest. An excellent reuse of resources.
We get settled in at about 8:10- I wanted to get there early for good seating position. We relax and watch the crowd gather. Bachelors take note- the female to male population is easily 3:1. Maybe it's Breakfast at Tiffany's or maybe it's the idea of free air Cinema. Either way, the crowd is in a mood to be pleased. At 8:30 the yellow shirts running the show are having some technical difficulties- the screen that's being projected on is inflatable, like a bouncy castle- with a white screen in the middle to be projected upon. There was some wind at sundown, so it took some extra effort to get the screen stabilized.
The folks running the show are distinguished by their yellow shirts and youthful appearance. In fact, they are youths. The girl with the microphone does a little introduction, tells us that we'll be watching a cartoon, then the main attraction. It's clear that a) she's about 16 years old and b) consequently, doesn't have too much experience with public speaking. That's ok, she did a good job, better than many of the more experienced speakers we all regularly hear from.
The cartoon starts up, then stops- she announces she needs to turn on subtitles (good girl) and then we'll be set. Hijinks ensue. I get a chance to be a minor hero and help them get sound running again (one problem out of several). It's been a rocky 45 minutes at this point, but they turn the subtitles on, start the video, and it goes smoothly. The wind wiggled the screen every now and again, but the team of yellow shirts managed to keep it aloft. Good work.
Near the end of the movie, a rather unpleasant fellow starts walking up and down the aisles with hostile body language, a metal cane in his right hand and a cigarette in his left. He held the cane at the center of mass like a weapon and did not need it to walk. He stared at a couple of ladies near us, then another group.. and another- looking for somebody to start a confrontation with. I've read a bunch of posts about the martial-law-style heavy police presence downtown, but there wasn't a one to be seen at the plaza. As far as I know, he didn't manage to provoke a fight, but keeping an eye on him did make me miss the big speech where the hero lays his heart out to the heroine. Got to see her reciprocate though, which was nice.
As we walked back toward the car, we went ahead and took 4th to Copper. Sure enough, a couple clearly intoxicated or otherwise impaired people hit us up for money. Maybe that's why one of them is having trouble taking no for an answer. Not unlike the last time I was downtown at night. Hot on the heals of the hostile-plaza-guy, this experience tips the scales from an overall pleasant evening to unpleasant. 55 to 45, to be specific. We skip the after dinner desert+drinks and head home.
Thus, to anybody who happens to read this that has the power to change things, I make the following suggestions:
1. Keep letting the kids run the show, but have a responsible adult who can solve the problems that come up on standby. Nothing beats hands-on experience, but provide a failsafe. Just doing this is going to help the kids keep level heads and that alone will help them solve what problems come up. Some people left after waiting a very long time (BaT started an hour later than advertised)
2. Patrol the plaza during these events. Yes, the cinema is free and yes it's important that every person be capable of defending themselves and willing to defend others. But nobody is going there for that purpose- we're trying to enjoy a classic movie, patronize local restaurants, and add to the downtown experience. Judging by the expressions of some of the people in response to this guy, they won't be coming back.
3. Patrol 4th street while you're at it- aggressive panhandlers harassing my wife will not induce me to return to downtown with or without her. We all have a right to be in these spaces, but not the right to force ourselves on each other.
4. Close Central to traffic earlier. Let all that noise be human enjoyment.
5. Loop some of those ropes into the rafters so the screen doesn't collapse in moderate wind.
Next week Young Frankenstein is playing, but I won't be there. Doubtless the city will do something else too cool to miss in a few months and I'll try again. Meanwhile I'll hang out in Nob Hill where the panhandlers are comparatively mellow and the see movies at the Guild.
30 Comments
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Comment by Kelly on July 26, 2008 at 7:34am -
Hey! We were there, too, with some out of town visitors. After a fabulous dinner at Slate Street Cafe and brush with fame - Steve Buscemi walked in and was quickly escorted to a cozy corner - we got to Civic Plaza about 9 p.m. The movie started late because the young lady running the DVD player couldn't find the BaT disc. It took several other young ladies to root around the pile, but eventually the disc was found.
We thought the crowd was really mellow and very sparce. The evening was perfect and the movie a classic. Our guests commented that this was a fun way to see a film in a lovely atmosphere. We agreed.
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Comment by Don Pizzolato on July 26, 2008 at 9:08am -
Your suggestions are spot-on, Brendan. I did not see the menacing movie goer, but did note that the only security presence at all was a lone AKAL guard. Granted, the movie crowd was mellow, but the usual downtown combination of cruisers, homeless and inebriated 24 year old's makes a volatile mix. Better safe than sorry.
These kinds of events are a great idea, but the half-assed execution only contributes to the notion that no-one gives a s*** about downtown. The kids did the best they could, but appeared to be on their own. The only concessions available were tacos and the porta-potties, while spotless, were located back in a dark corner away from the crowd. If I were a woman I might think twice about hitting the head without an escort.
I keep waiting for downtown to exceed my expectations, even a little, but it never fails to disappoint.
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Comment by pepeye on July 26, 2008 at 9:48am -
Every large city in the US has a fluctuating contingent of people like the ones you describe. ABQ has far, far fewer than most. They are no danger to you. Yes it can be uncomfortable to have to deal with their pleas for money (I find a straight-forward "No" to work well most of the time) and their aggressive behavior (rare) can be intimidating (avoid eye contact). But they are not going to go away.
So you can either develop your own strategy to handle it or you can spend more time at fake urban places like ABQ Uptown. Personally I find the music they play on the outside speakers there far scarier than anything the street people ever do.
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Comment by Brendan on July 26, 2008 at 10:23am -
Oh no, my opinions are in line with Don's :-) Somewhere in the back of my head a little voice was screaming "and stay off my lawn!" I'm glad other people went and had a great time. The Civic Cinema is a fantastic idea and I sincerely hope the blemishes on its execution can be touched up.
Pepeye: I've been in many cities and said no many times (and yes in a few exceptional circumstances). I don't feel threatened and my strategy for dealing has always been effective. Nonetheless, needing to deal on three separate occasions and the protracted difficulties getting the movies going diminished the positive aspects of last night and resulted in an experience that I don't care to repeat. That's bad news for downtown, because I'm exactly the kind of person they're trying to attract.
Other notes:
ABQ Uptown is creepy.
I always have more trouble north of Central than south of Central when downtown after dark.
In hindsight I should have parked under civic plaza- that would have prevented the straw-that-broke-the-camel's-back. If you're going to see Young Frankenstein next week.
The taco truck lacked sno-cones, but the kids promised they'd bring them next time (I've had a heck of a time finding sno-cones this summer).
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Comment by pepeye on July 26, 2008 at 11:24am
- Again, panhandlers and other street folk are just a fact of life. I was at the Cracker show a few weeks ago and saw the same person with the metal cane you spoke of doing the same thing. He had a right to be there. But so did I and so his behavior meant nothing. Its just part of the scene.
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Comment by NMBosque on July 26, 2008 at 12:01pm - I think the idea about running the support ropes needs to be sent to Marty's office - they had the same problems at the two prior movies I've watched. I think it's a great addition to the downtown experience.
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Comment by Don Pizzolato on July 26, 2008 at 12:03pm
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Downtown is about as authentic as ABQ Uptown.
Much of downtown's foot traffic and associated businesses (e.g. NYPD Pizza, Tucano's) are driven by the movie theaters, built in 2000. Remove the entire "theater bock" (which looks quite a bit like ABQ Uptown) and you are left with an assortment of mediocre restaurants, tacky bars and almost no retail. With rare exception, downtown offers almost noting to appeal to the 30-50 demographic.
This notion that "street folk" add some sort of urban texture beyond annoyance is nuts.
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Comment by W2M on July 26, 2008 at 1:03pm -
Look, I love the idea of the downtown outdoor movies... I had a fantastic time a few years ago out at the Balloon park watching the singalong wizard of Oz. But there is no way I am going to downtown on my own or with only one other woman... between the drunks and the drunk panhandlers, it just doesnt feel safe enough to me..
Is it safe, IE is anyone really going to do anything to harm me? the percentages are in my favor. I know nothing is ever 100% safe... but I am a big believer in risk reduction... If I really, really wanted to go down and see a particular movie, I might go. but as evening entertainment goes, I would rather sit outside and watch people in Nob Hill...
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Comment by W2M on July 26, 2008 at 1:06pm
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I dont completely avoid the area, thought.
I do go downtown to the movies and have even gone by myself... but I do not get there after dark and I ask the theater to provide me an escort back to my car.
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It did look like the screen could use some help.