3 ms·

Atlanta, in addition to the traffic, is also known for their corruption.

easyas124 3y ago
Every single American city has this to one degree or another, even if it's just "hey, my brother owns a landscaping business and can mow city hall...". But a Byzantine government structure and a "fuck you, got mine" attitude baked into the national ethos will do that.
- datadrivenangel 3y ago
  Oh yeah. Atlanta is not unique in that regard. Great city.
ethbr1 3y ago
Is it? The Kasim Reed years produced a few federal prosecutions [e.g. 0], but generally it's been pretty quiet? And it's not like the US Attorney isn't looking. So either Atlanta politicians are better at hiding their crimes, or they aren't committing them at the average rate [1]. Subjectively, I'd say that Atlanta has a fair amount of low-level corruption (see the Park amounts), but generally avoids the major-level corruption that other cities get caught in. [0] https://www.ajc.com/news/local/torpy-large-when-the-cost-your-own-corruption-knocks-you-out/ImwYdHnS8OzOBpKqsehtSK/ https://www.ajc.com/news/local/torpy-large-when-the-cost-you... [1] https://pols.uic.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/273/2023/11/Corruption-Rpt-15-Final.11.2.23.pdf https://pols.uic.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/273/2023/11/Co...
- bigbillheck 3y ago
  The whole "Cop City" stuff seems pretty corrupt.
  - ethbr1 3y ago
    Which part? The city wants to use some land for a public purpose. They steamrolled local opposition to do so. It'd arguably be more corrupt if they turned around and sold it to developers. (I haven't looked at the details of how City Hall East was sold into Ponce City Market) To me, corruption is individual enrichment at injury to the public or subverting legal processes in place.
    - ethbr1 3y ago
      Looked up the City Hall East sale, because I was curious. Sold through the Atlanta Development Authority, in 2011, for $27M, with a portion of the paid as the development achieves milestones. And gets a $600,000/yr expense off the city's books. I walked through the entire empty building during the sale... and could definitely say there needed to be a LOT of renovation (including structural) before it was usable. Also, apparently holes between 12' ceiling floors were acceptable safety practices when it was built. No OSHA! https://roughdraftatlanta.com/2011/08/01/city-hall-east-to-become-ponce-city-market/ https://roughdraftatlanta.com/2011/08/01/city-hall-east-to-b...

Every single American city has this to one degree or another, even if it's just "hey, my brother owns a landscaping business and can mow city hall...". But a Byzantine government structure and a "fuck you, got mine" attitude baked into the national ethos will do that.

datadrivenangel 3y ago
Oh yeah. Atlanta is not unique in that regard. Great city.

ethbr1 3y ago

Is it? The Kasim Reed years produced a few federal prosecutions [e.g. 0], but generally it's been pretty quiet? And it's not like the US Attorney isn't looking. So either Atlanta politicians are better at hiding their crimes, or they aren't committing them at the average rate [1]. Subjectively, I'd say that Atlanta has a fair amount of low-level corruption (see the Park amounts), but generally avoids the major-level corruption that other cities get caught in. [0] https://www.ajc.com/news/local/torpy-large-when-the-cost-your-own-corruption-knocks-you-out/ImwYdHnS8OzOBpKqsehtSK/ https://www.ajc.com/news/local/torpy-large-when-the-cost-you... [1] https://pols.uic.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/273/2023/11/Corruption-Rpt-15-Final.11.2.23.pdf https://pols.uic.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/273/2023/11/Co...

bigbillheck 3y ago
The whole "Cop City" stuff seems pretty corrupt.
- ethbr1 3y ago
  Which part? The city wants to use some land for a public purpose. They steamrolled local opposition to do so. It'd arguably be more corrupt if they turned around and sold it to developers. (I haven't looked at the details of how City Hall East was sold into Ponce City Market) To me, corruption is individual enrichment at injury to the public or subverting legal processes in place.
  - ethbr1 3y ago
    Looked up the City Hall East sale, because I was curious. Sold through the Atlanta Development Authority, in 2011, for $27M, with a portion of the paid as the development achieves milestones. And gets a $600,000/yr expense off the city's books. I walked through the entire empty building during the sale... and could definitely say there needed to be a LOT of renovation (including structural) before it was usable. Also, apparently holes between 12' ceiling floors were acceptable safety practices when it was built. No OSHA! https://roughdraftatlanta.com/2011/08/01/city-hall-east-to-become-ponce-city-market/ https://roughdraftatlanta.com/2011/08/01/city-hall-east-to-b...