7-Storey block going up in Howe Street

A MAJOR development on an empty plot of land in Howe Street will add no fewer than 123 apartments to Observatory’s slowing increasing number of living spaces.
Aquacor Property Developers, the company developing the two blocks of one- and two-bedroom flats, claims that 60% of the units have been sold off-plan already for prices ranging from R575 000 to R1,2m.
Aquacor’s Dustin Stringfellow assured Howe Street residents, who are unhappy about lack of parking in the street due to the presence of Woolworths Financial Services, that the development will have no impact on the parking situation. “All the parking will be within the property,” he said. There will basement parking for every resident, and one visitor’s parking space for every four flats.
The first of the blocks, a three-storey building, is set to be completed by May next year, while the second, a seven-storey giant, is due for completion in August next year.
Dustin said the development has drawn keen interest from investors who want to rent out the flats. 

Traffic Indaba

The Observatory Improvement District (OBSID) is holding a major “traffic indaba” at the Observatory Community Centre in October at which the community can get first-hand feedback from the authorities on perennial traffic problems plaguing the suburb.
Some of the sorest pain points of life in Observatory relate to traffic, including speeding, illegal parking, broken or non-visible traffic signs, congestion and huge trucks from the industrial side of the village trying to make their way through the narrow Obs streets.
These issues are constantly raised by residents to the OBSID, which plans to put together a panel of representatives from the Metro Police, City Traffic and the Police to face the community at the indaba, which will start at 10am on Saturday, 20 October.
Local ward councillor Brett Herron, who also happens to be the member of the mayoral committee in charge of Cape Town’s roads, will also be on the panel.
However, OBSID COO Ursula van Stavel says she is wary of the meeting degenerating into a complaining session dominated by a handful of angry residents.
Therefore, the plan is to gather written questions and complaints from the community about traffic issues by 1 October. These will be compiled and handed to the panel members so that they can research and prepare answers for the community. The idea is that the authorities are able to give concrete plans and progress reports to the community at the meeting.
There will be an opportunity for residents to question the panel at the end of their presentations.
Ursula said: "I want it to be a win-win situation...no one’s going to ambush anyone at the meeting."
She called on anyone with a traffic complaint or question to submit it to the OBSID in writing before 1 October. No verbal complaints will make it onto the agenda.
Send your traffic complaints, questions and suggestions to Ursula at COO@obsid.org.za

Slow take-up of Obs Party Shuttle

A SLOW start to the take-up of the Obs Party Shuttle, a bus for revellers who want to shuttle between Obs’s nightlife and party spots in town, has forced the owners to add additional routes to the service.
The Obs Party Shuttle, owned by local entrepreneur Hazel Waltons and driver Muhammed Bazier, now also goes to Claremont and Greenpoint.
The service was launched in July for those who want to "party responsibly" without having to worry about drunk driving. The original route formed a circle between Obs and the CBD on Friday and Saturday nights between 9pm and 4am.
Muhammed said recent bad weather contributed partly to the slow take-up, but many are still unaware of the service.
Muhammed says that Friday nights are busier, but only after 11pm and depending on the weather. He says that about 25 to 30 people use the shuttle at this hour and only 4 to 6 people use the shuttle at 10pm.
The minibus tends to fill up from Obs to the CBD, but not on the return trip. Revellers in Long Street, the main City Bowl destination for the bus, are not as familiar with the shuttle.
Saturday nights are less popular, with only six to eight regulars using the shuttle service.
He said because of demand, he now includes Claremont and Green Point. "If I have to, then I do," said Muhammed. He says this usually happens because Obs is quiet by 1am.
Petrol has increased, but Muhammed said the same prices remains. He charges R15 for a one-way trip to Town, R25 for a trip to Claremont from Obs, and R20 for a one-way trip to Trinity in Greenpoint.
Muhammed is positive that the service will pick up after exams and in summer. "You get your good week-ends and your bad week-ends," said Muhammed.

Empty shops filling up at last

OBZ Square, the new UCT residence on Main Road, is still struggling to let their premises after months of vacancy, but Obs Gateway, the new block at the confluence of Lower Main and Main Road, is filling up with new tenants after years of delay.
Obz Gateway now houses a nail parlour, Alison’s Nail Boutique, a hair salon called Change Room and a tattoo parlour.
This leaves one shop, the largest one, vacant at Obs Gateway. The owner of the building, Robert Gulliver, said that if smaller businesses want to let the premises, he will consider splitting it into two spaces. But he is interested in letting the premises out to a gym or a pawn franchise.
All of the four apartments on the second storey have been rented out, except for one two-bedroom flat going for R6 500 per month.
Meanwhile, Grant Willis, director of UCT student housing, downplays the empty shops at the ground floor of Obz Square by saying that they didn’t expect to fill them within the first months after the opening of the residence in January this year. "Chances were remote to have a full house," he said, adding that UCT wanted to see first what type of clientele applied and whether they were suitable.
Grant says that three prospective tenants have been interviewed, but says it is an on-going process. He also expressed interest in recruiting a gym. Because Obz Square is a student residential complex, Grant says that they want eateries, coffee shops and retailers, but no bars and pubs.
Retail space at Obz Square costs R120 per square metre per month and the shop sizes range from 66 square metres to 300 square metres.
Obs Gateway’s completion was a slow process, with tenants complaining that they had to start off using generators because the building wasn’t ready for an electricity connection. Similar problems were apparently experienced with telephone lines. The problems seemed to have been sorted out recently.
Robert said the heritage status of the area delayed completion.
Kim Sueng Hee, owner of the Change Room salon, said only minor problems remain, including the lack of visibility and signage. Robert said that signage will be up within a week.

Barmooda fire suspect sought

There seems to be no end to the Barmooda saga as insurance issues drag on and an identified alleged arsonist is still at large.

No repair work has started yet on the gutted part of the building which housed the controversial Barmooda nightclub on the corner of Station and Lower Main Road, despite earlier promises by the building’s owners, Woodstock-based company Zhauns Properties, that work would start in September.

The nightclub was petrol bombed in mysterious circumstances in the early hours of 15 June.

Brian Roberts, Zhauns property manager, said they are still busy sorting out the insurance claim. He told ObsLife that repair work will start at the beginning of October before putting the phone down.
An insurance official working on the case was tight-lipped about how far the Zhauns’ claim had progressed, saying only that it was still under way. ObsLife had previously learned that Zhauns wanted a cash pay-out as opposed to having a contractor appointed by the insurers. The insurers had made a settlement offer to Zhauns.
Meanwhile, the police have identified Nasiet Haywood as the alleged arsonist who entered the nightclub, threatened the workers, tied them up and set the place alight. He is described as armed and dangerous.

Sergeant Hilton Malila of the Woodstock Police said he is still at large and is associated with the Goodwood, Maitland and the Summer Greens area.

In contrast with earlier published versions of the event, Sergeant Malila says Haywood entered the nightclub with one accomplice, while a getaway car waited in the street.

The insurance claim of the owner of Barmooda, Reon Heckrath, also has not been settled yet, according to an insurance official dealing with the case. Barmooda as a business was owned and insured separately from the building.

Zhauns said it would not take Barmooda back as a tenant once the building is fixed.

The Police asked anyone with information about Haywood to contact Warren Smith on 021-4862863 or crime stop on 08600 10111.

Assessment Centre promises broken

SERIOUS allegations of mismanagement have emerged about the Assessment Centre for homeless people in Franklin Street amid calls by residents that the dysfunctional City project be shut down.
The multi-million-rand contract from the City’s department of social development was awarded to Melanie Brand, owner of a coaching business EMCE, to set up and run the assessment centre to assess homeless people who are ready to come off the streets before referring them for further treatment or second-phase institutions such as rehabilitation centres.
Melanie denies that the assessment centre has degenerated into a shelter but admitted that several homeless people have been staying at the centre for months, instead of the maximum of 72 hours which she promised concerned Franklin Street residents at the beginning of the year when the centre opened.
Melanie admitted to ObsLife that the centre was housing homeless women. “There’s kind of a permanent arrangement for women in Observatory, but we only have six women....”
However, a resident in Franklin Street who wanted to remain anonymous said that there are about 30 to 40 people in the centre which operates "more as a hostel than as an assessment centre."
An outraged Franklin Street resident said Melanie has made no attempts to communicate any changes to the centre’s mandate or operating procedure. He said that she has been supplied with all the relevant contact numbers. Another resident said that she saw Melanie recently, yet Melanie did not take the opportunity to speak to her about the fact that she had gone against her agreement with Franklin Street.
Melanie explained to ObsLife that she is using the Franklin Street centre to house women because of problems that arose between women and men at the Maitland second-phase shelter, which she also runs on contract from the city.
But she is adamant that the Franklin Street assessment centre should not be called a shelter, but an assessment centre.
Yet Melanie's explanation how the Franklin Street centre works is that of a typical shelter. The inmates are given breakfast and are then sent out during the day to fend for themselves before being allowed back into the centre at night.
Professionals in the field told ObsLife that properly run assessment centres keep their inmates inside for the duration of their short stay while assessments take place. Kenneth Roman, the Observatory Improvement District’s street-people field worker, said that if a homeless person is ill and unable to work, they should not be told that they must go out to work if they physically can’t. Those on medication should receive three meals per day and not be denied food.
The centre seems to suffer from a serious lack of professional involvement. Despite requests from ObsLife, Melanie failed to provide the names and contact details of professionals involved. In an email, she claimed that three psychologists were involved at the centre, but only for “debriefing” staff. She didn’t provide names or contact details. Contrary to her stated plans when the centre was launched, she made no mention of the involvement of any medical doctor or psychiatrist.
Melanie told a recent meeting of the Social Issues Forum, a gathering of local street-people activists, that an auxiliary social worker does all of the centre’s assessments and is overseen by the centre’s social worker, Amanda Adams. She made no mention of any medical or psychological assessments being done.
Professionals whom ObsLife spoke to expressed surprise at the idea of an assessment centre where the assessments aren’t done by professionally qualified psychologists or medical doctors.
The lack of professionalism at the centre seems to reach right down to the support staff. Melanie confirmed to ObsLife allegations by a centre inmate that a staff member had been caught drinking on the job, and admitted that the centre employs previously homeless people as caretakers and field workers. Kenneth criticised this practice, saying that there are many unemployed qualified social workers and field workers who need jobs, yet the centre chooses to employ inexperienced and risky candidates.
Melanie admitted that a “house mother” at the assessment centre who cares and cooks for the inmates was sacked after being caught drinking on the job. According to an inmate at the centre who is herself battling alcoholism, the house mother sent her to the liquor store to buy booze.
Further questions around the centre’s lack of insight into dealing with alcoholics arises from an interview with ObsLife in which she said that she was trying to get a certain inmate to “drink 20 percent less”.
A psychologist and health professional who commented on this approach said such a weaning-off approach to alcoholism is highly unusual in South Africa and controversial overseas. The South African approach is to encourage complete abstinence. The professionals expressed concern that the assessment centre was trying to rehabilitate an inmate, whereas their job is to assess and refer. Lynn Brandt, a social worker from Mowbray, said it was against the law for a social worker to make a diagnosis.
Observatory was earmarked as the home of the City’s first assessment centre because of the network established by the Social Issues Forum. But Kenneth says there has been no cooperation with him as the local field worker. "We not even working together. They have field workers in Observatory, I work in Observatory. We set up numerous meetings, they never pitch for one meeting," said Kenneth.

Mobile Station targets Obs crime hotspots

THE new “horsebox” introduced by the Observatory Improvement District (OBSID) has scored its first direct success through the apprehension of a car-wheel thief by a guard who was patrolling Dove Street from the mobile shelter.
The horsebox is a trailer from which an Observatory Public Safety guard can operate in any hotspot in the OBSID area.
It is hard to miss the bold branding which increases the visibility of the OBSID’s safety effort and helps prevent crime.
The idea is that the guards manning the horsebox are able to patrol high-crime areas in Obs, using the horsebox as an occasional shelter and “information desk” where they can interact with residents.
During the incident, the trailer was parked on the corner of Robins and Polo Road, when the guard interrupted the thief who ran off but was caught shortly afterwards.
The OBSID horsebox has been operating for three weeks now. Residents say that since the horsebox has been visible in the area, crime has decreased and they feel much safer in their homes.
“I much prefer them here... If one of those could be in every street in Observatory, I tell you, crime will probably go to Constantia,” quipped Jill Darvall, a resident in Polo Street.
“The vigilance of them up and down, it actually keeps the guys away. Nobody’s car has been broken in since,” said Maphtaoi Tafari, a resident in Polo Street.
The horsebox branding was sponsored by the Groote Schuur Community Improvement District (GSCID) and the Western Cape government sponsored the trailer.
The use of horsebox is currently being tested, says Ursula van Stavel, chief operating officer.
She says that they are conducting a survey among residents about the impact of the service. Information brochures about the OBSID are available at the horsebox, as well as opinion-poll form that residents can fill in.
OBSID guard Aphiwe Velani, who recently did a stint in and around the horsebox in Polo Road, said: “So far there has been no reports of breaking-ins, that means the crime has decreased...residents appreciate the horsebox. They say that they are very delighted to see the horsebox, especially here in Polo Road”.
Ursula says that if any resident or organisation is hosting a gathering and would like the horsebox to be visible in the area during the hours of the event, residents can apply to the OBSID a week in advance. OBSID will consider each application on its merits.
Phone the OBSID at 021 448 7090 or leave a note at the horsebox.