[QUOTE=Lance547;6563629]K ave definitely isn't the same. The area is always evolving but it has gotten worse. You have numerous shuttered / closed businesses that make the area feel abandoned. Then there use to be relatively healthy looking people and healthy looking talent looking for work but now it's just small groups of sickly drug addicts at the unfortunate last stages of thier lives. You can no longer go into the area and easily find a good looking regular (at least I can't) because many are now deceased. It's just skeleton last stage of their lives like Amber just walking around actually expecting to be picked up. Women like her belong in a institution to keep the public at large safe from her and to keep her safe from herself.
The only reason Kensington is still a place to look is because every so often you can run into a girl who is just in the area to cop and then leave back to NJ or somewhere else. You have to find those kind of girls who have a place to stay and aren't actually living in the streets. Jordan is still around and looks good and 2 other girls that I can think of that don't live on the streets and that's it.
And I heard the xxx store where the cops are at 24/7 is being demolished but I don't know how true it is. I really don't care as I always stayed clear of that place because I heard so many people that lived and hung around that area where HIV positive.[/QUOTE]I agree Lance. The strip is not at all what it was a few years ago. Hell, it's not the same as it was yesterday. There are many factors that contribute to the spiral into the abyss.
Of course, drugs are the number one culprit. There are undercover agents mixing right in with the addicts to put some kind of dent in the most profitable trade around. The agents have been there a good while. They aren't looking for the small street hustler. They are more focused on the dealers and the point of origin of the drugs. Sporadically you will see their force come down on a block. I don't envy their job at all.
Another distraction is the painting of the EL. That little task is throwing a wrench into the game. There's the constant lane shifts and people always walking in front of cars. The few businesses that have stayed it's a wonder they have survived this long. All this combined with our own personal safety can make a successful trip a little out of reach.
There are newcomers that hit the strip almost daily. Not as many as there used to be, but they are there. You need to be lucky enough to snag one. We just need to be in the right place at the right time. I have to laugh when I see them walking with their wheeled suitcase in tow like they are on vacation on the Riviera in search of their hotel.
Jordyn is back around as you pointed out. I happened to see her working around Cambria last week for at least two hours. She's a great girl. I hope she doesn't end up like so many others out there.
It seems like every day another is losing an arm or leg. I saw one girl in a wheelchair who lost both legs below the knee. I guess now she is doomed to the street of no dreams. That's pretty sad because many in that position are high-quality people in their previous life. They were in college and had jobs.
It's important to point out there are so many there with wrapped-up arms and legs. When they get to that point they can transmit issues through touch or saliva that one does not want to take home. That could be a nightmare in itself. Any monger that may have a simple cut is a prime target of infection from those that are bandaged up. Infection is everywhere there.
I also heard from a local that the Book store at Hart Lane is being taken down. I'm not sure of the reliability, but I was also told the tents on the property is what is holding that process up. That could explain the police presence.
I think the strip has seen better days. Those days of going there and quickly finding a potential candidate are long gone. At least we have the good 'ol days to look back on. Me, I'm just an 'OL Gatoe.
