Earl Williamson

Referring to the accidental shooting death of Jayden Evans, Kirkwood Neighborhood Association President Earl Williamson said: "When you have an episode like this, there is a natural inclination to feel sympathetic toward the parents or the adults involved.

KNO President Earl Williamson (center) says the house is an irreplaceable landmark.
...
Earl Williamson, president of the Kirkwood Neighbors' Organization (KNO), is now locked in a struggle to save the house, which he says has stayed remarkably solid and structurally sound over the years."It is well worth preservation," he says."It's the only architectural example of this style left in Kirkwood, and pretty much left in this area."

The developers, who could not be reached for comment, first approached the KNO last October, and their original plan was to build 36 townhomes."We rejected them out of hand," Williamson says.
...
"It's just architecturally insane to take that house, move it up to the front and call that 'preservation,'" Williamson says.

He says the Enclaves of Kirkwood partners have shown no respect for it from the start, allowing squatters to vandalize its interior since they purchased it in 2001.

Watershed issues have also become a point of contention between the two parties.The source point spring of Sugar Creek, one of Kirkwood's major streams, lies in the Queen Anne's backyard.Williamson says the infill housing will literally bury the spring.However, the Atlanta Department of Watershed Management says the stream is not an official state waterway, so there's nothing they can do about it.

The developers have the go-ahead to begin their housing project, but the KNO continues to negotiate with them in the hope of saving the landmark structure.At the KNO's monthly meeting last Thursday, residents voted unanimously to keep fighting to save the house, which Williamson says reflects growing neighborhood support.

Earl Williamson, president of the Kirkwood Neighbors' Organization, was present at the demolition and made frantic phone calls to city officials in a last-ditch effort to halt the demolition.But it was already 4:30 p.m. -- too close to closing time to reach anyone.He claims the late start was an intentional move to prevent neighbors from stopping the bulldozer.
...
Williamson says "pushing" is an apt description of how the partnership does business, adding that he will continue to fight the development.

"It may have been a bad decision on their part," he says, "thinking that knocking down the house will make the neighborhood go away."

Earl Williamson, secretary of the Kirkwood Neighbors' Organization, has lived in Kirkwood for six years but rarely shops at the College Avenue store."The stuff I generally get, they don't have.The vegetables are not fresh, and their frozen food has been thawed and then refrozen."

What's more, Williamson claims the store attracts loiterers, littering, crime and underage drinking.In 2003, after the neighborhood organization urged residents to call 911 whenever they saw suspicious activity outside Danneman's, police received 49 calls, nine of them involving fights and eight involving drug activity.

"I don't like seeing dope sold right in front of me in broad daylight," Williamson says.
...
Yet Williamson insists KNO members don't want to get rid of Danneman's."The point is not to take away the store's beer and wine license and force them to close," he says."We're simply trying to use the beer and wine license as leverage to get the store to act more responsibly."

He adds that the majority of KNO members want what's best for the community.
...
But to Williamson, profound change is the only answer.

"We need to refresh the neighborhood and bring in new blood," he says.

Jayden's death was covered with a short story inside the Metro section, prompting reader Earl Williamson to question why more wasn't written.
...
Williamson, president of the Kirkwood Neighborhood Association, said there is more to the story."We've been dealing with problems on this street for a long time.There are code issues and there are safety issues."Vacant and dilapidated homes line one side of the street, he said.

, Kirkwood boasts more than a few of the most historic homes in the entire Atlanta area,, says Earl Williamson, president of Kirkwood Neighbors Organization. ,The homes represent a broad spectrum of architectural styles and approaches to renovation.,

Earl Williamson - President of Kirkwood Neighbors Association stated on behalf of his community that they are opposed to any further weakening of the current evaluations for an arborist of a tree for removal.