# Civic Matters > Suburban & Other OK Communities > Midwest City/Del City >  44th and sunnylane

## Jesseda

IS there a lot of crime off 44th and sunnylane? The family dollar has been robbed 3 times this week and the employees are now wearing panic necklaces.. Is it getting that bad in that area?

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## kevinpate

There are numerous places along 44th I wouldn't hang out if given the choice.
But if a place is hit 3 times in a week, it's probably time to consider a merc.

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## bombermwc

I think it depends really. There are some parts of the neighborhoods there that are still nice and quiet. Some parts aren't so quiet. I personally wouldnt live there, but that doesnt mean it's totally bad. But I've with kevinpate....i'm not going to be shopping around there.

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## BailJumper

That whole shopping center area needs to be torn down. Only been there a couple of times when coming and going from Tinker, but it was nothing but gang bangers and some black dude in a gold Jaguar obviously selling drugs to people getting in and out of his car.

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## Redskin 70

unfortunately all that trash is in Oklahoma City.  Seldom if ever see the OKC PD over there except to pick up the bodies.

They wont patrol or otherwise try to control the trash and Del City gets the residue from it and MWCity gets to watch in horror as the tide of  trash creeps closer

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## mireaux

Ive LIVED off of the corner of 44th and sunnylane for 7 years..so perhaps i can give some insight here.

The REAL reason why the area is rampant with crime is due to police response times to this area, and also in conjunction with the high number of apartment complexes in this area.

S.E. 44th street serves as a division between cities of Del City and South Oklahoma City.

Its funny that the posters here refer to the crimes transpiring at the shopping center SOUTH of 44th street..cause thats exactly the issue.

ITS NOT DEL CITY, and its OUTSIDE DCPD jurisdiction. So since its OCPD jurisdiction, the nearest precinct is 7 miles away!..and is located at the Santa Fe Precinct around the area of I-240 and Santa Fe.

Have a fire?...DCFD will not respond. Its also OCFD that must respond as well.

Due to these response times, the desireability to live here has never been quite well...even when the crime was relatively low compared to what it is now.

This lack of interest in residing in this area (and specifically once people learn of these lackluster response times) has kept apartment rates traditionally low compared to the rest of the metro.

So whats the solution? The most logical would be for Del City to simply annex the area, but that hasnt happened, and who knows if it ever will.

Homeland, (affectionately dubbed "Homeboy-land") has finally given up on the degradation and relocated inside Del City city limits at Sunnylane and 29th street.

The nearby apartment complexes with their low rates have become a haven for low-income families, and also those with low morals who bring criminal activity with them too.

Since apartment rates are low, so are tenant rates for adjacent businesses in the shopping center..so those tenants rough through the sporatic crimes they encounter (or frequent crimes depending on the business) and continue to do business there.

but the smarter businesses have already left.

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## soonerfaithful

I used to manage the Braum's store on the north side of 44th on Sunnylane. So that was the DC side. This was about 12 years ago. I sure wasn't thinking I was glad I was on the DC side  when the guy with the bandana over his face had the gun in his hand pointing it at me. 
There were a couple of big check and credit card stealing gangs based in Del City at that time. We believe that was how my identity was stolen. Took me 9years to finally get all that mess straightened out. 
Crime then was rampant in that area so I can only imagine what it must be like now. All the places on both sides of 44th were getting robbed. Yes those apartements were part of the problem. The police knew the guy that had robbed us took off into one of those complexes but didn't know which one.
Before I was transferred to that store I used to be management at one of the ones here in MWC. Never had a problem.

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## mireaux

> IS there a lot of crime off 44th and sunnylane? The family dollar has been robbed 3 times this week and the employees are now wearing panic necklaces.. Is it getting that bad in that area?


well, dollar general and homeland pulled out of there..and before it was dollar general, it was eckerds..which moved across the street to where CVS is now at (to have police coverage by DCPD, since delving south of 44th street is out of jurisdiction for them)

so yeah, its bad

the solution? Have Del City annex the area. It makes the most sense, and provides for a reasonable solution.

so, for you del city residents..its something noteworthy to being up in your next town hall meeting.

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## mireaux

> I used to manage the Braum's store on the north side of 44th on Sunnylane. So that was the DC side. This was about 12 years ago. I sure wasn't thinking I was glad I was on the DC side  when the guy with the bandana over his face had the gun in his hand pointing it at me. 
> There were a couple of big check and credit card stealing gangs based in Del City at that time. We believe that was how my identity was stolen. Took me 9years to finally get all that mess straightened out. 
> Crime then was rampant in that area so I can only imagine what it must be like now. All the places on both sides of 44th were getting robbed. Yes those apartements were part of the problem. The police knew the guy that had robbed us took off into one of those complexes but didn't know which one.
> Before I was transferred to that store I used to be management at one of the ones here in MWC. Never had a problem.


ha! i used to go there all the time. Myrma is a hottie! woot woot

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## Luke

> ha! I used to go there all the time. Myrma is a hottie! Woot woot


lol!!!

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## Thunder

> well, dollar general and homeland pulled out of there..


Dollar General is still there, in their own new building.  :LolLolLolLol:

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## bombermwc

How is annexing it into DC going to help? And why would DC even want it? There's no reason for DC to want it. It's a crime area that is in bad shape..there are no tax dollars worth anything there. The few newer neighborhoods in the area aren't worth the increase in crime stats or the decrease in the demographics of the area (ie family income). So the DCPD gets jurisdiction in a crappy part of town. Is that supposed to make the gangs or ghetto folks stop being bad? Uh, no. They don't move to one side of the line because it's OKC or DC...they don't really care. They all go to DCHS anyway.

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## narrowexpanded

> Is that supposed to make the gangs or ghetto folks stop being bad? Uh, no. They don't move to one side of the line because it's OKC or DC...they don't really care. They all go to DCHS anyway.


and the bombers/eagles feud continues... :Fighting25:

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## mireaux

> How is annexing it into DC going to help? And why would DC even want it? There's no reason for DC to want it. It's a crime area that is in bad shape..there are no tax dollars worth anything there. The few newer neighborhoods in the area aren't worth the increase in crime stats or the decrease in the demographics of the area (ie family income). So the DCPD gets jurisdiction in a crappy part of town. Is that supposed to make the gangs or ghetto folks stop being bad? Uh, no. They don't move to one side of the line because it's OKC or DC...they don't really care. They all go to DCHS anyway.


Del City is an 8 square mile town (actually less than that if you officially recognize Smith Village as being its own entity)

Within these perimeters is a steadily growing populous and commerce..Unless DC starts to erect tall skyscrapers..they will eventually run out of room one day.

Yes, the area south of 44th street isnt all too desirable..actually, its namely just the shopping center and the surrounding apartment complexes..the actual brick home neighborhood itself its rather well off...a short drive south on Mackelman Drive confirms this.

Theres a word that is promising for Del City to annex the area: gentrification. 

With the right civic leadership and planning in place, the area could be annexed and gradually brought up to higher standards. The increased patrols from DCPD would deter criminal activity over time. In essence, it would be recognized for it would now be: a part of Del City. 

I would be very interested to know if annexation has actually been on the drawing board by city leaders of either city at some point, and what home owners south of 44th street feel about the possibilities of being annexed by Del City.

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## Thunder

Mireaux, I'd be frightened to lose another home inside an apt complex if DC ever conquer the area.

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## bombermwc

But they have no reason to. Why would they want to put effort into that area? What do they get out of it? And why would OKC want to give it up? The days of cities around here annexing other parts of town are over. There's no push for it from one side or the other.

The closes OCFD station isn't that far away....in fact it's about the same distance to my house off of sooner/240....being the one near GM. Their response time is pretty good since there isn't much traffic in their way. OCPD is a different story...much of the same story all of the outlying areas of OKC have. Some areas like this have a history of crime, while others are very quiet.

I can see how the residents of DC would want to include the area to try and make it better...but I just don't see the increase in patrols making it any different. The same people still live there and they won't be moving. It's an area that is stagnant, if not falling...why annex a declining area?

And I in no way meant any connection to the MCHS/DCHS relationship. What I simply meant was, no matter what the "city" is, you still have the same exact people living there because it's the same school district on both sides of the line. MWC has the same sort of crap happen north of 10th. It's a very different neighborhoord north of 10th than south. OCPS vs MDPS and very differnet people....socioeconomicly.

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## mireaux

> But they have no reason to. Why would they want to put effort into that area? What do they get out of it? And why would OKC want to give it up? The days of cities around here annexing other parts of town are over. There's no push for it from one side or the other.
> 
> The closes OCFD station isn't that far away....in fact it's about the same distance to my house off of sooner/240....being the one near GM. Their response time is pretty good since there isn't much traffic in their way. OCPD is a different story...much of the same story all of the outlying areas of OKC have. Some areas like this have a history of crime, while others are very quiet.
> 
> I can see how the residents of DC would want to include the area to try and make it better...but I just don't see the increase in patrols making it any different. The same people still live there and they won't be moving. It's an area that is stagnant, if not falling...why annex a declining area?
> 
> And I in no way meant any connection to the MCHS/DCHS relationship. What I simply meant was, no matter what the "city" is, you still have the same exact people living there because it's the same school district on both sides of the line. MWC has the same sort of crap happen north of 10th. It's a very different neighborhoord north of 10th than south. OCPS vs MDPS and very differnet people....socioeconomicly.


if the area is "gentrified", it means the costs of living goes up for rents in the area. if the area is condemned for implosion, they will be served a mandate to evacuate. gotta think outside the lines folks, if dc annexs the area it opens a world of opportunities.

but yet, instead of moping about saying that nothing can be done about the area, the real question is: how come OC hasnt yet done anything about the area. why in the world is the nearest precinct 7 miles away??

..and the area north of 10th in mwc isnt all that bad, so people driving thru and see 6 black kids playing basketball in their front driveway and automatically condemned an area as being bad, only cause another neighborhood has 6 white kids playing basketball in their driveway. although i could see how some would say that given the sharp contrast between quailview and ridge crest to the south of it. (i know mwc a little better than the average folks who live there).

the economic declination in the area has made things more pronounced in the mid del area in terms of blighted areas and those that are not. but blight alone doesnt serve as a true indicator for a crime ridden area as opposed to one that just needs due maintenance.

DC would annex the area because its adjacent, obviously, and the land alone provides for residential and commerical future expansion. OKC, being the expansive city it is would actually be helping itself out to relinquish the land to DC as the reason why the area has become corrupt could possibly be due to their own budget restraints, lack of police funding, etc.

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## Redskin 70

There was an effort in the early 80's to de annex into Del City.  A petition was passed and presented to both city councils.
The Oklahoma CIty Council rejected the petition and refused to call a de annexation vote.
Regarding the apts on 44th, Del City would love to get the area just so they COULD shut them down.
Frankly there are a lot of people still alive who remembe this area before the  influx of apts, gangs and low  rent.
It was a great place to live, raise a family and enjoy........
But at least they have  woken up and are   closing down the  gang apts along  I40................

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## oneforone

I am really suprised that cities do not write an ordinance that requires apartments to be no more than 300 units and only allow one complex for every square mile. 

At the very least, cities need to adopt a strict code enforcement program that is funded through extra property taxes that are only applied to apartment complexes.

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## mireaux

> There was an effort in the early 80's to de annex into Del City.  A petition was passed and presented to both city councils.
> The Oklahoma CIty Council rejected the petition and refused to call a de annexation vote.
> Regarding the apts on 44th, Del City would love to get the area just so they COULD shut them down.
> Frankly there are a lot of people still alive who remembe this area before the  influx of apts, gangs and low  rent.
> It was a great place to live, raise a family and enjoy........
> But at least they have  woken up and are   closing down the  gang apts along  I40................


you have a thread or source on the full story of this? id be interested in reading the archival.

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## mireaux

> I am really suprised that cities do not write an ordinance that requires apartments to be no more than 300 units and only allow one complex for every square mile. 
> 
> At the very least, cities need to adopt a strict code enforcement program that is funded through extra property taxes that are only applied to apartment complexes.


i think zoning all plays into why many apartment complexes are often built alongside other complexes. homeowners really dont want them on the perimeters of their neighborhoods, so by your measure, by dispersing apartment complexes more thoroughly would just agitate those adamant homeowners who simply refuse to own a home with an apartment complex on its neighborhood perimeter.

just the same, no one really wants to live near industrial zoning, which is why its all clustered together.

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## bombermwc

That's a real bad stereotype mireaux....on north of 10th. I'm not talking about any stupid racial issue. All you have to do is check the crime stats...they're public information. Not to mention that the many MCPD officers I know can pretty clearly talk about the differences....night and day. For some reason you like post without doing research...and then ask a source when someone else has info....hmm.

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## dances with cameras

What's a PANIC NECKLACE?

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## Jesseda

my wife says it a necklace iwht a button on it they push, kinda like a panic button at banks under the counters.

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## dalelakin

Transmitter worn around the neck that alerts police when activated  by pressing a button on it.

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## Redskin 70

> you have a thread or source on the full story of this? id be interested in reading the archival.



I lived through it so am familiar with the whole story.  Oklahoma City didnt want to give it up for the sales tax, utility revenue and property  tax income.
Its simple economics 101 as in follow the money
If your that intrested go to the Oklahoma Archives they should have it.

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## mireaux

> That's a real bad stereotype mireaux....on north of 10th. I'm not talking about any stupid racial issue. All you have to do is check the crime stats...they're public information. Not to mention that the many MCPD officers I know can pretty clearly talk about the differences....night and day. For some reason you like post without doing research...and then ask a source when someone else has info....hmm.


why do you know so many cops in MWC? or should I do some "research" to find out exactly why?  :Irule: 

btw, not every neighborhood north of 10th is OCPS. Guess you forgot to do research before you posted. Some of those neighborhoods have kids that attend Monroney, then move onto.. (youre going to hate this..) Midwest City High School. 

** Go Bombers!! **

.....wait a minute...this thread is about "44th and Sunnylane", not "neighborhoods north of 10th street"...so why youre trying to move the conversation 7 miles northeasterly is beyond me.

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## bombermwc

Ugh, you're dense. I think you just try to post to any topic you can...as much as you can.

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