Comments on Silver Spring, Singular: Toy Story

Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring is r...

2010-07-22T15:53:25.737-05:00

Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring is ranked among the best in the country. Not sure how one could say that the schools aren't good enough? It's one of the schools listed by Newsweek. It also has a very well regarded magnet program for science and technology.

Downtown Silver Spring certainly needs better dining and night life, but I don't see a basis for complaining about the schools. It is a bit fast food heavy, which tends to attract loiters and unruly teens. But they can be fixed in time.

The Fillmore should help a bit. Ultimately, it's a terrible economy. To expect Silver Spring to be improving during this time is unreasonable.

Oh, and Gap sucks. I'll take Silver Spring's Ameri...

2010-07-22T15:50:34.893-05:00

Oh, and Gap sucks. I'll take Silver Spring's American Apparel, Ann Taylor, New York & Co., etc.

Really? I find the quality of restuarants that ope...

2010-07-22T15:47:41.369-05:00

Really? I find the quality of restuarants that opened this year to be quite impressive considering the macro economy.

I can't speak first hand about the area schools, but UrbanTurf just yesterday had an article about how great Silver Spring is and pointed specifically the the schools as one reason why.

Thankfully, I don't think there's much evidence to support any of your claims about Silver Spring.

To the person that made the comment about Safeway....

2010-07-22T14:54:22.473-05:00

To the person that made the comment about Safeway. You are right, however, Silver Spring is not in decline, it's just not going anywhere.

For parents with young kids to stay here and grow with the community (which is at a snails pace because of the economy) the schools need to get much better, very quickly or they will move out. Now THAT will lead to the decline.

Younger folks w/out kids wont choose to live here because the restaurants are not good, there is no decent bar scene (Quarry house does not constitute a scene)and they can pay the same living in DC.

The fillmore is desperately needed, 2 more white table cloth restaurants are desperately needed and upper/mid range clothing stores like Gap are needed, for this community to stand a chance of improving on where its at now.

I must say that the police presence in the DTSS ar...

2010-07-21T12:06:56.602-05:00

I must say that the police presence in the DTSS area and surrounding streets over the past several days has been very good, and I have noticed fewer groups of teens loitering as a result. I hope the police keep it up, and that the trouble-making teens eventually decide to go elsewhere instead of coming to DTSS.

Hey - looks like it's not just Silver Spring that ...

2010-07-21T10:45:25.459-05:00

Hey - looks like it's not just Silver Spring that has occasional ghetto crime incidents. Apparently even Glorious Bethesda has problems sometimes:

http://unsuckdcmetro.blogspot.com/2010/07/jersey-shore-comes-to-bethesda.html

This is like the Safeway rants. Silver Spring is ...

2010-07-21T06:41:28.121-05:00

This is like the Safeway rants. Silver Spring is not going down if it can afford to whine about a new toy store opening up. A neighborhood in decline would only be thankful.

Checked out the store today. It had a decent selec...

2010-07-20T16:26:16.516-05:00

Checked out the store today. It had a decent selection of toys for kids under the age of 5, and an okay for kids under 10.

I noticed a few Wii games up front and some board games in the back, but I don't play either, so have no idea how to evaluate the selection.

All in all, not even close to a KB. Also, if the choice is one of these "temporary" stores and nothing at all, then a temp store is much preferred. While it would be great if every national or regional chain was falling all over themselves to get into DTSS, in this economy, that isn't going to happen (it wasn't even happening when the economy was hot). Given that it's difficult for small business to make a go of it right now (let alone get start up capital), for the time being, this store seems to be a net plus for DTSS and also provides a much needed service for the area.

Maybe I'm just a glass-half-full type though. . .

What is the likelihood that this Toys R Us carries...

2010-07-20T15:13:04.527-05:00

What is the likelihood that this Toys R Us carries anything that would appeal to an adult (say - Carcassonne and its expansion packs)? Anyone see if they have that there?

Check out crimereports.com and then consider the d...

2010-07-20T14:04:39.754-05:00

Check out crimereports.com and then consider the density of the two zipcodes. It's no contest that Rockville has many more issues with crime than DTSS (for reference, I lived 22 years in Rockville and the last 4 in DTSS). The only thing that DTSS has more of is black people, so some people (racists) assume that means we have signficantly higher crime rates.

Anon, Do you have numbers showing why you would t...

2010-07-20T12:51:47.511-05:00

Anon,

Do you have numbers showing why you would take 20910 over Rockville?

Actually, as far as crime goes, I'll take 20910 (S...

2010-07-19T22:56:14.959-05:00

Actually, as far as crime goes, I'll take 20910 (SS) over 20850 (Rockville) any day of the week. Anyone complaining about crime in 20910 is delusional.

Seriously. So much whining. Just shut it and mov...

2010-07-19T21:09:09.922-05:00

Seriously. So much whining. Just shut it and move to Bethesda or Rockville already. White flight lives!

What would the Internet be without anonymous comme...

2010-07-19T15:13:44.425-05:00

What would the Internet be without anonymous commenting?

Sligo, Have you considered turning off the anonym...

2010-07-19T15:08:54.178-05:00

Sligo,

Have you considered turning off the anonymous option for posting?

ugh, stop with all the complaining already. Yes, ...

2010-07-19T12:27:52.196-05:00

ugh, stop with all the complaining already. Yes, at some point there will be a homicide in DTSS. No, it will not mean the death of DTSS. IT'S AN URBAN ENVIRONMENT; DEAL WITH IT ALREADY.

To the Anon who said on Friday..."I imagine most o...

2010-07-19T08:15:38.990-05:00

To the Anon who said on Friday..."I imagine most of the educated, early 30 types like myself ... will move away within the next 2-4 years..."

You'll be joined by many of us who've been here many years and are tired of the negative inertia, the infighting and refusal of the authorities or many residents to deal with the troublemakers. Time for county officials and the business community to wake up before it's too late! Truth be told, it probably IS too late; we're escalating toward the inevitable death of an innocent that, also inevitably, will only result in innocents being blamed and thugs being coddled.

Don't forget about The CD/Game Exchange for all yo...

2010-07-18T03:45:14.556-05:00

Don't forget about The CD/Game Exchange for all your video game needs....we now special order games for you. Cheap prices on used games that are fully guaranteed. 301 495 0766 on Georgia and Thayer..
Thanks,
Sam

What's the new fast food restaurant? We already h...

2010-07-17T06:22:18.484-05:00

What's the new fast food restaurant? We already have Chipotle.

Wow. Either the folks who run DTSS just don't get ...

2010-07-16T16:15:19.105-05:00

Wow. Either the folks who run DTSS just don't get it, or SS has no hope of getting out of the ghetto it has been for 50 years.

I moved here thinking I was getting in on the 1st or 2nd floor of the next Bethesda/Rockville but it's going nowhere. Sure the economy doesn't help but it's obvious no upper echelon stores/restaurants see potential or they would be moving in now.

Every single Toys R US is a ghetto. The fact that ANOTHER fast food restaurant is going into DTSS is just another sign. I love chipotle as much as the next guy but this is getting ridiculous.

I imagine most of the educated, early 30 types like myself with growing families will move away within the next 2-4 years since the schools are not particularly good and the restaurants are not worth it.

i would love to see SS become an amazing place to live, work and play but it's just not happening. Such a shame. So much wasted potential.

Yeah - my husband and I are always thinking about ...

2010-07-16T12:21:46.247-05:00

Yeah - my husband and I are always thinking about what stores we'd like to see in DTSS and a toy store is always on the list.

Danielle

Oh god - please let them carry the latest video ga...

2010-07-16T11:16:51.365-05:00

Oh god - please let them carry the latest video games... Although they probably will never carry the PC version. So f'it... Steam for life!

Finally! Now to suffer through walking by with my ...

2010-07-16T08:28:11.530-05:00

Finally! Now to suffer through walking by with my shorties every time we go to the fountain. Thanks for keeping up with neighborhood news, you guys are the go to for SS info.

giddy up!!!

2010-07-15T23:03:04.834-05:00

giddy up!!!

need a toy store. wish it was an independent or Ch...

2010-07-15T15:25:12.655-05:00

need a toy store. wish it was an independent or Chidsplay or something, but will use for gifts.