Graffiti on the outside of the old Family Gateway building at 711 South St. Paul St., steps from Dallas City Hall. What council member Jesse Moreno found inside even more concerning.If you want to understand how bad things have gotten in certain parts of Dallas City Hall, look no further than aWhat’s known as the old Family Gateway Building at 711 S. St. Paul St. has been vacant for some time and under the care of the city’s real estate team.
Moreno was measured in his memo to interim City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert. But in an interview with us, he was exasperated at what he saw as a failure of the city to secure the building and protect the safety of area residents and business owners. It had been a valuable asset, he said. “Instead, now we are dealing with a building that probably needs to be condemned.”Moreno, who chairs the council’s Housing and Homelessness Solutions committee, has become disenchanted with what he sees as City Hall’s commitment to a “housing first” policy for the homeless. The persistence of the Canton Street encampment likely led to the occupation of the old Family Gateway building, he believes.
No resident or business owner would be allowed to maintain a building in the condition that the old Family Gateway building is in. They would be slapped with fines.submit your letter here. Dallas Morning News editorials are written by the paper's Editorial Board and serve as the voice and view of the paper. The board considers a broad range of topics and is overseen by the Editorial Page Editor.