stump watch

Remember that stump that they dug up and put on the side of their property? Were you worried that something might happen to it? That maybe somebody might steal it and want the old dead stump for their own yard? Well don't worry, it's still there! You can visit the old dead stump any time you like! I don't think they will ever clean it up!

arco the bad neighbor

I realize as I post these that it must seem like I am making this all up, there is no way that a company can keep doing business while having such complete disregard for the community, right? Another cell phone photo of the trash currently on the side of the building, maybe this is their attempt at landscaping?

Arco's downward spiral

I noticed yesterday that the trash had at long last been picked up. I don't think that the city took care of it because Arco / AMPM had dumped it on someone elses private property making it a police matter. It took them so long to clean it up that I started filling my own trash can out of the pile, (here is a photo) but at the rate I was going it would have taken me months to get it all cleaned up. Thank you to whomever finally cleaned it up and thank you to all of the city and local departments that I contacted, including the police, the city engineers, the DPD, the Rainier Valley Chamber of Commerce and others. I'm sure we have not heard the end of it but it is a small start.

AMPM, too much bad stuff

No suprise here, the trash is still on the neighbors property and sadly someone else has started to add to it. Which is of course the main problem when the AMPM does not take care of it's property, it spreads to the rest of the neighborhood. I've reported them to the city engineers office yesterday and I'm going to make some more calls today.

AMPM, the armpit of my neighborhood

Remember yesterday when I was gushing on about how AMPM was actually being a good neighbor and cleaning up their property? Well guess what? When I went by the property this morning while walking my dog I realized that they took all of the trash that had been dumped on their property and simply dumped it in the back yard of a nearby abandon house! Not only is AMPM not helping with the problem, they ARE the problem! Unfortunately they are so dumb that they don't realize that I have posting photographic proof on the web for over a year now (including a photo of the guy that actually did the dumping) and I am going to of course call the police immediately after posting this. I'm so frustrated with this businesses total lack of respect for the community that I don't know what to do. I've contacted Carol Lawson (lawsocl1@bp.com) their local community relations consultant, I've contacted Richard Smith (smithrl22@bp.com) with website community relations and I've even tried contacting John Browne, the group chief executive of BP Global, AMPM's parent company (brownej@bp.com). Not only have they not cleaned up the problem but the only written response I've ever gotten from them has blabbed on about trying to be a good neighbor and then stated "while our efforts have been to maintain our own property we respect your concern as a neighborhood resident, with collection of trash on the city street". Guess what AMPM? It is clearly defined by law that in the city of Seattle that the property owner is responsible for maintaining the 'parking strip' or area between the private property and the road. I would think this would count double when you have been caught red handed dumping trash. Obviously AMPM is not taking my threats seriously so I hope that anyone that reads this and is concerned about the neighborhood takes a minute to email the people above and to let them know that this will not be tolerated.

giving credit

although it pains me to admit it, AMPM actually did something right today. I was driving home from work when I noticed someone behind their shop. It seemed suspicious so I went to investigate and was shocked to find someone actually cleaning! It had been so long since anyone had cleaned or mowed that he was forced to use a weed wacker to get to all of the trash. BUT SOMEONE WAS ACTUALLY CLEANING THE AMPM!!!! Way to go AMPM! I tried to ask him some questions as this may be the only time they actually clean up their property, but the guy is wasn't very helpful. Oh well... an excellent start.

UPDATE: I thought he was cleaning only to find out the next day that he had taken the trash and dumped it on the neighbors property. Way to go AMPM!

ampm never enough trash

Here is the photo that started it all, trash and abandon van along side of an AMPM for weeks without anyone from the store reporting it. I mailed this photo to their public relations dept in Feb of 2005.

AMPM is a dark hole in the universe

I know that this is getting old, but I am just on a role today and I can't believe that after working on this for a year they are still not picking up their garbage. Here is a copy of emails that I sent to Richard Smith at BP community relations (AM/PM's parent company) which they still have not even bothered to respond to. Try to keep in mind that AMPM brags on their website that " At ampm, we believe in giving back to our local communities" Giving What?!? Trash? Urban blight? Underage drinking? What a bunch of hypocrites.


Hello Richard,

It has now been over a year since I first contacted you about the trash problem at the AM PM at 5620 Martin Luther Jr Way. In this last year I have not seen any improvement in cleaning up of the area. As a matter of fact I have seen the area get worse and worse, is there nothing that can be done to improve this store? I travel extensively for business and I have noticed clean and well landscaped AM PM's in many cities that I have visited as well as many well kept stores here in Seattle. Why is it that this particular store is so neglected? I'm attaching a photo taken today behind the store of some old chairs and a shopping cart that have been there over a week (please excuse the phone camera quality). Simply adding trash cans, reporting illegal dumping and doing some basic landscaping would make a huge difference. There is even a stump lying on the side of the store that has been there for well over a year. Taking pride in your business would help others to take pride in our neighborhood.

Thank you,

Joel L

Joel wrote:

> Hi Richard,
>
> Thank you for your prompt response. I live in a neighborhood that has an AM PM at 5620 MARTIN LUTHER JR WAY
> SEATTLE, WA 98118-2239. Along the edge of the property is an empty lot which is also owned by your parent company which you have chosen to fence off. Unfortunately this has created a situation where people feel comfortable dumping abandon cars and piles of trash along the side street South Findlay . This has become a hazard to my neighborhood and is attracting other crime including homeless people and even now people abandoning animals in the abandon cars. I realize that you can't control the actions of others but I do feel that your company can do more to help clean up this area and make the neighborhood safer for everyone including your customers and employees. At the very least I think that your employees could be reporting abandon vehicles and trash to the city rather than leaving the task to others. I think that it also might a good idea to post no dumping signs along your property rather than the beer and cigarette advertisements that you post along your fence now, these banners only provide more cover for people engaging in illegal activities and make it harder for neighbors to keep an eye on what is obviously a problem area. I am open to any other suggestions on how you can help deal with this situation and I wanted to give your company ample opportunity to respond to these problems before it needs to be dealt with by the city and with the press.
>
> I am enclosing a photograph of how the side of your property appeared just the other day.
>
> Thank you,
>
> Joel
>
>
> Smith, Richard wrote:
>
>> Please mail to this email address.
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: WEBSITE - DO NOT REPLY [mailto:aweslowski@rpa.com] Sent: Thursday, February 24, 2005 10:45 AM
>> To: sohailtest@yahoo.com; Smith, Richard
>> Subject: ampm Website Customer Relations Feedback
>>
>>
>>
>> MLK, Seattle, WA
>>
>> Comments:
>> I am having an ongoing problem with one of your stores and I have some
>> digital pictures that I would like to send you but I need an actual
>> email address that I can send them to.
>>
>> Thank you

AM PM Minimart, sucks the life out of the neighborhood

Remember my post from October about the uprooted stump that I said had been there for months? After talking to neighbors I now realize that the stump has been there for years! Way to go AM PM Minimart! Nice addition to the neighborhood, do you think the old dead stump to going to start growing soon? Business along MLK in Seattle have been struggling because of the impact from Light Rail construction, but AM PM minimart seem to just be shooting itself in the foot by having such a trashy business. Special thanks to the homeless people that stopped drinking their 40oz beers and got off the stump long enough for me to take another picture.

AM PM Minimart, worst neighbor on the planet

Ok, it's been over a month now since I posted about the trash behind their building (but still on their property!!) and guess what?!? Even after writing several letters to their corporate headquarters and telling the clerks that work there, the same trash is still there! Please excuse the crappy cell phone photos but you get the idea. And as a bonus other people have started dumping trash across the alley. Why shouldn't they? If it's ok to dump trash on AM PM property then for sure it is ok to dump trash out in the public alley! AM PM Minimart is the worst neighbor on the planet and getting worse every day

not even trying

I see AM PM minimarts everywhere I go, it seems like they are in every major city (at least on the west coast) Some are better than others when it comes to being clean. Except of course for the one in my neighborhood, it is a total pit that is constantly spewing more garbage into the local area. If you will excuse the lousy cell phone picture, here is yet another image of trash stacked up behind the building. It's been there for weeks, I finally just decided to take a picture of it and share it with the world.

Yup, those are some chairs that someone dumped and if you look closely behind that you can see a whole shopping cart full of crap. At least they are not even pretending to care.

drinking in neighborhood

Homeless people are buying beer at the store and drinking it in the back yard of a nearby abandon house. I got the Department of housing to come out and look at the situation but they say there really is not much that they can do because the house is still up to code. Why is it that bars can not sell beer to be consumed off site but this store can? I also found out that nearby schools have the right to veto a liquor license in Seattle but because the local school is a private school they do not have this right. I have decided however that this stores liquor license is probably their Achilles heal.

more photos of trash

The shopping cart has been there about a week, the uprooted tree stump for months.

more trash

I realize it's getting old, but I happened to have my digital camera with me today as I passed AM/PM Minimart. Here are just some of the piles of trash piled around their property which they refuse to pick up. These are not along side their property, these are right in the middle of their lot. I've become sort of an AM/PM expert and have been trying to stop at them whenever I pass one. They all seem to be the trashiest convenience stores and I think that it is an institutional problem. Mainly by inadequate trash cans but I think also poor design and space planning. The one along MLK in Seattle is probably the worst I've seen to date.

plastic not glass

I've contacted someone in community relations to ask them how other communities have handled some of these issues. But of course dealing with a large corporation is like dealing with a brick wall. Some ideas I've had include replacing the single serving beers with plastic bottles instead of glass bottles, relocating trash cans so they are near property exits, better lighting etc. But I have yet to hear back from anyone. I wonder how these business get away with selling beer that they know people are going to be drinking right outside their doors?

crime rates compared

Being a police officer is considered the most dangerous job in the US, but do you know what statistically is the second most dangerous job? Convenience Store Clerk! Because of a variety of factors convenience stores are magnets for crime that are unfortunately often times located right in residential neighborhoods. Although one of the easiest solutions is simply to limit night hours of these businesses the convenience store industry has fought to keep laws that would limit their hours off the books.

I've been reading a lot about the special traffic problems that face convenience stores. Because of their eclectic mix of candy for the kids, cigarettes for the teenagers, cheap beer for the drunks and quick gas for those in a hurry all crammed into a cost efficient compact space. Convenience store parking lots are a recipe for disaster and many large convenience store chains still only provide the most basic framework for safety in these areas.

abandon 

Convenience stores suck

I have an AM/PM mini mart gas station in my neighborhood that sucks and is causing a lot of problems in my neighborhood and I'm starting this blog with the hopes that other people out in the world will find it and be able to share similar problems and solutions and maybe even tips for dealing with these kinds of stores.

Although there is a lot of crime, the real problem is trash. There is trash all over the sides and back of their lot. It creates an environment where people don't care. And when people don't care it leads to more problems and more trash.

I've talked to the staff at this store several times and asked them to pick up the trash (or to at least report illegal dumping to the city) but have not been able to motivate them to pick up their property. If this was not enough, they also fenced off a side of their property making a convenient area for people to dump stolen cars and mounds of debris without being noticed. All things considered they are detracting from the quality of life in my neighborhood and I'm wondering if there are any others out there that have had similar experiences with convenience stores and how some of these issues have been addressed.