6 June 27 - July 3, 2024 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents A bout a dozen miles southeast of downtown Dallas, the Kle- berg-Rylie area feels like a different world. Still partly rural, what was once its own small town before it was engulfed by the city is green with wooded land and fields dotted with livestock, ranches, modest houses, mo- bile homes and empty shacks that once held businesses. Take care if you drive down to take a look at it, though. You’ll find yourself weaving around potholes, illegal dumping and crummy infrastructure, praying you don’t break down along the way. And just hope you don’t need a cop, because you might have to wait a while for one to show up. Every month, residents in the community turn out to the Kleberg-Rylie Recreation Center on Ed Road to get updates from city staff and police and to air their many griev- ances. It’s almost always the same. They complain about neglect, bad roads, lack of sidewalks and illegal land uses. They say po- lice and code enforcement can’t take the time to go out there, and they’re the unloved stepchild of Dallas. The frequent targets of their complaints — City Council member Tennell Atkins, po- lice and city staff — seem almost just as frus- trated with the lack of progress in Kleberg-Rylie. Atkins says he spends a dis- proportionate amount of his time dealing with the community’s problems, but the city has only so much money. More redevelopment could help with the infrastructure problems, but if that hap- pened the people who live there now might not be able to afford to stay. So Kleberg-Rylie seems stuck in a place that’s not quite country and not quite city. Call it Conundrumville. Never Give Up At this month’s meeting, representatives of the Dallas Police Department and code enforcement office shared with about a dozen residents just how hard it can be to get anything done in the city, let alone in Kleberg-Rylie. Officer Bryan Joseph of the DPD ac- knowledged that police may not always show up when residents call, but he urged the community to keep calling. If they don’t report crime, the crime statistics for the area won’t be accurate, and it may not get the re- sources it needs. Joseph said police get many calls from residents in the area about loud music and gunfire, and he acknowledged that some- times police dispatchers get frustrated with residents for calling. Joseph said to ask for a supervisor if this happens or if police don’t show up. David Carranza, 60, president of the Kle- berg Neighborhood Association and Crime Watch, who was running the meeting, chimed in, stating that he’s never been con- tacted by DPD after reporting a crime. But he knows he just needs to keep dialing. “It’s a pain in the butt,” he told the group. “Sometimes they don’t work. Police don’t show up. Whatever it is. You’ve just got to bite your tongue and keep calling.” Bill Freeman, 83, a longtime resident of the area, said the outer parts of Kleberg-Rylie can sound like a warzone from all the gunfire. Some of it even sounds like it’s coming from automatic weapons. At times, it’s easier just to look the other way, he said. >> p08 OUTSIDE LOOKING IN What must happen when a neighborhood needs help the city says it simply can’t give? BY JACOB VAUGHN John Holcroft | UNFAIR PARK | John Holcroft
