At least I can root for this kind of internet weirdo, who feels uniquely American in most ways, than most of the other bloodless shitheads trying to make their names in similar fashion. genuinely wish this guy some success, so long as he drops the google forms snitch shit.
What a fascinating read! I certainly wish the best for Mr. Fenley but having grown up in the rust belt, I emphasize with city officials for being wary of outsiders promising a lot without a plan or much of an understanding about why architectural drawings may be necessary for a city permit (ripping a clipboard out of Mr. Fenley hands was totally uncalled for though). For example, Buffalo and Niagara Falls are littered people's ideas and promises, some of which politicians and city officials became very invested in, but those entrepreneurs could not deliver those ideas to fruition in many cases. Talk is cheap and so are properties in Pine Bluff but the expertise and know how to make them functional are not.
One thing worth expanding on is the racial mix of the surrounding towns and how they got into the state they did.
The nearby town of Sheridan engaged in segregation in the aftermath of Brown vs Board of Education - when the school board voted to desegregate, the black families in town run out under threat of having their homes burnt down. Little Rock is just up the road.
Into this mix steps a very white looking guy buying houses.
I live 50 miles West from Pine Bluff. I know how bad it's been there for several years. A lot of the crime has spread from there and from Little Rock, since the mid 90's. But me, personally, would rather drive in the dead of night in the middle of Little Rock than to drive during the day anywhere in Pine Bluff. I do hope Fenley has the best of luck though. With Pine Bluff and his Fusion.
Incredible interview and a wild character. I hope you are able to focus and succeed with one of your ventures, John. I also hope you keep commenting on HN.
Feel sorry for this guy, one of the most shit towns in Arkansas with some of the worst crime. No one in Arkansas likes the town but maybe the guy can help turn it around
I'd seen the original post on Hacker News and went "haha I bet there's a crazy story here" and woo lad I was more right than I knew. That was a roller coaster ride. Or theoretical go kart track ride.
I may have Divorced Guy energy but this dude is outta my league
Pine Bluff (“PB”) is my husband’s hometown but it is much, much different now than it was when he graduated from PB High School and left for college. The majesty of the city is gone, as is most of the population, at least the productive population. There are, however, a few in PB that are trying to bring back PB but I’m afraid it’s an uphill, and maybe, not winnable, battle. So much of the town is abandoned w/vacant/boarded up houses, burned out houses & vacant lots where beautiful homes (some were big, beautiful antebellum homes) once stood. A lot of the vacant homes in PB have been vandalized, with broken windows & anything of value, including the wiring, stolen.
My husband and I would like to see PB brought back to what he remembers it being when he grew up there. We live about an hour from PB and own one investment property in PB that we had started to renovate but because of an accident injury my husband sustained, we’ve had to put the renovation on hold. When we were previously in PB working on our investment property we were very aware of our surroundings as we’ve occasionally heard gunshots in the distance and as Caucasians, aware of the prejudices (and dangers) that could exist against us in PB.
My husband & I attended the 2021 Commissioner of State Lands (“COSL”) auction when John Fenley purchased 70+ properties, including a home next to our investment property. That auction was approx. one year ago this week (August 24, 2021) and to date John has done nothing to the home next to our investment property. In fact, we boarded up the back door & a few of the broken windows on John’s property as homeless people were coming & going & occasionally squatting in John’s newly acquired property. We wish he would do something w/the property next to our property (renovate it or have it torn down) but I’m not going to hold my breath.
I applaud John for wanting to make a difference in PB but I don’t really think he thought through or even had/has a plan on what to do with the 70+ properties he purchased in Aug. 2021. Time will tell if he pays the property taxes on all of these properties or if they’ll all end up on the COSL auction list again in a few years for unpaid taxes.
Great piece, and a wonderful addition to a lineage of internet heroes. Tangentially, though--I would love to get a proper Read Max dive into the world of Hacker News. In some ways it's the last true internet forum (people still actually write posts and argue, with a house citation style no less) and it's a fascinating subculture (no matter how divisive the political content of a news article, someone will still show up in the comments to complain about the memory footprint of the page's javascript). It feels like a relic of the golden era in more ways than one, and even weirder is how it's essentially a shed annex on capitalism's most powerful country club. Any chance you'd write about it?
Just one important correction... I have 3 wonderful children :)
At least I can root for this kind of internet weirdo, who feels uniquely American in most ways, than most of the other bloodless shitheads trying to make their names in similar fashion. genuinely wish this guy some success, so long as he drops the google forms snitch shit.
Max this fucking rocked
What a fascinating read! I certainly wish the best for Mr. Fenley but having grown up in the rust belt, I emphasize with city officials for being wary of outsiders promising a lot without a plan or much of an understanding about why architectural drawings may be necessary for a city permit (ripping a clipboard out of Mr. Fenley hands was totally uncalled for though). For example, Buffalo and Niagara Falls are littered people's ideas and promises, some of which politicians and city officials became very invested in, but those entrepreneurs could not deliver those ideas to fruition in many cases. Talk is cheap and so are properties in Pine Bluff but the expertise and know how to make them functional are not.
One thing worth expanding on is the racial mix of the surrounding towns and how they got into the state they did.
The nearby town of Sheridan engaged in segregation in the aftermath of Brown vs Board of Education - when the school board voted to desegregate, the black families in town run out under threat of having their homes burnt down. Little Rock is just up the road.
Into this mix steps a very white looking guy buying houses.
I damn sure hope he strives to make Pine Bluff worth living in again
This guy’s so fucking nuts I can’t believe I’m not related to him — thank you for this story
I live 50 miles West from Pine Bluff. I know how bad it's been there for several years. A lot of the crime has spread from there and from Little Rock, since the mid 90's. But me, personally, would rather drive in the dead of night in the middle of Little Rock than to drive during the day anywhere in Pine Bluff. I do hope Fenley has the best of luck though. With Pine Bluff and his Fusion.
Will John always have money for the next venture?
Incredible interview and a wild character. I hope you are able to focus and succeed with one of your ventures, John. I also hope you keep commenting on HN.
Feel sorry for this guy, one of the most shit towns in Arkansas with some of the worst crime. No one in Arkansas likes the town but maybe the guy can help turn it around
Originally being from Arkansas I could have told this guy one thing...better don't.
Pine Bluff is an awful place, 20 years ago it wasn't so bad but today it's just terrible.
I'd seen the original post on Hacker News and went "haha I bet there's a crazy story here" and woo lad I was more right than I knew. That was a roller coaster ride. Or theoretical go kart track ride.
I may have Divorced Guy energy but this dude is outta my league
Pine Bluff (“PB”) is my husband’s hometown but it is much, much different now than it was when he graduated from PB High School and left for college. The majesty of the city is gone, as is most of the population, at least the productive population. There are, however, a few in PB that are trying to bring back PB but I’m afraid it’s an uphill, and maybe, not winnable, battle. So much of the town is abandoned w/vacant/boarded up houses, burned out houses & vacant lots where beautiful homes (some were big, beautiful antebellum homes) once stood. A lot of the vacant homes in PB have been vandalized, with broken windows & anything of value, including the wiring, stolen.
My husband and I would like to see PB brought back to what he remembers it being when he grew up there. We live about an hour from PB and own one investment property in PB that we had started to renovate but because of an accident injury my husband sustained, we’ve had to put the renovation on hold. When we were previously in PB working on our investment property we were very aware of our surroundings as we’ve occasionally heard gunshots in the distance and as Caucasians, aware of the prejudices (and dangers) that could exist against us in PB.
My husband & I attended the 2021 Commissioner of State Lands (“COSL”) auction when John Fenley purchased 70+ properties, including a home next to our investment property. That auction was approx. one year ago this week (August 24, 2021) and to date John has done nothing to the home next to our investment property. In fact, we boarded up the back door & a few of the broken windows on John’s property as homeless people were coming & going & occasionally squatting in John’s newly acquired property. We wish he would do something w/the property next to our property (renovate it or have it torn down) but I’m not going to hold my breath.
I applaud John for wanting to make a difference in PB but I don’t really think he thought through or even had/has a plan on what to do with the 70+ properties he purchased in Aug. 2021. Time will tell if he pays the property taxes on all of these properties or if they’ll all end up on the COSL auction list again in a few years for unpaid taxes.
Great piece, and a wonderful addition to a lineage of internet heroes. Tangentially, though--I would love to get a proper Read Max dive into the world of Hacker News. In some ways it's the last true internet forum (people still actually write posts and argue, with a house citation style no less) and it's a fascinating subculture (no matter how divisive the political content of a news article, someone will still show up in the comments to complain about the memory footprint of the page's javascript). It feels like a relic of the golden era in more ways than one, and even weirder is how it's essentially a shed annex on capitalism's most powerful country club. Any chance you'd write about it?
This is a damn fine piece of journalism, absolutely smitten by this work
I grew up in the house where the Arkamsas Flag Was design
The house is only to be sold in a one plot area and ne er to be torn down