Texas Man Parks Sherman Tank In Front of His House

[XDMAR]

A Texas man has parked a World War II era tank on his front yard, displeasing his homeowners association in a neighborhood of multi-million dollar homes. The owner claims that the tank (pictured above) is "not hurting anyone" and will eventually end up at his ranch in east Texas.

Tony Buzbee bought his fully-functional M4 Sherman tank overseas before delivering it home to sit outside his home. According to Buzbee, the tank landed at Normandy and participated in the liberation of Paris. The tank has been demilitarized, meaning the weapons—including the 75 millimeter M3 main gun—no longer work.

Texas Man Parks Sherman Tank In Front of His House

 

[oldag]

Some parts of Houston, you could really use a tank.

River Oaks, however, is probably not one of those.

 

[MTA]

Of course rich people who hate the country that made them rich will complain about something as cool as a tank parked out in front of someones house. What a bunch of twats

 

[Longhorn1986]

Some parts of Houston, you could really use a tank.

River Oaks, however, is probably not one of those.

Well..that depends on if Carolyn Farb or Lynn Wyatt have been hitting the bottle again! Boozed up society women can be nasty!

 

[Moonpie]

Wow. I wish I had something that important to get upset about.
Friggin yard Nazi's should all hang.

 

[Kosh75287]

I'M amazed that there are any M4 Shermans in existence AT ALL, especially in original configurations. The Israelis up-gunned and re-armoured all or most of the ones THEY got.

 

[AustinN4]

Friggin yard Nazi's should all hang.

Don't buy into a deed restricted neighborhood unless you want to follow the rules!

 

[benenglish]

Don't buy into a deed restricted neighborhood unless you want to follow the rules!

Well, River Oaks takes it to another level.

A little history - Once upon a time, River Oaks was THE enclave for rich Houstonians. All the houses were owned by the HOA and merely leased to the true owners. In that way, no one ever had to put their house on the open market where someone black or (Gasp!) Jewish might buy it. (That's why all the Jewish money went to build those amazing houses along 288 south that are now being re-habbed by mostly black new money...but that's another fascinating story.)

In fact, the River Oaks HOA was, at one time, so powerful that they maintained their own private police force. Now recognized as just security guards, the "River Oaks Police Department" would piggyback their purchases on Houston PD contracts. Houston PD would buy a few extra squad cars and sell them to the River Oaks PD. The River Oaks PD wore HPD uniforms with patch changes, drove HPD-matching cars, and did not hesitate to do traffic stops. If you were crazy enough to drive an old, rusty car into River Oaks, you'd get pulled over. (Don't ask me how I know this.) Get mouthy and they'd call HPD to back them up. (Again, don't ask.) Yes, the River Oaks PD had radios that were just a part of the HPD network and HPD treated them like just a substation of fellow officers.

Back in the 1970s and possibly later, the River Oaks PD was a nearly untrained group of security officers and a few off-duty HPD officers who routinely impersonated police officers and should have all gone to jail. But they worked for the richest people in town, enforced HOA dictates as law, and got away with anything they and their HOA masters wanted.

River Oaks is still the stereotypical enclave of old money in Houston and the HOA there brooks no impertinence on the part of newcomers. When you have an HOA that historically wielded the sort of power outlined above, parking a tank out in front of your house is a bold move. One shot seems to show it in a driveway, another on the street. I'm guessing he moved it to the drive. If he left it on the street, I have no doubt that the HOA would figure out how to tow it and would do so. After all, there are private companies that can lift a derailed train engine back onto the tracks; I'm sure someone out there could tow a tank for enough money. And the River Oaks HOA definitely has "enough money".

 

[karlac]

Well, River Oaks takes it to another level.

A little history - Once upon a time, River Oaks was THE enclave for rich Houstonians. All the houses were owned by the HOA and merely leased to the true owners. In that way, no one ever had to put their house on the open market where someone black or (Gasp!) Jewish might buy it. (That's why all the Jewish money went to build those amazing houses along 288 south that are now being re-habbed by mostly black new money...but that's another fascinating story.)

Knew some young bucks, back in the late 50's from SBSHS, who would visit the River Oaks Country Club parking lot late of a Saturday evening just before closing, let the air out of just one tire on few well chosen Caddie's, Jags, or maybe a Silver Cloud or two, then wait until the owner staggered out of the club to drive down the street to home. They then magnanimously offered to change the tire for the inebriated driver, and would most often be rewarded with random bills, drunkenly pulled of his wallet, some of a large denomination ... it was looked upon as a public service, kept'em off the road to sober up a bit.
DAMHIKT

 

[oldag]

Well, River Oaks takes it to another level.

A little history - Once upon a time, River Oaks was THE enclave for rich Houstonians. All the houses were owned by the HOA and merely leased to the true owners. In that way, no one ever had to put their house on the open market where someone black or (Gasp!) Jewish might buy it. (That's why all the Jewish money went to build those amazing houses along 288 south that are now being re-habbed by mostly black new money...but that's another fascinating story.)

Source?

What I have read does not back up this assertion.

Go back and check the deed history and see who actually owned the properties. Not the HOA.

 

[Moonpie]

How cool would it be to have a neighbor that has a tank?
I would be over there pestering him to let me drive it!

 

[AustinN4]

Well, River Oaks takes it to another level.

The link in the OP doesn't work for me. So this tank is in River Oaks? That's a hoot!

 

[avvidclif]

That's hilarious. Lets see what the HOA has to say. A very well heeled lawyer vs HOA, wanna bet who wins...

Here's a link R Rated for language https://jalopnik.com/homeowner-s-association-is-very-upset-about-man-s-wwii-1819054382

 

[AustinN4]

As someone who lives in a deed-restricted (HOA) neighborhood I am fully aware how they work. Unless that street is privately owned by, or common property of, the HOA, they have no jurisdiction over it. The city does.

 

[BRD@66]

My Uncle & his family lived in R.O. - he was a rich realtor. He's dead now.

 

[benenglish]

Source?

What I have read does not back up this assertion.

Thank you for pointing out that I got that wrong. I was repeating what I was told ~40 years ago. The truth appears to be less formal but just as effective.

There was a negative aspect to the early years of River Oak's story, in that a "gentleman's agreement" excluded blacks, Jews, and other minorities from being able to buy into the community. ... it ... had the effect of inspiring wealthy minorities to establish their own upscale communities. In the case of Houston's Jewish population, they notably developed Riverside Terrace, "The Jewish River Oaks," as a rival to the posh neighborhood that they weren't allowed to live in.

Source: http://www.houstonpress.com/arts/the-changing-face-of-houston-river-oaks-6389534

While the Houston Press article refers to a "gentleman's agreement", the real estate nerds over at the Houston Architecture forum (where I've been for a long, long time and have quite a few posts) have a couple of historical threads discussing the accepted fact (by them) that the prohibition against blacks and Jews in River Oaks (and many other communities in Houston) was enforced via deed restriction. That would tie into my association of the HOA with the racism in River Oaks home sales. If it was in the deed restrictions, it would be the HOA that would have grounds to take legal action to prevent sales to minorities. Personally, I'm not going to go back and dig through 1950s-era and earlier deed restrictions just to fully understand the mechanisms used.

No matter how it was done, until federal legislation in the 1960s made it unenforceable, minorities were blocked from buying in River Oaks.

No matter which mechanism was in place and despite the fact that the results were the same, I clearly got it wrong. Normally I fact-check myself better than that but since I had some personal experience with the "River Oaks Police Department", I let some emotional recollections pour forth without adequate thought.

My apologies.

 

[oldag]

Not a big deal.

Either way discrimination was wrong. But sadly it was not unusual at that time. Just did not see what it added to this story.

 

[benenglish]

Just did not see what it added to this story.

Oh, that.

I just meant to illustrate that the powers-that-be in River Oaks are accustomed to getting their way, no matter how evil/stupid/silly their intentions. I was shocked that a homeowner in there would do something, legal or not, that he would have to know would piss off the HOA.

 

[avvidclif]

Probably pissed off at the HOA and decided to tweak their nose a bit. Until he got pissed he was probably planning on taking it straight to his ranch.

 

[Eli]

River Oaks' old Deed Restrictions restricted ownership to something like, "Of the White Race, and Protestant Faith!" I say that as somebody whose father grew up in Riverside Terrace a few blocks from the Weingarten Estate.

Eli