A Houston couple says a confrontation during their daughter’s first birthday photoshoot turned ugly, and video of it is spreading online.
The couple was taking pictures on a public esplanade on North Boulevard in the Broadacres neighborhood on a Saturday afternoon. According to local reports, Franci, a Houston socialite and the ex wife of Astros owner Jim Crane, pulled up, got out of her car barefoot with a small dog, and told them they were blocking the sidewalk and damaging grass that residents pay to maintain.
In the family’s cell phone video, the woman can be seen slapping the phone and some balloons while the baby cries. The couple says they asked her to keep her dog away from their daughter and that she did not. They filed a police report, and Houston police are looking into it. No charges had been filed as of the latest reports.
Franci has since apologized, saying she was “very sorry that I got upset.” She said the shoot was blocking the walkway, that the couple was disrespectful once she explained the situation, and that heavy commercial photography in the neighborhood has been damaging the grass and walkways. She also said she was met with threats of lawsuits. The local homeowners association president said the neighborhood felt it had to take a stand.
The City of Houston told ABC13 the esplanades are public right of way and cannot be blocked from public use. Anyone with concerns about people blocking a sidewalk is asked to call 311.
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