Peggy Denby, cofounder and head of the Midtown Ponce Security Alliance, has worked relentlessly to clean up the streets of her neighborhood.

Some say too relentlessly. Project Q Atlanta, the popular gay website, declared her “Midtown’s Meanest” and said Denby “is such a bigoted grouch that she can’t allow herself even a whiff of compassion” when discussing homeless people.

Denby calls such attacks “unfounded and irrational” and says she’s just “fighting for property values and quality of life.”

After 12 years at the fore of the crime-fighting effort, Denby is moving on. She and her husband have bought an RV and plan to explore the country. Her chief regret, she says, is that she was unable to close the huge homeless shelter at Peachtree and Pine. And the head of the shelter? She’s thrilled to hear of Denby’s departure.

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Savannah Chrisley, daughter of former reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley, speaks outside the Federal Prison Camp on May 28, 2025, in Pensacola, Fla. President Donald Trump pardoned Todd and Julie Chrisley, who were found guilty of defrauding banks out of $36 million and hiding millions in earnings to avoid paying taxes. (Dan Anderson/AP)

Credit: Dan Anderson/AP