Edgar Sanchez' story in today's City section of The Bee pissed me off. People in Land Park and Curtis Park are fussing about having to pay for streetlights? Poor things! We don't even HAVE streetlights in my neighborhood, save one on-again-off-again sodium light on the corner. Other parts of the Grid get all sorts of amenities, and we here in Old Chinatown don't even get our street sweeped. But we still get tickets.
Here's my email to Councilman Rob Fong. I'll keep you posted on his response.
Dear Councilman Fong -
I've lived for the past 28 years in Land Park, Curtis Park and various parts of downtown, all of them in your district. Currently, I own a house on the very south edge of the Grid, not sure about the neighborhood name. We call it Chinatown, since it is part of that historic area.
As I'm sure you know, this area is pretty crime-ridden - drug deals are common, as are car break-ins, and I've been propositioned by hookers at my own front door. So it was with some surprise that I saw that Land Park - probably the most pampered neighborhood this side of Roseville - was being given 780 streetlights (780!!) to "deter crime".
It surprised me because not only do we NOT have many streetlights, let alone "historic-looking" ones - my street is deadly dark at night, with what little light there is coming from passing cars on I-80 - but we don't even have ADA-compliant SIDEWALKS! Most of the city has sidewalks that anyone with a wheelchair could get up on, and some of them, in midtown, even have anti-slip mats embedded. We have nearly foot-high curbs that elderly people find nearly impassable.
Moreover, we have no stop sign at the corner of 17th and V, which has resulted in a number of traffic accidents in the four years I've lived here. People come off the freeway, go to the AM/PM, then roar around the block and get back on the freeway. It's very dangerous.
Moreover, the street sweepers don't even come down our block! I have no idea why that is, we still pay tickets if we're parked on the street without a sticker, but that service seems to stop at V Street. What has resulted is a street that looks more like it belongs in Oak Park than in the booming Grid.
I'm not asking you to stop the drug dealing, the prostitution or the ridiculous amount of litter from the AM/PM or Nick's Market - I've been cleaning that stuff up for years, and am not figuring it will get any better as long as liquor stores masquerading as gas stations and "convenience" stores are allowed to blight the area. But I would appreciate it if you could see to it that we get at least the minimal amenities that our neighbors to the south get without even asking for.
There are a lot of elderly people in this area, many of them Chinese who barely speak any English. My next-door neighbors came here from Hong Kong in 1969, and still barely speak English, and they are virtually barricaded in their house. I think it would improve this area, as well as your reputation in it, if you could see to it that we get more than minimal services. I know I would appreciate it.
Best wishes,
David Watts Barton
6 comments:
Nice one David...
David,
I think that neighborhood is technically part of the Richmond Grove neighborhood association. Have you talked with them about assessment districts for streetlights? Local neighborhood associations can be a great way to address community problems, as well as to meet the neighbors.
In some ways Richmond Grove and Southside Park became the "new Chinatown" after the Chinese and Japanese were pushed out of their old neighborhoods in the fifties and sixties.
Well that was an awkward and silly little rant there. You really didn't ask for anything... just kinda vented about everything you aren't satified with in your neighborhood.
"So it was with some surprise that I saw that Land Park - probably the most pampered neighborhood this side of Roseville - was being given 780 streetlights (780!!) to "deter crime"."
You realize that this is an assessment district formed by the residents to hold an election to vote whether or not we can buy our own streetlights right? Or did you not understand where the article pointed out the near $5,000 one-time cost per household of installing these lights?
A neighbor of mine has been working on this assesment district for a long time now, and it has cost him and others thousands of their own dollars to get it this far. Noone is pampered here, and noone in this city was given any streetlights. It cost big money and takes a lot of personal time and effort.
If you want something similiar for your neighborhood, I'd start by retracting that silly letter, and instead ask Mr. Fong how you might be able to start up an assessment district of your own. I can tell you it first begins by hitting the streets and collecting thousands of signatures. And, if you really feel it would benefit your neighborhood to have streetlights, this article describes some of the fun you will experience in trying to achieve that.
For more information try contacting the City and ask them to put you in touch with Neighbors for Livable Streets (NLS). That is the group that put this together. The neighborhoods that will be voting on this fall in the Land Park Community Association and the Sierra Curtis Neighborhood Association. And for your information, the LPCA did not support this project, although the Sierra Curtis did support a vote on it. So it's not a guarantee that your neighborhood association will even support you.
In the end it's about how far YOU will take it. And you're defintely not going to make any friends by yelling at them and making erroneous judgements.
Towerdistrict - Clearly, you are an expert on "making friends."
At least you responded. That's more than can be said for Mr. Fong or even one of his assistants.
What if I can't get my month-to-month renting neighbors to fork over $5000 for streetlights? Just tough luck?
Perhaps streetlights are more than can be asked for (by implication). But accessible curbs? Stop signs? How many hoops would you have us jump through, TD? Jeez...
I'm curious if any other readers, as expert in these things as Towerdistrict, but a bit more generous of spirit, might suggest ways in which poorer neighborhoods can aspire to the quality of life in Land Park?
Or should we all just move there, and leave the Grid to the less-fortunate?
You don't even know what neighborhoods you're talking about. You're just lumping all of Land Park into one because it helps your stereotype and let's you pass judgement without doing any actual research.
Your neighborhood isn't any worse off than the ones in question here. You rip into a supportive council member about nothing specific and in the process, insult a whole neighborhood you have no idea about. Besides, I already told you in the above post how you could get started, opposed to the avenue you're headed down now.
And I'll bite again... to answer your rhetorical question posed in the fifth paragraph above, that is what this whole controversy is about. Some neighbors who can afford streetlights formed an assessment district to vote for the opportunity to pay for them. While others who can't afford the lights, or don't want to pay the large sum to get them, are opposing the assessment district and vote. The whole reason why these neighborhoods have not had "historic" acorn-style streetlights for the last 80 years is because they can't afford them. A few people have installed lights on their own front yards to help, while most of us just leave our porch lights on through the night.
It takes grassroots neighborhood movements to get anything done. Your council member is a representative of you, not a district overlord. Hit your neighborhood association up first and ask them what you can do to help out. If they don't share your enthusiasm, then you're on your own. If you're on your own, ask Rob Fong who's door you gotta knock on to get something done. He will likely support you in your endeavors if they benefit the city.
Thanks for the help, Towerdistrict, whoever you are!
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