Tag Archives: CDCs

InCity Voices

Congratulations, WCHR!

By Edith Morgan

After nearly 25 years, Worcester Community Housing Resources has a lot to brag about, and too the opportunity to do so at a great gathering : it was the 2016 Annual Appreciation Reception, held at Maxwell Silverman’s Toolhouse starting at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 19th.

The object was to get us all acquainted with the great work done by WCHR and to recognize the work done by the staff of eight people who really seem to accomplish miracles.

Worcester Community Housing Resources, Inc. has its offices at 11 Pleasant Street, Suite 300, in Worcester. Under the leadership of its Executive Director, Dominick Marcigliano, and with a dedicated and capable staff of only eight , this organization reaches into many Worcester neighborhoods, in pursuit of its mission “..to create and preserve affordable housing opportunities for low and moderate income households throughout Worcester County.”

At this celebration, Executive Director Marcigliano summarized this non-profit’s accomplishments to date: WCHR, Inc.” has created 38 ownership homes, 112 rental units, 3 commercial storefronts, and 78 assisted living apartments.” These represent investments of over $32 million , and put over $180,000 of increased property tax revenues into our city coffers.

WCHR deals in a variety of housing assistance programs: the organization owns and operates 100 rental units, including a wide variety of housing opportunities: 2, 3, and 4 bedroom apartments, and single-room lodging houses – all for low-income families and individuals. We all know how high rents in the city can be, and how out of reach good, safe, well-managed homes can be for struggling Worcesterites: so I was very pleased to learn that the average tenant pays only $268 per month, but the range goes from a low of $25 per month for a single room occupancy to $687 for a two bedroom apartment. The rate is determined by the tenant’s financial need.

Staying true to its mission, WCHR uses many approaches to providing and maintaining affordable housing, with the help of a great variety of financial resources, seeking to help especially those most difficult house. This includes not only low-income persons, but also those suffering with mental health problems, refugees, people with AIDS, and seniors in need of assisted living.

One such project, ten years in the making, is the Heywood Wakefield Commons in Gardner, which combines federal, state, and local resources to create 78 assisted-living units in a former factory building. This was a unique program open to seniors who are trying to survive on just their Social Security and Medicare. Open since 2011, it has (predictably!) been fully occupied, and provides its occupants with a full array of activities and meals,

More recently, WCHR has bought a building at32 Irving Street, which is being renovated and readied for occupancy this year, with financing from Worcester’s HOME program. This buildingwill house up to 15 individuals and will include secure individual rooms with all utilities and services icludaed.

WCHR also owns and operates various kinds of housing in such varied neighborhoods as Green Island and Main South – where the organizations works with the neighborhood and other providers.

We all know what a “drag” on the area even one building which is neglected, abandoned, or allowed to run down. Represents to the block, the area, and its citizens. So WCHR also works to turn around homes an properties in receivership. In cooperation with the aaattorney general’s office, and the MAssachusettsHousing Partnership Fund, WCHR provides training, consulting and other services to bring these properties back . Forf example, WCHR has facilitated a path toward redevelopment of over 399 housing units in over 199 properties, careataing an25,59% increase in tax revenues for the city.

WCHR alsoprovides home improvement loans fro primary residences for emergency repairs, maintenance or repairs , and correcting cccode violawtions. – all at low rates, so that those unable to afford them can maintain their properties.

Although the main emphasis is on housing development, receivership, community lending, , renting apartments, and property management, there is also an oppoartunity for those not in need of help to invest in WCHR’s Loan Fund. If youwant your money to eaqrn good interest Competitive with commercial loans) csider investing and let your money work for housing in Worcester while at the same time earning yfou some interest.

This organization fulfills so many unique puposes in our city, and fills so many varied needs that supporting its work is a worthy cause. For further information, or if you need help or want to help, WCHR can be reached in a variety of ways: Call 508-799-0322, or visit the website at www.wchr.org
If you are interested in lending options, contact Lora Baldracchi, the Loan Fund Director, at extension 112, 508-799-0322, or at lbaldracchi#wchr.org

Over the years, I have been aware of WCHR’s work, as it progressed under the direction Peter Fellenz,then Matt Walley, and now Dominick . All have been dedicated to upgrading Worcester’s aging housing stock, and enabling residents to find safe, clean, and reasonably priced housing for themselves and their families.

Their model isnot the “one-size fits all “ kind. Their work offers many alternatives, but always of high quality, and with the help of many agencies and funding sources, making a real difference for our city. Looking over the pictures (before and after) of the strucatures that have been improved, and driving down the streets whee they are located, can give a good idea of the impact that WCHR’s work has had,,,,.
In addition to its on-going projects, WCHR is looking for approximately 5000 square feet of space to house a program for teen mothers, who are presently in a location whose lease is expiririg.They will need a yard, some parking, and be near a bus route. Anyone know of a property that meets these requirements should get in touch with WCHR ‘

The “Appreciation Reception” was most enjoyable – the refreshments delicious, and I ran into several people I had not seen for a long time, so it was a chance to renew old friendships. And of course, Maxwell Silverman’s is a great venue for such a celebration.

Green Island Grrrl, Rosalie's Blog, Uncategorized

A few days before Thanksgiving (Tues., Nov. 26) city leaders spring this on us! The future of Affordable Housing in Worcester! AND: Downtown’s Theater District!

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Ha! What a coincidence! While most of us will be out buying tofurkey for the holidays – or driving to visit relatives in farflung cities – the City of Worcester will be doing very important business – business that will impact downtown Worcester for years, business that will determine the fate of our working class! Our leaders will be discussing (or: rubber stampling): the city’s new affordable housing plan and downtown theater district plan.

This is city business! This is OUR business. It is business that we all need to weigh in on! I downloaded the link (click on the blue numbers below), but here is the “agenda”: straight from the jackass’ mouth!

We are the turkeys!! – R. Tirella

CITY OF WORCESTER

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE

Esther Howland (South) Meeting

5:30 P.M.

David J. Rushford

COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Chairperson Frederick C Rushton

Councilor Joseph C O’Brien

Councilor George J Russell

Joseph M. Petty

MAYOR

CLERK OF THE CITY COUNCIL

www.worcesterma.gov

City Hall – 455 Main Street Worcester, Massachusetts

1 . Communications of the City Manager

Transmitting for City Council’s review and information a copy of the Housing Market

Study, as prepared by RKG Consultants, the Analysis of Impediments to Affordable

Housing, as prepared by 12 Community Development Consulting, Inc. and a

recommended Housing Strategy, as prepared by the Executive Office of Economic

Development.

# 5a CC November 27, 2012

a.

In Committee June 11, 2013 – Held

In Committee June 19, 2013 – Held

In Committee July 9, 2013 – Held

Transmitting informational communication relative to the property located at 5 May

Street.

# 10.4B CM August 20, 2013

b.

Communication of the City Manager transmitting informational communication

regarding public comments Received about the Theatre District Master Plan Public.

# 8.4J CM April 02, 2013

c.

Communication of the City Manager transmitting informational communication relative

to the Theatre District Master Plan.

# 18b CC April 02, 2013

d.

November 26, 2013 Economic Development Committee Page 1 of 2

2 . Miscellaneous

Petition of Lee Buckley request to establish decent standards in housing and renters

equity in housing in Worcester.

# 7b CC November 20, 2007

a.

In Committee April 24, 2012 – Held

In Committee April 24, 2012 – Held

*****************************************

CLICK ON NUMBERS TO SEE CITY AGENDA! 20131126

InCity Feature, InCity Letters, InCity Voices, Uncategorized

Ribbon-cutting ceremony for CDC Worcester Common Ground’s 7 Bellevue St.

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Great news from the Community Development Corporation (CDC) Worcester Common Ground!

Worcester Common Ground’s 6-property Austin Corridor II project is nearing completion, culminating with the much-awaited opening of 7 Bellevue St., the organization’s former headquarters.

To celebrate the nine units of affordable housing (including two fully accessible units), WCG is holding a ribbon cutting ceremony October 30 at 2:45 p.m. in the newly rehabilitated building.

Executive Director Yvette Lavigne is proud of the project on a number of fronts:  “WCG is lucky to work with the network of federal, state and local partners whose support made the project possible.”

The event will feature a number of special guests, including Mayor Joseph Petty, City Councilors Sarai Rivera and Joseph O’Brien, and Mary Barjolo, a long time tenant of 7 Bellevue, who will be seeing the completed renovations on her unit for the first time! There will also be free food and music!

InCity Feature, InCity Letters, InCity Voices, Uncategorized

The Straight Scoop on Worcester’s Community Development Corporations (CDCs)! Connect the dots!

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By Barbara Haller, Main South Community Development Corporation Board member, former District 4 City Councilor, and Main South resident

There are several things going on that impact CDCs. Connecting the
dots correctly is difficult. Lots of people have lots of different
opinions. Lots of people are wrong. I believe that I can help ICT
readers understand some of the realities CDCs and the City are facing.
How I know what I know:

Over the past almost 25 years I have been involved in our Community
Development Corporations. Before being elected District 4 city
councilor I served as a board member for Worcester Common Ground and
Main South CDC. While city councilor I no longer served as a board
member but was an active advocate for the work of CDCs across the
City. Since leaving office I rejoined the Main South CDC as a board
member.

What I know:

Dot 1: Local political climate has shifted towards more support of
business development.

Dot 2: Local political climate has shifted towards downtown
revitalization.

Dot 3: Demographics show Worcester is losing its middle class.

Dot 4: Local political climate strongly favors home ownership over
rental properties.

Dot 5: Federal money for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) is
declining.

Dot 6: CDBG has been used for lots of things including Code
Inspections, Operation Clean City, Friendly House, Henry Lee Willis,
South Worcester Neighborhood Center, Centro Las Americas, and much
more. It has also funded CDCs for some of their work in the community.

Dot 7: There are other Federal and State funds for developing
affordable housing — HOME, NSP, Lead Abatement. CDCs and private
developers have been awarded use of these funds either by the City
directly or under the Cityâ€Ts supervision.

Dot 8: There have been some scandals associated with some of these
funds. 5 May Street (private developer) was given money without
doing the work. Hadley Building (private developer) was completed
with public money but at excessive cost. Former Ionic Ave Boys &
Girls Club (private developer) was given public money but was never
developed. Lead removal program was corrupted by bribes.

Dot 9: There have been lots of questions around costs for developing
affordable housing. Many think it is too expensive.

Dot 10: CDCs take the sites with the most problems, in the worst
conditions, using money with the most strings attached, and
revitalize neighborhoods.

Dot 11: Local political climate wants more money to go to private
developers, home ownership, more middle class neighborhoods.

Dot 12: Federal audit of CDBG for past 3 years found City mismanaged
at least $2 million and maybe as much as $5+ million. A large portion
of these dollars were given to the CDCs. The audit is critical of the
City Administration contracts and monitoring of the contracts.

Dot 13: The dollars were used for operations that the Feds say were
ineligible under the program.

Dot 14: There is no indication that there was any misuse of funds by
anyone. No double-dipping, no excessive salaries, no slush funds.

Dot 15: The City has said it will go after the CDCâ€Ts for the money.

Dot 16: Those opposed to using public tax dollars to build affordable
housing are connecting the dots to say that it is time for CDCs to go
away or at least consolidate.

Dot 17: Those who want to protect the Cityâ€Ts Administration are
connecting the dots to say that it is the CDCs who messed up.

Dot 18: Those who want to protect the CDCs are connecting the dots to
say it is the City Administration who messed up; CDCs did as they
were contracted to do. If the City wrote contracts that scoped work
that was not covered by federal CDBG funds then it is the City who
erred, not the CDCs.

I firmly believe that the CDCs are vital to our City’s success. I
believe that the CDCs did nothing wrong and that CDBG funding was
used to fight neighborhood blight.

I also believe that the City Administration is not interested in
partnering with the CDCs anymore. I believe that the City Council
supports the City Administration’s plan to shift more resources to
other parts of the city and to and reduce affordable housing
development by CDCs. I believe this is a mistake for lots of reasons.

You can connect your own dots, but the way I see it inner-city
neighborhood revitalization is in for a serious slowdown.

Green Island Grrrl, Rosalie's Blog, Uncategorized

Meeting Tim, Worcester’s economic development czar

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By Rosalie Tirella

Yesterday, at the Worcester Common Ground CDC celebration at the CDC’s tot lot in the heart of our inner city, I got a chance to button-hole, “interview” the city’s two economic development guys. Guys I had been trying to track down the day before at ol City Hall. I had some questions about the city’s new take on building affordable housing for Woo residents. After all, almost half of Worcester’s population is eligible for affordable housing.

First Miguel Rivera, a guy who works for economic development czar Tim Mcgourthy. It was such a pretty day yesterday! Everyone seemed to be having such a good time at the CDC tot lot! You would think all the food and good vibes would have loosened Rivera up some. Nope. All smiles, he offered nothing of value. Said he couldn’t and wouldn’t discuss the city’s CDCs. Said he wasn’t allowed to.

After the event, I checked my email. I had gotten an email from his city hall secretary, Amanda R. Amanda said Miguel wanted to know what questions I would be asking him if I interviewed him. Better yet, could I email her the questions?

Who are these pointless people? I mean, is this New York City? Are we living in Gotham, for cripe’s sake? Third-tier Worcester deserves at the very least workman like, basic, human interactions. Nothing fancy. Stop the games and let me ask a guy, a city employee, some fucking questions in his fucking office. Public’s right to know and all. I answered Amanda’s email. Told her I had button holed Miguel at a city event and that people like her made city government … pointless. Were a detriment to citizens understanding their city. Thanks for nothing.

Why are so many women TOOLS? I mean, you can be a secretary and still think for yourself!

2. Tim Mcgourthy, Worcester’s Chief Economic Development czar. The guy who holds the keys, or at least some of them, when it comes to housing and business development in our city.

I was pleasantly surprised. Tim is a nice guy. Very nice guy. Awfully friendly. I would call him down to earth and even sweet. He is the kinda guy women call adorable. At the event yesterday, he gave a very nice little speech in support of the work the WCG CDC was doing. He hung around and talked with folks and he let me ask him questions and tell him my reservations about the city’s affordable housing policy, new and supposedly improved.

Tim said he supports the CDCs but that he wants to open up the affordable housing building game to more peeps. And he wanted more home ownership. He said if developers want federal funds to build units then they HAVE TO CHARGE AFFORDABLE RENTS FOR THE UNITS. Made sense to me. I told him it would be great if all of his department’s ideas, the city’s housing master plan, was made available to folks IN HARD COPY at neighborhood centers, the YMCA and YWCA, churches, barber shops, places where Worcester people could read it, digest it, discuss it. I said the city’s huge report, a tome or door stop if ever there was one, was hard to understand. Tim agreed, said there should be a way to get thus important information out into the community.

Then I said, I think if you want to make three decker home ownership a reality for more people, the city needs to set aside A HELL OF A LOT MORE MONEY FOR DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE, REHAB ASSISTANCE. I told him I was looking at three deckers in the inner city – all I could afford – and the buildings I saw were in horrible shape, often times vandalized. Cut up into teeny apts. Copper wire pulled out. Gutted bathrooms. How was a regular working person gonna fix those disasters? The city needs to put aside so much more money for rehab. Our great old buildings have been si abused.

I also told him all the city’s talk about homeownership for all seemed very pie in the sky. Very unrealistic. I told Tim at the last city economic development subcommittee meeting, the city sounded like President George W. Bush right before he created the housing bubble.

Tim listened to my concerns. Seemed to actually care about people making good housing decisions. He said some folks would be renters and that the city has to offer them good housing choices, too.

I believe Tim M. us a good person. He said he wasn’t anti CDC and I believed him. He is such a likeable person it was hard not to believe him, doubt his good intentions. The sun shone brightly on the folks at the WCG CDC celebration yesterday. It shone brightly on Tim Mcgourthy.

Green Island Grrrl, Rosalie's Blog, Uncategorized

Today’s Worcester Common Ground CDC ribbon-cutting ceremony was …

By Rosalie Tirella

… eye opening! Got there, the WCDC tot lot, on the corner of Austin and Newbury streets, a bit late and saw my pal Billy Randell. We are disagreeing about the city’s housing policy. The great thing about Billy and me is that we can disagree on a lot of stuff and still give each other a big hug – and mean it! – when we see each other in the city. Maybe it’s because we both know and love Canterbury Street, maybe it’s because we both love greyhounds and I still miss Billy and his family’s late (beautiful) greyhound, Tyler. Several years ago we put Tyler and Billy’s wife Vanessa and Billy’s little girl Vangella on the cover of InCity Times .. fun. Maybe Billy and I are still pals no matter what because we are both pretty OK people who roll with the punches and have known each other for a decade and like each other – no matter the politics. I took a nice photo of Billy! He’d looks happy and cute!

Then there was the food – beyond mere hamburgers and hot dogs! A wonderful spread – a feast, really! – put on by an ebullient black man with a damp towel over his head to keep cool in the 93 degree heat and hell hot sun. This guy is a gifted chef! I had the best tortellini salad of the summer, courtesy of this man, who called everybody honey!! It is so nice when you see a person being nice to everyone at an event –  the high and the low, the poltician and the recovering drug addict. Jesus’ way. This black caterer’s way!

Then there was State Senator Mike Moore. I had blogged about him this morning. This afternoon I told him I was against the slots parlor coming to Millbury. I said SHAME on you for being for it! He was very sweet to me. Spent 10 or so minutes telling me all about the slots casino project. How he really felt it was gonna be an entertainment hot spot, since it was gonna have a spa, a high-end restaurant, a bar and a middle-tier pub. He said there would also be a venue for music/concerts! I love concerts! He said the venue would double as a convention center. I said: THIS IS WHAT I WANTED FOR THE WYMAN GORDON SITE before everybody in Woo got demanding and screwed things up. Moore told me the jobs would come – $50,000 a year jobs with benefits. This sounded good to me. He said he was gonna ask the Millbury town planner to ask the Rush Street gaming guys to reconstruct the roads so the traffic wouldn’t go down my beloved Greenwood Street or McCracken Road, that the cars would get on to and off the slots casino site via Route 146. He sounded earnest and nice …

I am not a big speech listener. I prefer to hang and blab to peeps and eat and drink. The desserts – decorated cakes – were gorgeous! Pictures of the units on the cake – in frosting!!!! Windows, doors and everything! PLUS: Veggie burgers!!!

Back to the events. I saw State Senator Harriet Chandler, too, who was so nice to me, who looked happy to see me! I think she wanted to talk to me about my late mom. She has told me she loves my columns about her. But Senator Chandler is an important person and District 4 City Councilor Sarai Rivera horned herself in between the two of us, making sure Harlee talked with her – and not so much to me. Kinda rude and agressive. Relax, Sarai, I just wanted to talk about my dead mother with someone I know liked reading about her in my rag. … I think if Harlee had known my mom she would have loved her, too.

Then there was my favorite part, the part of the event when all the politicians and social workers and do gooders had gone home and the regualar people were just hanging … . Got to talk with a lovely woman in a wheel chair who told me about her housing problems. I saw that someone had come in with a young pit bull bitch. He had her on a heavy chain – tied to a bench. She had teats and looked a little underfed. She was panting so hard, her rib cage going up and down. Her tongue was out and a bright pink. I asked the lady in the wheel chair to hold my bowl of excellent pasta salad and I went to the refreshment table to get the pit bull a nice bottle of water. Then I went to the main table, got a styrofoam bowl and poured the water into the bowl and gave it to the dog. She drank it all. I poured her some more water.

“You’re a good woman,” the lady in the wheel chair said to me, not smiling, just being direct. I walked up to her and said, THANKS. YOU’RE A NICE LADY. She gave me back my little bowl of pasta salad.

I did not tell her that she had said to me the exact words my mom used to say when I had done something fine: “You’re a good woman.”

I left a while later, vowing to fight for the lady in the wheel chair … but to be open to Billy and Tim McGourthy’s points of view, too. I hope they also have her best interests at heart.

Green Island Grrrl, InCity Feature, InCity Voices, Rosalie's Blog, Uncategorized

On today’s 4 p.m. meeting at City Hall re: Affordable housing in Worcester

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By Rosalie Tirella

For far too long our CDCs have been the whipping boys of the “a new Woo on the rise” – or should we say “ruse”  – crowd. Developers with lots of dough (some good, some bad) who paint the CDCs as little more than “projects” filled with “pajama people,” people “who do not contribute,” women who are shacking up with boyfriends – all the usual racial and class stereotypes called up during discussions like the one the city will be having today at 4 p.m. at the Worcester City Hall. TODAY!

These developers claim that by putting the kibbosh on the CDCs and cutting back on the city’s affordable housing stock, Worcester will be reinvigorated with newcomers. People who will come to our city with new ideas, new … money. These developers  paint the bleakest picture of Worcester (because our people do not conform to their preconceptions) – it is a false snapshot of my city. Worcester IS a Gateway City, but it is a Gateway City that is doing a thousand times better than the state’s other Gateway Cities, such as Springfield (they almost went bankrupt a few years ago), Lawrence (poor, poor,poor) and Lowell. Worcester, with its upper-middle class neighborhoods (the kind you would see in the better parts of Brookline, for instance), its many colleges, teaching hospital and hospitals and AMAZING AMOUNT OF GREEN SPACE is miles ahead of these other Gateway Cities. But it is no tourist town either – a place where people can go to forget the world and their problems. Worcester is, in its own wide open, clean, relatively safe, tree-filled way a huge family town and a little Statue of Liberty – welcoming people from all over the world. Take a walk through Main South or Piedmont and you get the picture – the feel: Great ethnic food, clothing, languages, cultures, traditions. Again, we have a ton of middle and upper class neighborhoods in the city that are as Leave it to Beaver as you can get. Our inner city hoods are exciting, real and diverse. Let’s keep them going!!!

Years ago, Wusta’s newcomers could have found decent paying work in the scores of factories in our city. If they, like many of my Polish immigrant relatives, worked hard and saved their paychecks,  they could even become homeowners – buy a so-so three decker in neighborhoods like Green Island, South Worcester. As  homeowners in these working class hoods, my relatives stabilized parts of the city the well off didn’t want to be a part of – and they offered shelter from the storm of life to relatives and friends.

No more. Today, Worcester’s factories are dead. Our newcomers – many who struggle with English and have few skills – do not have the economic opportunities their counterparts had in the 1940s and 1950s. Video gaming and bio tech jobs will not close Worcester’s job gap. However, this doesn’t mean our new people should be shunned or shunted away from Worcester. The minimum wage needs to be raised, city leaders must – like New Bedford has – hustle to bring new, light industry to Worcester, so that today’s Wusta immigrants and under-educated folks can have decent paying jobs so they can pay the bills – have a shot at a stable, working class life.

IT’S THE ECONOMY, STUPID. NOT THE CDCs!

In fact, the CDCs are saving Worcester’s butt! The economy has wreaked havoc on the housing market. Inflated prices for crap housing stock, housing stock bought by developers (some out of towners) who either flip the buildings or cut up the apartments and charge high rents. People – renters – are exploited. By building safe and affordable appartments and condos through the years, the Main South CDC has stabilized many families and rescued Main South – a total pit in the 1970s, a place where my uncle, getting out of his car to pick up a prescription at Moynihan’s in the middle of the afternoon, was pounced upon by a prostitute. A good egg, and Worcester boy, he took it in stride and went inside the pharmacy to get his prescription. Much of the grime and icky housing stock, thnaks to the Main South CDC,  has been  replaced with beautiful units or reclaimed. The housing has been rented out/sold to working folks who need safe, affordable housing and a landlord that will not jack up the rent, treat his tenants like shit, flip his property, be lax with his property, etc. The way many developers are. I am not saying all developers are low lifes – I know a few nice ones – but they are outside the norm. Most landlords want to make as much money off their tenants as possible. Their properties are a business to them – not a social contract. Often times families in Woo apartments are living in cold water flats … and struggle to pay their bills and feed their families – or save $$ for a better fuure. Off they flee, in the middle of the night sometimes, ahead of the constable. The kids suffer in school, parents are stressed … .

The CDCs take the anxiety out of the picture, and, contrary to what some developers in town tell you, THEY DO HAVE AND FOLLOW INCOME GUIDELINES. My friend, a wonderful single mom with kids and a full time job, could not get into CDC housing because she did not make enough money! The CDC housing stock is not filled with “pajama people.” The condos and apartments are filled with working class people – many of them immigrants or immigrants’ kids – who contribute, hold jobs and make our city vibrant.

Worcester is Worcester. We have our challenges but we are a family town with a healthy middle class. Unfortunately, many of these wealthier folks are not spending their money at sushi bars – places where many developers want to see them, kind of upper income urban hipsters. We have those folks. But many of our upper income folks are not cruising bars  … . They have kids and family responsibilities. Many are socking away their dough in college bank accounts for their kids. Some are saving for a vacation home at the Cape. It is a more conservative way to spend expendable money, but these wealthier folks create the Worcester I want to live in: family focused, strong, green and safe.

Don’t dump on CDCs, the working class or affordable housing! Worcester is a great city – and don’t you forget it!!!

InCity Feature, InCity Voices

Empty nests

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By Edith Morgan

As I look around my neighborhood, and as I think about friends in my age range, it seems that something important has changed: the old family homestead no longer is: immigrant families once came, bought a triple decker or duplex, raised a family there, maybe brought the grandparents over, and several generations lived in the same house. The tradition in many nations (most notably, among the Irish) was that at least one of the children would remain in the family home after the parents were gone. My friend Martha, recently deceased, went back to Wareham and bought her family home; Peggy around the corner bought HER parents’ home and lived there until her death. My neighbor Bill followed the old Irish tradition also, and is still in the family home.

But now I look around my neighborhood, and more and more I see the big old gracious houses where my neighbors raised six and seven children, standing empty, waiting to be sold to strangers. And it is saddening, because something is getting lost in the fabric of neighborliness that was the glue that held together the neighborhood, provided familiarity and the safety that comes from knowing the people around you, and the comforting feeling that help and caring is always near.

Perhaps it is because we all live longer and our young ones can not have the house for so many years, or perhaps it is that so often the newer generation want to be independent, want to have the newest fixtures, want to be nearer to their work, or want to follow their spouses. Whatever the reason, what I miss most is the commitment to the neighborhood, the neighborhood school, the support for neighborhood stores, and the “nosy neighbor” who was a tradition in many neighborhoods, and could be counted upon to know who came, who went, what everyone was doing, and who would report her (it was usually a “her”) findings . a number of us grew up staying on the “straight and narrow path” because we knew we were observed and reported upon. Annoying as we might have found that, it did prevent the need for extensive foot patrols!

And of course the younger generations travel much lighter than we did (I am in my eighties, and attached to thousands of books and memorabilia) and are more likely to throw things out. I can remember how many times my mother saved something, always sure that someday it would be of use – and surprisingly often, she was right.

And so, as I watch the huge dumpsters being filled with the accretions of nearly a century, I am saddened that it all has to be taken to be crushed and burned , unwanted, unused, and no longer loved….and the many things that are memory triggers for children and grandchildren are gone, though I hope that they had a chance to save a few things that will serve to remind them.

Many large, roomy, well-built houses throughout our city sit empty, waiting for someone with imagination and an appreciation of the finer aspects of living – the high ceilings, the finely-milled woodwork, the tall old trees, the obvious care that was taken by the builders who put up these homes with a view to the future. But I worry that in this age of digital clocks, where we see only the moment, of plastic, of constant change for the sake of change, that we may not have enough imagination to see the grace and beauty in these places, and let them deteriorate. And Preservation Worcester can not do it all!

Green Island Grrrl, Rosalie's Blog, Uncategorized

Worcesterites should read this urban renewal story: Nashville on the rise …

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Nice piece in The New York Times. Revitalizing a city is tricky business. Interesting quotes re: TIFs. The journalist and his concerns remind me of me! He’s saying what I’m saying: Let’s really, REALLY take care of the people already here, via great inner-city schools, etc.

– R. Tirella

From The New York Times:

Nashville’s Latest Big Hit Could Be the City Itself

A statue of Elvis Presley between souvenir shops in downtown Nashville. The music industry is, in many ways, the bedrock of the city's economy.

By KIM SEVERSON
Published: January 09, 2013

 

NASHVILLE – Portland knows the feeling. Austin had it once, too. So did Dallas. Even Las Vegas enjoyed a brief moment as the nation’s “it” city.

Now, it’s Nashville’s turn.

Here in a city once embarrassed by its Grand Ole Opry roots, a place that sat on the sidelines while its Southern sisters boomed economically, it is hard to find a resident who does not break into the goofy grin of the newly popular when the subject of Nashville’s status comes up.

Mayor Karl Dean, a Democrat in his second term, is the head cheerleader.

“It’s good to be Nashville right now,” he said during a recent tour of his favorite civic sites, the biggest of which is a publicly financed gamble: a new $623 million downtown convention center complex that is the one of the most expensive public projects in Tennessee history.

The city remains traditionally Southern in its sensibility, but it has taken on the luster of the current. On a Venn diagram, the place where conservative Christians and hipsters overlap would be today’s Nashville.

Flush with young new residents and alive with immigrants, tourists and music, the city made its way to the top of all kinds of lists in 2012.

A Gallup poll ranked it in the top five regions for job growth. A national entrepreneurs’ group called it one of the best places to begin a technology start-up. Critics admire its growing food scene. GQ magazine declared it simply “Nowville.”

And then there is the television show.”Nashville,”a song-filled ABC drama about two warring country divas, had its premiere in October with nine million viewers. It appears to be doing for the city of 610,000 people what the prime-time soap opera”Dallas”did for that Texas city in the ’80s.

“You can’t buy that,” Mr. Dean said. “The city looks great in it.”

Different regions capture the nation’s fancy for different reasons. Sometimes, as with Silicon Valley, innovation and economic engines drive it. Other times, it’s a bold civic event, like the Olympics, or a cultural wave, like the way grunge music elevated Seattle.

Here in a fast-growing metropolitan region with more than 1.6 million people, the ingredients for Nashville’s rise are as much economic as they are cultural and, critics worry, could be as fleeting as its fame.

“People are too smug about how fortunate we are now,” said the Southern journalist John Egerton, 77, who has lived in Nashville since the 1970s. …

To read more, click on the link below:  – R. T.

http://mobile.nytimes.com/article?a=1013968

 

Green Island Grrrl, Rosalie's Blog

Two songs for Worcester City Manager Mike O’Brien

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Sir,

As far as getting all the panhandlers off the streets of Worcester and into programs for substance abuse, etc, click on link below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Wb8VSaeW7A&feature=youtube_gdata_player

*************

Regarding your cold, cold attitude about panhandlers;  inner-city families looking for safe, affordable housing; Worcester’s most vulnerable citizens;  poor people who want to skate on your Ice Oval, click on link below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGxvhAiOt-A

Shame on you!

Rosalie Tirella, strong-mayor supporter