THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, March 2, 1995 TAG: 9502280113
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: IN THE NEIGHBORHOODS
SOURCE: MIKE KNEPLER
LENGTH: Medium: 67 lines
City Hall's first citizen-outreach workshop last Saturday was winding down when Horace Downing, the venerable leader of Berkley, took the microphone.
The mini-drama that followed shows what can happen when citizens convene in good faith, leaving stereotypes and hang-ups outside.
Downing, looking into the audience of 200, noted a sight rare in Norfolk: some residents from public housing neighborhoods had joined in a citywide forum.
Norfolk's mass meetings often fail to reflect the full citizenry.
The reasons, and excuses, are many: meeting organizers forget certain populations when making invitation lists; they fail to see opportunities for working together; they don't know whom to contact; they're afraid to try.
The failure can occur anywhere. West Side ignoring East Side, East Side not inviting West Side, either side forgetting public housing residents, and public housing folks deciding it's more comfortable to meet among themselves.
City Hall, and agencies like the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority, also miss many opportunities for bringing together people of diverse backgrounds.
But last Saturday, at Lafayette-Winona Middle School, the spectrum of Norfolk neighborhoods participated. Civic leagues that usually don't work with each other compared notes - and not just Norfolk's. Folks came from Virginia Beach, Suffolk and Portsmouth.
However, the little drama concerning public housing took a couple of interesting turns.
Downing congratulated the public housing folks. He asked them ``to stand up and let people see you.''
The crowd quieted. A few shook their heads against standing; several nervous hands waved in the air; some people stood.
Then, a round of applause filled the room, breaking the tension.
Later, public housing residents explained their reactions. They were pleased with the applause but had hoped to blend in rather than stand out, said Arlene Barber, president of the Diggs Town Tenant Management Corp.
Yet, Barber noted mixed feelings. ``It might hurt us a little bit, but there are times when it's important for other people to know about us, to know that we are caring people, that we care about things going on in our neighborhoods, and we care about things going on in other neighborhoods.
``Sometimes we can't choose the form in which we are recognized.''
Barber plans to continue attending the quarterly citizen workshops. She wants to learn what other neighborhoods and City Hall are doing about common problems, such as junk cars and vandalism.
``We want to know about city codes because one day we're going to be homeowners, too,'' she said. ``We really want to be a part of the city.''
Her neighbor, Mary Cowell, reminded: ``We already are part of the city.''
Required reading. Norfolk failed last year to win a $100 million urban revitalization grant under the federal Empowerment Zone program. That doesn't mean the effort will be unsuccessful.
Norfolk, which got a $3 million grant, continues to promote job links between unemployed inner-city residents and businesses.
A redevelopment publication, ``Breaking Down the Glass Wall: A Proposal for the Norfolk Empowerment Zone,'' states the goal:
``Our vision is to create a community of neighborhoods with vibrant and mutually re-enforcing physical and social characteristics.''
Every civic league should read the plan and consider what roles they might play to help. Copies will be in branch libraries. by CNB