ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, February 21, 1997 TAG: 9702210065
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAN CASEY STAFF WRITER
BY THE END OF a fractious meeting Monday, the finger-pointing had begun and council had agreed to another 90-day cooling off period.
Three months ago, city officials and residents interested in the future of Henry Street agreed to take a 90-day "breather" before beginning a new effort to redevelop the one-time black commercial center.
But Henry Street's future appears as much in limbo today as it did last year, when a broad spectrum of black Roanokers rose up against plans to build an African American-theme entertainment district.
A City Council meeting Monday night did little to dispel that notion.
At the time it disbanded last year, the Henry Street Revival Committee recommended the creation of a new "entity" to prepare a neighborhood plan encouraging minority-owned buildings and business on Henry Street. But the city has made no move toward forming that entity.
On Monday night, Mayor David Bowers - the most recent chairman of the Henry Street Revival Committee - said repeatedly that the city may not need a new "entity" or group to guide the redevelopment process. That comment left Gainsboro residents dumbfounded.
Bowers also disclosed Monday that the city has had discussions with two groups - Rebuilding Black Communities and the NAACP - about future development on Henry Street. That prompted accusations from some Gainsboro residents that the city was trying to cut them out of the Henry Street planning.
By the end of the fractious meeting, the finger-pointing had begun and council had agreed to another 90-day cooling off period.
"It's been swept under the rug again," said the Rev. Edward Mitchell, a member of the Roanoke chapters of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. "The strategy is to keep us in confusion."
"It's the same old thing: 'Oh, you didn't understand. You black people got it all wrong again''' said Helen Davis, a member of the Historic Gainsboro Coalition.
A key gripe, cited over and over since Monday's meeting, has to do with Bowers' announcement of discussions between the city and George Franklin, chief executive of Rebuilding Black Communities. The private, nonprofit organization is spearheading a move with the city and Virginia Tech to survey black Roanokers on what they want to see in Gainsboro.
The survey was news to many blacks, said SCLC spokesman Jeff Artis. It indicates that "some people are more interested in grandstanding than in helping the community," he said.
Meanwhile, RBC President Tony Reed said even he was unaware of some of the elements of the survey proposal. He is calling for an emergency board meeting of group to discuss it.
"What can I say?" Franklin responded Thursday. "I don't agree with them. Henry Street is a part of Roanoke city. And everybody who has an interest has a right and a responsibility, as far as I'm concerned, to pursue his or her interest. My interest is economic development that will impact the black community directly."
Martin Jeffrey, president of the NAACP chapter, also fell under suspicion as a result of comments by Bowers Monday night.
On Thursday, Jeffrey said he had communicated with Bowers only through his secretary because they kept missing each other on the telephone.
"What I said to him through his secretary was that I was researching some resources to help move that project forward. That's all," Jeffrey said. "I was speaking as director of community development [for Total Action Against Poverty]. He took it that I was representing the NAACP, and it's probably my fault that I didn't make that clear."
City Manager Bob Herbert said council and the administration had expected to take public comment during the initial 90-day cooling off period, but that little if any ever materialized.
"Council was looking for input and reaction from the community," Herbert said. "And virtually none was received. Maybe it was not articulated enough.
In any event, Gainsboro has another 90 days to come up with a proposal, a move that Jeffrey called a "great idea."
Franklin, however, fears that if the city moves forward on proposals to develop Warehouse Row without incorporating Henry Street, that area may be passed over once again.
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