THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, April 16, 1996 TAG: 9604160298
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SERIES: DECISION 96
WEEK 1: CITIZENS' AGENDA
SOURCE: BY ALEX MARSHALL, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 119 lines
Do Norfolk's leaders care enough about making their city a good place to live and raise a family?
Has Norfolk, in its efforts to build business from downtown to the ports, lost sight of those things that build a healthy community?
And is the city trying hard enough to let its citizens know what it is planning and why?
Those were the broad questions raised by a dozen Norfolk residents who gathered recently to discuss what was on their minds as they prepare to elect two council members to Superward seats on May 7.
The people were selected at random from a variety of neighborhoods and backgrounds. No public officials were invited.
The concerns that emerged reflected those that The Virginian-Pilot has heard in other round tables and public gatherings in Norfolk over the past year.
Although many of those who turned out said they are proud of Norfolk's accomplishments and its role as the region's central city, they said they fear a slow decline.
Many said they knew a neighbor who had moved off to Virginia Beach or Chesapeake in search of less crime, better schools, prettier streets, and more open government.
And they said they were concerned that Norfolk, which lost 20,000 people in the past five years, would continue to be among the nation's top 10 ``declining'' cities.
Many praised aspects of city policy - the community policing program, a renewed emphasis on code enforcement and even the planned MacArthur Center mall. They said they understood that a center city must keep its skyscrapers, ports and military bases healthy, because these institutions provide both jobs and tax revenues.
But they said there must be a balance.
``I have no problem with doing projects that are going to bring more tourism and more dollars to the city, which I guess will help me to get the services,'' said Rodney Jordan of Park Place. ``But I don't want to wait another 30 years for my streets to get paved.''
In a larger sense, citizens said, the city seems to resist investing in its most basic resource - its own citizens and neighborhoods.
While basic services such as the library system hunger for more money, the city finds millions to invest in Nauticus, a museum aimed, at least initially, at tourists.
Big projects such as MacArthur Center have a place, but mom-and-pop stores and offices actually are the city's foundation, Jordan said.
The city may be creating ``port-a-slums,'' said Fred Herman, a retired architect, by tearing down rather than stabilizing struggling neighborhoods such as Lafayette Shores or East Ocean View.
``The people who are on the lower end of the totem pole get forced somewhere else,'' Herman said.
They then move on to create yet another slum, he said.
``I'm waiting till we get around to Loch Haven. . . ,'' he added. ``We keep thinking in fragments instead of thinking as a whole.''
Residents from across the city said crime is a constant in every neighborhood, from smashed car windows in Freemason, to drug dealing in Huntersville, to prostitution in Ocean View.
``I see young people out on the street, and I mean, I've worked all of my natural born life, and they're walking around with money that I don't think I'll ever make,'' said Kameelah Rashada, who lives in Huntersville. ``There's got to be something done about it.''
The community policing program, though, drew high praise from nearly all interviewed. Cops working closer to neighborhoods means both troublemakers and serious criminals are taken care of more quickly, they said.
Some residents complained that city leaders seemed to lack trust in citizens and did not fully inform them of decisions.
``We have elected officials, we have planners,'' Jordan said. ``Sometimes I get the impression they're afraid to share whatever their vision of the city is.''
Many Norfolk citizens believe neither the city's nor the region's challenges can be handled alone. A light rail line between Virginia Beach and Norfolk was backed by many. The difficulty in building it was cited as an example of the region's fragmentation.
``Look at the flap we had over that light rail line from Norfolk to Virginia Beach,'' Herman said. ``Until you get more regional cooperation going, that problem is going to be with us.''
Several people said that the region must learn that it will rise and fall together.
``As you begin to see this region as a whole, you won't think of Beach schools vs. Norfolk schools, the Marine Science Museum against Nauticus,'' said Ken Wills, a lawyer who lives in Ghent and a proponent of a regional government. ``Those will sort of evaporate in time.''
Despite the challenges facing the region, the city and its neighborhoods, many who shared their concerns about Norfolk's future were hopeful that all would prosper in the long run.
``We're all looking for the same thing,''said Joan Anderson of Broad Creek, ``a little peace of mind, a little contentment, a little safety, a few dollars. ``That's all it boils down to. And getting along with my neighbors - not just next door, but across town. Downtown. Uptown.'' MEMO: ELECTION COVERAGE WHAT'S COMING UP
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BEACH GOP TO HAVE FIRST-EVER CAUCUS TONIGHT/B1
ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT file
A dozen residents said they know Norfolk must keep up its
skyscrapers and ports, because they provide jobs and revenue. But
still -
KEYWORDS: COMMUNITY CONVERSATION PUBLIC JOURNALISM by CNB