As "Trog Sham and the Anonypottymettes" rehearse for the floor show at tomorrow night's city council meeting, NA Confidential considers the contents of a strange letter that arrived at our work address on Saturday.
Postmarked in Louisville, with a printed mailing label -- and with the label and the letter itself using all capital letters (a sign, perhaps?) -- it reads:
DEAR MR. BAYLOR, WE UNDERSTAND THAT YOU WRITE A COMPUTER LETTER OR PAPER. WE HAVE BEEN HEARING ABOUT THE WORK THAT YOU ARE DOING TO HELP CLEAN UP NEW ALBANY AND MAKE IT A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE.
IN THE NEWSPAPER, WE SEE THAT THEY ARE LOOKING AT HOUSES UPTOWN AND IN THE EAST SPRING STREET AREA.
WE LIVE IN THE WEST END AND HAVE TRIED FOR YEARS TO GET HELP TO CLEAN UP THE WEST END. MANY OF US WORK HARD TO KEEP OUR HOUSES AND YARDS CLEAN.
WOULD YOU PLEASE ASK OUR COUNCILMAN DAN COFFEY TO WORK WITH YOU AS YOU AND YOUR GROUP HELP TO CLEAN UP NEW ALBANY.
THE WEST END HAS SO MANY TRASHY PLACES AND NO ONE PAYS ATTENTION.
THANK YOU, AND YOUR GROUP FOR YOUR WORK.
We're flattered, but in all honesty, many people deserve credit for their efforts to make New Albany a better place to live, and of those with whom we're acquainted, none have ever suggested that these efforts be confined to one neighborhood.
It's true that this blog and its primary author support the activities of the East Spring Street Neighborhood Association. However, we strongly believe that each of the city's neighborhoods are deserving of such an entity, and that if this were the case, the power to be derived from all of them working together would be a thing to be reckoned with.
Several questions come to mind.
Why has the West End been neglected?
Has the letter writer been in touch with the ordinance enforcement officer and the Board of Public Works?
Has the neighborhood association concept been tried in the West End?
Is CM Coffey part of the district's problem, or part of the solution? Can he work with anyone?
Discussion, anyone?
3 comments:
Bicycling on W 7th, Main and Corydon Pike today let me see the westendscape up close and personal. IMOP, most of the citizens who live in the "west end" probably do not have much of a say, because of being renters.
If anyone has the stats of what the percentage is of the number of dwellings that are rental property in that area, I as others would like to see them.
Ed, this will surprise you.
Of the inner city urban districts, the West End has the highest percentage of home ownership and the least of rental property (2004 statistics; tract 0707.00):
57.6% owner
6.7% vacant
35.7% rental
Treat these like any statistics offered sans context, but I think there are deeper and more complex demographic truths to be revealed here than home ownership (and even median income).
Suspect #1? The Gang of Four. Is that a defensible charge? Well, let's allow Gang spokesperson Larry Kochert (D-4th) to lay out the rules for sustainable incumbency.
Mr. Kochert believes that enforcement of codes, and apparently of criminal laws, is a councilmanic prerogative. He has stated that every time a parking ticket or other citation is issued in his district, he loses another vote. Ipso facto, Mr. Kochert resists any actual enforcement.
Further, Mr. Kochert insists that he be consulted like a warlord when the city performs any functions in his district, particularly if those are police powers.
It is no stretch to lay responsibility at his feet. After all, what mayor wouldn't find it easier to put resources to work in a district where the council member wants the resources?
Kochert, Schmidt, Coffey, and Price believe that "action" loses them votes. I believe that "inaction" loses them votes. We'll see if enough people agree with me when 2007 rolls around.
p.s. the letter you received is, indeed, strange.
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