It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all doing direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.
--Charles Dickens, “A Tale of Two Cities”
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These are revolutionary times in New Albany, and accordingly, expectations are rising.
Or are they? As Chris of New Albany Eyesores notes, the time-honored New Albanian status quo of slumlord empowerment can seem utterly impervious to change or reform, especially for those suffering the misfortune of expecting better things for their city while residing in the unplanned and non-gated enclave of Gregoryville:
To hell in a handbasket.
Usually the nature of our block is rather cyclical, we will have a couple years of peace and quiet, then an explosion of nerve racking unending chaos for about 6 months, then the home owners get out the war drums, and go to town demanding that the rental house owners get the tenants to clean their acts up. BUT in the last year, home owners appear to have become the minority in our neighborhood …
… To my knowledge, there is no candidates who have placed rental property inspection and control as a part of their electoral platform, and if New Albany needs anything right now, this is at the top of the list.
Chris is absolutely right, but so was Charles Dickens. There is good news aplenty, existing alongside frightful omens. The downtown property market is heating, and indicators are overwhelmingly positive – verifiable testament to the presence of people who wake up in the morning with the notion that we can, in fact, do.
At the same time, numerous neighborhood residents remain frustrated that fundamental tenets of a civilized society somehow are not viewed as worthy of discussion – much less action – by the majority of officeholders and candidates in this, a critical election year.
Why is that?
In this morning’s Tribune comes a similar critique from an entirely different quarter:
PADGETT: New Albany needs, by guest columnist Jim Padgett (vice president of Padgett Inc. in New Albany).
The past New Albany mayoral administrations have been a great disappointment to this community and the City Council for the most part has not performed any better.
This year we have an opportunity to change that. We must demand more from our elected officials. This city is the most anti-business, anti-progress in this area.
But the slumlord business remains good, doesn’t it? The problem is, it’s regressive, not progressive, in nature, and seemingly the perfect issue upon which to base a campaign, and yet the crickets continue to be heard chirping, those pesky dropping pins create percussive cacophony, and an uneasy mood persists. 800-lb gorillas are like that.
It has been noted elsewhere, and persuasively, that we’ve reached a stage where it is imperative to begin referencing and reinforcing positives. Such efforts are being pursued, and you’ll be reading more about them in the coming weeks.
At the same time, it remains the case that areas of the city remain under siege, and initiatives to boost morale and encourage investment sometimes seem superfluous for those pinned in a trench – or living in the shadow of an unregulated rental property.
Speaking personally, and at this precise moment, there are more reasons to be optimistic about New Albany’s future than at any time in recent memory. But the situation is tenuous in the extreme, and there are precious few guarantees. To read the essays linked above is to immediately grasp the importance of at least a dozen issues in the forthcoming election campaign, and yet how many of the declared candidates are prepared to acknowledge them, preferring the conventional wisdom holding that one cannot be elected on issues?
From Dickens, to Pogo. Voters must demand issue-oriented political campaigns, or assuredly they’ll not be given them. Simplistic declarations along the lines of “I’ll continue to work for you” are pablum, nothing more, and sometimes veer into the territory of patronizing.
Best of times? Worst of times? Yes, both. Perhaps neither.
Which direction are we planning to travel?
3 comments:
Roger,
You do a great job once again putting into words the duality of the city.
I agree whole heartedly that this is indeed a wonderful time here in New Albany, a virtual explosion of new eateries, clubs, shops and venues are popping up seemingly left and right. We can finally decide we want to do something for an afternoon or evening, and not have to leave the city!
My frustration stems from a little bit of resentment on my behalf for the state of affairs on my block, but more so from the saddening conversation from the neighbors across the street, who were just starting their family, and only hope to break even on their home, but none the less for the well being and rest of their infant child pulled up stakes and moved on, leaving their home behind, with the hopes it will sell.
One family being brought to this decision is far to many for our city to have, and it should have never came to that in the first place.
But again Roger, Thank you for your words and insight!
Here I sit, reading all this is and nodding in agreement. When we moved here one year ago, mind you from a place no one locks anything, we had not anticipated just how entrenched the slumlord culture would be. On the one hand, we've been pleasantly surprised at the variety and sophisication of so many neighbors...then on every block we hear about the "hell house" or "ho-island" or just the place the cars come and come and come... I mean, maybe if you've never left NA you think this is normal? Where is Homeland Security when you need them? Can we give the Fed's a call??
I believe the Feds already have been called -- something about a "full investigation" of various current and former administrations. Curiously, the outcome of these investigations seems to have not been reported, although we're reminded from time to time that verdicts will be handed down any minute.
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