Thursday, March 29, 2012

Open Letter to the DOD




































March 28th, 2012

Northside PRIDE of Jamestown Inc. is
Kurt Carlson, Bob Doverspike,
Larry Pace, Don and Ruth Baker,
Ken and Theresa Sohmer,
Stacey and Lisa Huffman,
Glenda Owoc and all of the neighbors and property owners that contribute to our revitalization efforts.

Dear Mr. Centi:

We send this letter with an understanding that CDBG funding has been drastically reduced this year, yet extend an urgent plea that the Department of Development make good use of these limited funds by investing in the Northside Pride Target Area. Over the past five years our organization has made several appeals to the City to amend the infrastructure problems we are plagued with. Though there are a significant number of issues within the target area, we have identified the most critical ones: where broken curbs are resulting in soil runoff, busted, uneven sidewalks are resulting in unsafe thoroughfares for pedestrians (particularly the elderly and disabled), and severe dips and deviations in the road are resulting in unsafe driving/bicycling conditions and the formation of large pools of standing water. Enclosed you will find photographs of the most critical areas with corresponding street addresses.
Since its inception, North side PRIDE has worked hard to improve our neighborhood. We have promoted incentive programs for property investors; we have donated a house to COI and have assumed ownership of a parcel of land that we are developing into a neighborhood park. We have sponsored fundraisers, hold annual educational block parties, and hold annual clean-up activities. Several private organizations (i.e. JRC, CHRIC, COI, and CHN) have recognized these efforts and have made significant investments in our community. To date, we have collectively rehabbed over seven houses. Most recently, twenty of us in the North side Pride neighborhood were recognized as Renaissance Block Designees and were awarded mini stipends to make exterior improvements. It is important to highlight these efforts to let your department know that we care our about our neighborhood and about our great city. Like the private organizations that have rallied around our efforts, we hope that The City and the DOD will follow suit. I will close by referring you to a quote extracted from Jamestown’s Neighborhood Revitalization Plan
In order for Neighborhood Revitalization to truly come to fruition in the City of Jamestown it is absolutely critical that everyone work together toward a common, accepted goal. No one entity can work independently to be truly effective in making positive change to the City’s neighborhoods. The private, public, philanthropic, and not-for-profit sectors must come together to leverage their respective strengths and collective expertise toward creating successful and sustainable change in Jamestown’s neighborhoods. Limited resources of time, energy, and funding need to be carefully and efficiently allocated to gain the desired positive effect. Creating new and sustainable partnerships will also ensure that revitalization will be carried out and sustained over the long term.

Thank You,

Proud Members of Northside PRIDE









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Coming Attractions

Three Acquisitions

In the last blog update we featured properties that are scheduled for demolition-homes that will no longer be a blight on our neighborhood. In this blog update we're going to focus on rehabilitation. Both of the single-family homes that are featured below have been acquired by county agencies (in conjunction with PRIDE) and will undergo extensive rehabilitation in the coming year.

The Lincoln Street Property-already in reasonable condition-has been obtained by Chautauqua Opportunities Inc. This redo will feature a remodeled kitchen and bath plus interior and exterior cosmetic changes. PRIDE is looking forward to its completion, when it will go on the market to be sold to an eligible first-time home buyer.

8th Street Youth Build House (CHRIC)
Currently in progress, CHRIC is doing an amazing job restoring this old Arts and Crafts home.

Grant Street: Restored and SOLD!!! This property required serious rehabilitation. Chautauqua Home Rehabilitation and Improvement Corporation. CHRIC has transformed this home-both inside and out. CHRIC has done extensive renovations to the exterior, which included installing a new roof, beefing up the foundation and installing new, state of the art siding. CHRIC likes to say that they "take the worst house on the block and transform it into the best." Northside PRIDE is very appreciative of this partnership and is happy that this old Dutch-colonial home found a homeowner who is proud to live on the Northside.

Acquisition #2

Acquisition #2
404 Lincoln