Last week, after an unusually lengthy but interesting hearing, local developer Bill Cromley received approval from the Parker-Gray Board of Architectural Review to demolish the building at 224 N. Fayette Street which was formerly the home of a black-only American Legion post.
Readers may remember that the building was sold at foreclosure in the spring of 2008 to real estate investor Nathan Carter's nephew Christopher. In turn, the younger Mr. Carter sold the structure to Mr. Cromley earlier this year.
The Board, which voted 5-2 to approve the demolition, felt it was a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" decision since both sides suggested they might ultimately appeal the resulting decision to City Council.
But the Board did the right thing. After hearing testimony about whether there was historic or architectural significance to the building, as well as information about its troubled association with alcohol-fueled crimes (including murder) in the 1980s and 1990s, the Board concluded that any attempt to adaptively reuse and rehabilitate the poorly-maintained building would mostly destroy any remaining historic fabric.
The Board also accepted Mr. Cromley's reasoning that the structure, which was a temporary building thrown up hastily as an African-American day care facility during World War II, was too small and uneconomical to repurpose and that another example of a World War II child care kit building from the same period is still in place elsewhere in the City.
The Board also took careful note that the City — which sold the building to the Legion in the 1950s — repeatedly declined to exercise its first right of refusal to buy back the building. Just a few months ago the City again bowed out, rejecting Mr. Cromley's offer to pay to move the structure to the Hunter-Miller basketball court.
A couple of observations about the hearing.
First, some who testified against demolition complained that this process was moving too fast and that funding should be sought to save the building.
But these speakers, which included older individuals long absent from the neighborhood, may not have realized that it was an open neighborhood secret for many years that William Thomas Post 129 was in dire financial straits, the result of poor management and declining membership in what was essentially a segregated club. Everyone knew that sooner or later it would come to this.
A group of black investors, including Legion members, had hoped to rescue the building several years ago and had bought up the mortgage note. But even their charitable forebearance was strained when no payments were forthcoming. They presumably didn't have the resources for a complete rehabilitation of the building, and were forced into a reluctant foreclosure in 2008. That's when the Carters stepped in. But they too no longer had the necessary deep pockets for renovation and eventually sold out to Mr. Cromley. The Legion itself moved to Nathan Carter's building on Mt. Vernon Avenue.
The possibility of any other Alexandria group now coming up with $1.1 million — the current assessed value of the property — to buy out Mr. Cromley seems remote. Certainly the City is no shape to find capital, renovation and operating funds to add another building to its roster of historic properties, which themselves are suffering from deferred maintenance.
Speaking of assessments, it's interesting that the City tax assessors dropped the value of the building to only $1,000 in 2008 once the property was sold to Mr. Carter. Nearly all of the $1.1 million assessed value is derived from the value of the land. So at least some City bureaucrats judged it was a tear-down, even as Planning & Zoning staff were furiously trying to rally the community to save it.
The testimony that made the Growler's furry ears perk up was the admission of Black History Museum director Louis Hicks that he and his staff knew nothing about the history of the building until Mr. Cromley conducted his research.
That's remarkable. Mr. Hicks stated at the BAR hearing that "Our museum exists here in the city as a means of preserving black history for the city." Yet the museum has no research or information about the American Legion, which a few speakers argued was an important African-American institution? Mr. Hicks says the museum is "playing catch-up," but over the last twenty years the City has poured millions of dollars into the Black History Museum.
Is it time to ask if this Museum is really functioning professionally as it should? Or is it nothing more than a home for the mostly departed Parker-Gray alumni association and a stopping place for other institutions' traveling exhibits?
We might also ask why the Museum director is defending a building for which many current residents have bad memories, instead of working to honor the most distinguished members of the community — people like Samuel Tucker, who organized the 1939 Barrett Library sit-down strike. His house on Princess Street has never been singled out for recognition.
Clearly, some elderly members of the African-American community who testified last Wednesday feel a yearning for the past and pain that the neighborhood has changed so dramatically. But claims that there are no traces that they ever lived here are overstated. Institutions and churches like Ebenezer Baptist remain as monuments to the indomitable faith of the historic community.
Remarkably, much of the pain expressed at the hearing referred less to the Legion (which many respectable people shunned in later years) and more to the City's demolition of the old Parker-Gray schools years ago, which came up repeatedly.
Yet it is the Madison developer, Trammell Crow, not the City and the Black History Museum, who offered to pay for a Virginia Highway Marker to designate the site of the former high school and who hired local historian Sarah Becker to research and process the state application.
And it is Ms. Becker who — using the same local resources available to Mr. Hicks and his staff — finally dated (1933) the connection between Charles Houston and the Parker-Gray Schools. Without that connection to the eminent civil rights attorney in Brown v. Board of Education, the Virginia Department of Historic Resources would not otherwise approve a Highway Marker for a vanished school, no matter how great the nostalgia.
Much can still be done to honor the past in our neighborhood. But it's time to take a hard look at the outputs of the Black History Museum. And it's time to let go of the Legion. Preserving it doesn't make economic or historic sense.
76 comments:
"We might also ask why the Museum director is defending a building for which many current residents have bad memories, instead of working to honor the most distinguished members of the community — people like Samuel Tucker, who organized the 1939 Barrett Library sit-down strike. His house on Princess Street has never been singled out for recognition."
AMEN, Growler!
The museum follows the cues of our fair City - particularly P&Z - which in all its incompetence has yet to get Parker Gray a National Historic Designation.
That Tucker's Princess Street address is not recognized comes as no surprise, given the City's continued segregation under a thin veneer of its concentrated public housing policy.
"That Tucker's Princess Street address is not recognized comes as no surprise, given the City's continued segregation under a thin veneer of its concentrated public housing policy."
And yet the apologists get on here and cite "Racist Dribble"?
Apparently they have been reduced to raw emotion as their facts are all gone.
what are the plans for the site? Does anyone know?
Thanks.
We agree with the woman who in testimony asked Mr. Walker given the city's reluctance to acquire the Apothecary Museum who in the city is going to fund and interpret this uh! historic piece of real estate? Becker's work is good including her mastery of the Apothcary Museum. We volunteered for her. She's served on national steering committees for the AAM but no one is going to work as hard as she did for a property like this. Boyd how do you plan to raise the money to renovate and maintain this structure? Will the renovations be equal to or better than your ice house? While my husband and I may not agree with Cromley's design we haven't seen it yet we do agree with demolition especially since a similar property remains standing in Del Ray. Let them cope with the Legion for a while. We're glad the property has changed hands.
Again, another well written article by the growler showing eactly what problems this community faces on a daily basis.
The leadership and knowledge of our past must guide us in our future endevours so we do not repeat mistakes in moving forward.
"We're glad the property has changed hands."
Amen! Don't the city's BAR guidelines include not only analysis of architectural history but also social history? If the Legion post was established post WWII why did it never integrate? Truman integrated the military in the late 1940s so why does the Black History Museum whose mission is primarily civil rights history promote the backward looking viewpoint of a segregated post? Anybody remember Major Flood's attempt to join in the 1990s?
Growler, I know its not the topic of this thread, but I thought you would get a kick out of this Washington Post article - heres Part 1
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/27/AR2009072701914.html?sub=AR
Atlanta close to tearing down last housing project
By DIONNE WALKER
The Associated Press
Monday, July 27, 2009 5:12 PM
ATLANTA -- The nation's bulldozer attack on crime and poverty will soon make Atlanta - home of the first public housing development - the first major city to eliminate all of its large housing projects.
Cities from Boston to Los Angeles are following its lead. For more than 15 years, housing officials across the country have been razing the projects where some 1.2 million families live and replacing them with a mix of higher-rent and subsidized apartments and homes.
Alexandria, La., has taken down at least 247 units. Buffalo, N.Y., has demolished about 1,000 aging homes. Atlanta expects to finish tearing down the last of its sprawling projects next June.
Advocates for the poor worry that not enough subsidized homes remain, and thousands of families are being dumped on the street. Less than half of the 92,000 units demolished by cities have been replaced with traditional public housing.
Most of the displaced residents have received vouchers to put them in privately owned housing. The Department of Housing and Urban Development acknowledges, however, that it doesn't know what happened to thousands of families.
Some longtime residents feel like afterthoughts in an ambitious overhaul that is supposed to help them.
"I don't think it's fair," said Jeff Walker, who was forced out May 30 from Atlanta's Bankhead Courts project.
Even though drug violence there was once so brazen that mail carriers had police escorts, he said: "We didn't ask to be moved."
And Part 2 of the same Post article:
The housing projects in Atlanta date back to 1936, when the nation's first public housing community, Techwood Homes, was built here. President Franklin D. Roosevelt heralded it as "a tribute to useful work under government supervision" and the first step in building a safety net for the working poor during the Depression.
Decades of cultural and policy shifts transformed that safety net into a permanent home for generations of families surrounded by disproportionately high crime. When a 1992 report deemed roughly 86,000 public housing units "severely distressed," federal officials knew it was time for sweeping action, according to former HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros.
"There was no kind of forward-looking plan, and no commitment to dramatic change," said Cisneros, who in the early '90s helped craft what is known as the Hope VI program.
Hope VI would eventually provide $6.2 billion in federal grants for demolition, revitalization and planning. It also reversed long-standing HUD policy by letting housing authorities replace demolished units with Section 8 vouchers - coupons low-income families can use to cover rent with private landlords off site.
That meant the nation's more than 3,300 housing authorities could tear down blighted public housing and rebuild smaller, more easily managed neighborhoods while the vouchers would prevent anyone from being left homeless.
At least in theory.
In 1996, toward the end of Atlanta's makeover as host of the Olympics, the city pioneered the creation of mixed-income developments - former public housing communities demolished and rebuilt to include market-rate houses and apartments alongside a whittled-down number of public housing units. Mixing higher-income families with lower-income ones spurs the latter into self-improvement, housing officials say, while deconcentrating poverty.
"Something dramatic needed to occur," said Atlanta Housing Authority CEO Renee Glover, who took over in the '90s, when Atlanta had a higher percentage of its population living in public housing projects than any other U.S. city.
She's used some $220 million in Hope VI and other development funds to help transform 14 developments in one of the nation's most ambitious public housing revampings.
Successes include the Villages of East Lake, a community of tidy duplexes and flower-lined porches built on the ruins of a public housing complex so violent that locals called it "Little Vietnam."
And Part 3 of the Post Article:
But such transformations are not to be enjoyed by everyone. The number of units in the complex was cut in half, and a 2007 Georgia Institute of Technology study found that just one-third of the original residents managed to resettle into the new mixed-income community.
Nationwide, HUD estimates Hope VI will eventually demolish 95,998 public housing units. A little more than half of those will be replaced with traditional public housing. HUD is also building more than 50,000 other units in mixed-income communities, which will range from semi-subsidized apartments with higher income requirements to market-rate houses.
So far, 17,911 displaced families have returned to revitalized communities. HUD expects a total of 22,510 families to return, a fraction of those displaced.
HUD records show the whereabouts of 12,595 families, many of whom faced eviction for lease violations, are unclear.
"We don't know whether or not those people who have been displaced are getting Section 8 vouchers to go someplace else, and whether someplace else is available," said Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif. Originally a supporter of public housing reform, she's come to question the program that's demolished thousands of units in Los Angeles and San Diego.
Waters has requested a demolition moratorium and 20,000 additional Section 8 vouchers to support displaced families, an option that comes with its own problems. Critics have long attacked Section 8 as a poorly run program that supports landlords for providing barely inhabitable housing.
Atlanta's leaders have set up safeguards to ease the transition, including incentives to encourage more private renters to accept Section 8 vouchers and counseling for families facing sudden change.
Glover believes pushing chronic public housing residents out is the only answer to breaking the cycle of poverty, and she's led many of the nation's housing authority leaders to the same conclusion.
Huntsville, Ala., Housing Authority CEO Michael Lundy has experienced it personally. As a child, Lundy lived in public housing until his family saved enough money to move out. Soon, his neighbors were teachers, musicians and entrepreneurs.
Lundy said he began considering college after he "all of a sudden realized that you know what, I can do all of those things."
His agency is looking to replace some of its 1,700 public housing units with mixed-income developments, and promoting self-sufficiency.
"Public housing should just be a temporary place to stay," Lundy said. "Not a way of life."
I am unclear as to where all these defenders of the Legion building come from.
What the angle here?
Where are these same defenders when it comes to improving economic opportunities around the housing projects, analyzing our failed public and affordable housing policies, and highlighting the problems in the educational achievement for minorities at GW and JH?
Instead we get to concentrate on preserving a building that has no existing use right now.
"I am unclear as to where all these defenders of the Legion building come from."
Obviously it is city staff hustling others all of whom speak absent the real facts.
Tucker left Alexandria and moved to Emporia, VA, where a statue was erected after his death... but his accomplishments as a noted civil rights attorney are barely acknowledged here where he was born and where he did so much to further de-segregation.
As the Growler points out, there seems to be two types of black history. It's painfully obvious what some "preservationists" wish to remember, and what they wish to bury.
Wow, from that article it looks like Alexandria,LA does a better job managing public housing than Alexandria,VA.
Excepts from an alexandrianews.org article entitled The Mayor and (School Board) Chair at Home. The Mayor obviously doesn't get the message.
(Thursday) July 30, 2009
By Carla Branch and Rebecca Newsham
alexandrianews.org
Last week, Alexandria Mayor Bill Euille and School Board Chair Yvonne Folkerts invited alexandrianews.org into their homes to reflect on the past year and look ahead to what’s on the horizon in the year to come.
The Mayor
In May, Euille was elected to a third term as Alexandria’s mayor. He was unopposed. He is very proud of the many accomplishments of the last Council.
“We accomplished more than any Council I remember serving on,” Euille said.
On affordable housing: “Our new fire station at Potomac Yard will have 64 affordable/workforce housing units above it, which is an innovative use of space,” Euille said. “Also, we approved plans to redevelop Glebe Park, one of our public housing complexes, which had fallen into disrepair and to transform the James Bland public housing project into a mix of market rate and public housing much like we did so successfully with Chatham Square.
“We passed the Braddock Road Small Area Plan and the Braddock East plan and look forward to a time when that entire area can be redeveloped. Some people would like to see us do even more in developing affordable housing but that requires funding that is going to be limited. We are committed to maintaining affordable housing in Alexandria and we will continue to do what we can,” Euille said.
On crime: “I know there are concerns about a perception that there is a disproportionate amount of violent crime in the Inner City neighborhood and I have met with residents and with members of the Police Department to discuss steps that can be taken to address these concerns. One murder is too many and we are going to be increasing police visibility there and in other neighborhoods to deal with violent crime and nuisance criminal activity. Violent crime continues to decrease but we must also address the nuisance activity. We can’t have police on every corner but we can see that they are visible and respond to complaints,” Euille said.
Transportation planning for the entire City will be high on the agenda of the Council this year. “The work group looking into the feasibility of a Metro station at Potomac Yard is moving forward. It is important that we identify a site for such a station before the Yard is developed. We may not have the funding for several years but, if we plan for it now, we can plan the development around that possibility,” Euille said.
And, of course, there is bus rapid transit, “or a street car in the Route 1 corridor. We are still considering our options but are committed to providing public transportation of some type along Route 1 and even on Duke Street,” Euille said. “We want to address our transportation issues in a multi-modal manner that includes transit, pedestrian thoroughfares and bicycle paths.”
The Chair
Folkerts was elected to a second term on the Alexandria School Board in May and to her second year as Board Chair in July. She looked back at a turbulent three years with satisfaction.
“The first two years were very difficult but we hired a new superintendent who has already begun to make positive changes and move the school system forward,” Folkerts said.
The Board made significant changes at Jefferson-Houston Elementary School as well. “I am very excited that we are implementing the K-8 model and the Primary Years Program at Jefferson-Houston. We will start with a sixth grade there this year and fully implement the K-8 model in three years. The staff and the community are very supportive of the new program and we are very optimistic that it will make a huge difference at the school,” Folkerts said.
]
Mr. Miller,
Put on your glasses and take out your map. Now tell me what you see.
ROBBERY26 Jul 2009
300 BLOCK N FAIRFAX ST
Tancil/Hopkins
Distance: 0.66 miles
Identifier: 109133275-1
Time: 0338
Robbery
Pending
Suspect punched victim in face. When victim went down suspect stole wallet out of pocket. Description: black male, no further.
ASSAULT 25 Jul 2009
300 BLOCK ORONOCO ST
Tancil/Hopkins
Distance: 0.79 miles
Identifier: 109133053-1
Time: 0130
Assault Offenses
Arrest
Assault occurred between two or more people who had a prior relationship or were known to each other.
ASSAULT25 Jul 2009
1200 BLOCK WYTHE ST
ADKINS
Distance: 0.87 miles
Identifier: 109133199-1
Time: 2005
Assault Offenses
Open
Fight between 2 known suspect. Investigation continues.
ASSAULT W/ DEADLY WEAPON25 Jul 2009
1200 BLOCK MADISON ST
ADKINS
Distance: 0.94 miles
Identifier: 109133231-1
Time: 2158
Assault Offenses
Open
Fight between 2 known suspects. 1 stabbed the other. Investigation continues.
Still want to tell us stuff like this is happening in every neighborhood of the city? Keep trying to ignore facts, but it doesn't work this day in age.
Ms. Canady
We note your July 30 letter to the editor, Guilt by Association, with contempt. See Alexandria Gazette Packet 7/30/09 p8. The American Legion building should be demolished! You fear its demolition because without such testimonials you, a Rosemont protectionist, cannot justify your want to contain public housing maybe introduce bus rapid transit in the route 1 corridor. Rosemont is a historic district with register status yet it has experienced a net loss of historic properties has it not? Careful my dear.
LAC
Alexandria NIMBYISM in a nutshell, from the Gazette Packet:
"But most of the preservation advocates seeking to save the building don’t live in the Parker Gray District, and even the most ardent supporters say collecting the signatures before the deadline could prove to be a challenge. So far, the effort has gained 12 signatures. The deadline for submitting an application for appeal is Aug. 5."
So our public housing system is an embarrassment and a joke and the minority educational achievement gap is getting "less worse" and the focus of some is on this building?
Do some people in Alexandria not get what is happening here? You are condemning a whole group of people to a life as a permanent underclass and would rather argue about a fricken building.
Low-income African Americans grow up in a toxic environment simply to preserve an outdated resolution but when it comes to an outdated building Boyd Walker is on the case.
I am sick and tired of these hypocrites making themselves look like complete fools.
Maybe I should up at the Mayors house with the bags of trash I have from cleaning up housing projects he supports and ask him about the recent Post article which again confirms everyone and their mother is moving to vouchers.
"“We passed the Braddock Road Small Area Plan and the Braddock East plan and look forward to a time when that entire area can be redeveloped."
Thats probably going to be the same time that the Nasdaq hits 5000 again.
Here goes Katy spouting off:
To the Editor:
We’ve all heard about guilt by association. It is considered to be a bad practice. Now some Parker Gray residents appear to believe in guilt by association for buildings. The Gazette article on the possible demolition of the African American Legion Hall on Fayette Street relates that some neighbors don’t care to have the building preserved. Their reason is that the immediate area has been the scene of criminal activity in the past. Buildings don’t commit crimes; people do.
The neighborhood residents with no wish to preserve this historic building are the same residents who campaigned hard to have the Parker Gray neighborhood declared a National Register District. The Legion Hall is a "contributing structure" for the historic district. In other words it’s emblematic of the neighborhood’s history as an African American community. Tear down enough of the contributing structures in a National Register District and that district can be removed from the register. People who want to live in an historic neighborhood must tolerate some historic buildings in their midst.
Katy Cannady
Alexandria
"People who want to live in an historic neighborhood must tolerate some historic buildings in their midst."
HEY KATY, people that want to be considered compassionate must tolerate some public housing units and social services in their midst too.
"The staff and the community are very supportive of the new program and we are very optimistic that it will make a huge difference at the school,” Folkerts said."
Not us, like the American Legion we say tear the school down.
""The staff and the community are very supportive of the new program and we are very optimistic that it will make a huge difference at the school,” Folkerts said.""
The question is will Folkerts optimism make people want to send their children to JH.
Hope is not a strategy.
Supposedly, there is some asbestos in the walls of the American legion building so that would have to be dealt with too. There is some talk of rehabbing it for housing homeless veterans. In reality, I don't think the advocates can come up with the money for that. I read the city budget proposal earlier this past spring was I was amazed at how much money was set aside for the Black History Museum. I don't know Boyd Walker or the buyer or any of the players here and I don't even live in Parker Gray. My observations are about the city as a whole.
Where was Ms. Canady and the staff of P&Z when the application to demolish Bland was being considered? The "historic importance" of the American Legion is no different from that of Bland, yet they supported the demolition of Bland (and its hideous, hulking replacement) without blinking. Hypocritical.
Cannady has little to no clue what she is talking about. She is just trying to act compassionate to hide NIMBYISM.
The comments of Boyd Walker made me see red. Who is he to tell us that the legion should remain.
Limousine liberal, See photo of Boyd Walker.
I agree with the previous poster, where was he during the BMSAP? I can't even write my feelings because if I do, they wouldn't be appropriate for readers.
"And now many in the community are basing their support for the demolition on the fact that this building is a little rough around the edges, and recently had a rough history, and that the city passed up the chance to purchase it under a former city manager. We should not let past misfortunes determine the future. Otherwise, we are neglecting is a chance to preserve a piece of history, that is part of the African American History of Alexandria."
This goes to show your ignorance. Rough around the edges? How about a dilapidated wreck. Recently had a rough history? And you know this how? This place was used for people to loiter and drink alcohol on the front stoops in cups. Fights broke out their every time a "Go-Go" or teen dance was held their.
Even in the 21 century, the legion was segregated and refused to allow whites people to join. Is that what you want to save Boyd? A racist building which denied member of the community acceptance based on the color of their skin?
Why did you not mention in the article that Cromley offered the building to the City? Free, as a gift. Even they didn't want it. Doesn't that show that if it was a historical piece of property, the City would have found ways to keep it?
Sorry man, but your out of line here. I was elated when I found out Mr. Cromley was the new owner. His work in this neighborhood is beautiful and he is willing to fight against the City to keep improving the neighborhood. As long as he doesn't mess with the parking in the neighborhood (again) I will stand by his plans even if the building is larger than the Monarch (ok, maybe I'm going overboard).
This is a huge win for Parker-Gray and can really make a difference in the Queen and Fayette area.
Mr. Walker stay in Del Ray and stop sticking your nose in issues that aren't in your backyard!
Cromley has the ability to bring some positive change to this neighborhood's appearance once again. After all the beating up he took on the Loft's, I am happy the man has not given up on this area on the neighborhood.
Boyd Walker is on the prowl in Parker Gray this afternoon, trying to get signatures on his petition. Just say no.
again, I ask, where was boyd walker when the application to demolish bland was being considered???
What happened in that park and basketball court on Rt 1 across from the McDonald's? When I went by on the way to work this morning it looked like a riot had taken place there. There were chairs and trash everywhere, but not a single person. A little eerie.
"What happened in that park and basketball court on Rt 1 across from the McDonald's? When I went by on the way to work this morning it looked like a riot had taken place there."
There was a basketball tournament this past weekend.
Also, I think the word "riot" is a poor choice of words.
I also saw all the debris this morning and I don't think describing the aftermath of the tournament as appearing to be the result of the riot is a poor choice of words. I am happy to report that this evening everything has been cleaned up.
Perhaps the person who objected to the description of all the trash and chairs as appearing to be the aftermath of a riot should post a guideline of acceptable terms, descriptions and phrases that can be used?
"I also saw all the debris this morning and I don't think describing the aftermath of the tournament as appearing to be the result of the riot is a poor choice of words."
I saw it too. 'Riot' is overly inflammatory. But the debris was unacceptable and shouldn't have been allowed, riotous or not.
I also saw City crews out there doing the clean-up. Appreciated, but should have been unnecessary. Organizers of these events should be held accountable.
"Perhaps the person who objected to the description of all the trash and chairs as appearing to be the aftermath of a riot should post a guideline of acceptable terms, descriptions and phrases that can be used?"
Couldn't have said it better. Your perception of your reality goes to show that everything you see looks too you as a negative thing or trouble. If you would have seen 10 cop cars with lights on and people running and screaming away from the park, I wouldn't have had a problem with your comment. But your brief observation should not have suggested that something violent or bad had taken place.
Most of the time when we see something walk like a duck, quack like a duck, we need to be able to say it;s a duck. This is not one of those times.
"'I am unclear as to where all these defenders of the Legion building come from.'
Obviously it is city staff hustling others all of whom speak absent the real facts."
EXACTLY!
Never in a million years did I think I'd support a developer but then, I always thought government was about serving us taxpayers, too. Then I moved to Parker Gray and learned our Council and City staff believe otherwise.
How sad, that a local government so deliberately wages war on its own citizens.
Wake up, Dems, your days are numbered - and already two of you are off the dias.
From today's alexandrianews.org Gag me with a spoon!
Mayor Bill Euille drove home from his vacation in Annapolis to attend Sherman’s breakfast meeting. “I thought it was important for me to be here,” Euille said. “As a life-long resident of Alexandria and a product of the Alexandria City Public School system, a member of the School Board for ten years from 1974 to 1984, and now, as mayor, I am committed to making our schools the best schools in the country.
“Our schools are not broken but they have some cracks and we are here today to help the superintendent and the School Board repair those cracks. I see judges, former members of City Council, former School Board members and other leaders in our community. It is a challenge to maintain our African-American heritage in Alexandria and I am taking steps to do that. Whether it is planning an annual Parker-Gray basketball tournament or working with the Parker-Gray alumni to keep that heritage alive, it is clearly up to all of us here to work together to improve student achievement,” Euille said.
Why with the US Post Office in such dire financial straits news blurbs regarding USPS cost cutting measure do we hear nothing of the city or ICCA regarding the proposed Fayette Street park. All know the Braddock Plan is mostly a sham but now would be the perfect time for the city to put a city/USPS proposal together.
"...Samuel Tucker, who organized the 1939 Barrett Library sit-down strike. His house on Princess Street has never been singled out for recognition."
Boyd Walker, Katy Canady, so-called "preservationists" - what are you doing NOW to about this omission? Do you even know who he is?
"...Samuel Tucker, who organized the 1939 Barrett Library sit-down strike. His house on Princess Street has never been singled out for recognition."
"It is a challenge to maintain our African-American heritage in Alexandria and I am taking steps to do that."
So what is the mayor doing to preserve Tucker's memory? When was Alexandria's most recent celebration of Samuel Tucker?
Sticking a school named after him in the shadow of an asphalt plant, an incinerator, and ethanol "bombs"?
Samuel Tucker Enrollment (as of 9/2008): 657 students
African American: 43%
Asian/Pacific Islander and American Indian: 9%
Hispanic: 22%
White: 17%
Unspecified: 10%
"I am taking steps to do that. Whether it is planning an annual Parker-Gray basketball tournament or working with the Parker-Gray alumni to keep that heritage alive, it is clearly up to all of us here to work together to improve student achievement,” Euille said."
Sure you are. Keeping African Americans housed in an environment where the cops are every night is a great way to promote student achievement.
Educators in this town dont seem to tie the citys housing policies to its education policy. no wonder they cant do much to fix the minority achievement rates. If educators actually saw the environments their kids went home to, they would understand how difficult it is to promote academic achievement.
"“Our schools are not broken but they have some cracks and we are here today to help the superintendent and the School Board repair those cracks. I see judges, former members of City Council, former School Board members and other leaders in our community. It is a challenge to maintain our African-American heritage in Alexandria and I am taking steps to do that. Whether it is planning an annual Parker-Gray basketball tournament or working with the Parker-Gray alumni to keep that heritage alive, it is clearly up to all of us here to work together to improve student achievement,” Euille said.
"
What does a basketball tournament or working with laumni have to do with educational achievement?
The Mayor has a PO Box at the post office. Does he not see what causes academic achievement in this City to be so poor for minorities?
Its not coincidence that GW and JH are two schools with the worst achievement problems.
"All know the Braddock Plan is mostly a sham but now would be the perfect time for the city to put a city/USPS proposal together."
Good catch! What is the status of the Post Office Park proposal?
Not one of these leaders mentioned public housing policy in Alexandria and its overconcentration in Parker Gray.
Not one.
Some leadership there.
Why are Cannady and Walker worried about the American Legion building and seem not to care about African American academic achievement?
Does saving the Legion building give better hope and chance to those kids stuck in the squalor at Adkins?
"If educators actually saw the environments their kids went home to, they would understand how difficult it is to promote academic achievement."
Could not agree more. There is no one in the City courageous enough to tie the public housing issue to the issues of education, primarily because they dont seem to get the environment many of these children grow up in.
"Why are Cannady and Walker worried about the American Legion building and seem not to care about African American academic achievement?"
Please they are elitists who use history to contain public housing here. And by speaking out now they are accummulate political IOUs. Alexandria's white only public housing was integrated years ago. One former location is now a city-owned park site. But the black public housing units?
"What does a basketball tournament or working with laumni have to do with educational achievement?"
He's like the Good Humor man handing out ice cream to kids. All smiles! As Parker Gray's school history is told the black problem is one of school segregation. So where was the Mayor when the 1999 school redistricting plan passed a plan that effectively resegregated Jefferson Houston. He was probably eating chocolate chip ice cream.
"I am unclear as to where all these defenders of the Legion building come from.
Obviously it is city staff hustling others all of whom speak absent the real facts."
At what point do the words black racism have meaning?
Am I missing something here? How is calling for the preservation of a (debatably) "historical" structure "us[ing] history to contain public housing [in Parker Gray]." I have definitely seen City Staff and a city commission try to do that, and have discussed such with the Growler. But if anything, I would think that the preservation of a "historic" structure which could be used for community uses would actually help the area. But again, I may be missing something.
"'Why are Cannady and Walker worried about the American Legion building and seem not to care about African American academic achievement?'"
"Please they are elitists who use history to contain public housing here. And by speaking out now they are accummulate political IOUs."
Wow - I about to post exactly the same sentiment.
"It is a challenge to maintain our African-American heritage in Alexandria and I am taking steps to do that. "
Translation "I am working as hard as I can to make life miserable for the 'gentrifiers' in Parker-Gray so they will move out"
"Translation "I am working as hard as I can to make life miserable for the 'gentrifiers' in Parker-Gray so they will move out"
It seems Random House has created a new word especially for our planning diva's use. But she missed the key word, improve.
gentrifier
- 2 dictionary results
Pronunciation [jen-truh-fahy] Show IPA verb, -fied, -fy⋅ing.
Use gentrifier in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to improve (a neighborhood) by gentrification.
–verb (used without object)
2. to undergo gentrification: Some neighborhoods gentrify more easily than others.
Origin:
1970–75; gentry + -fy
Related forms:
gen⋅tri⋅fi⋅er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
"It is a challenge to maintain our African-American heritage in Alexandria ..."
What is the nature of the heritage that City officials want to maintain? Their actions seek to preserve violence, ignorance, and squalor. Where do they honor the heroic leaders of the fight to de-segregate, such as Ferdinand Day? Is T.C. Williams one of those heroes?
"But if anything, I would think that the preservation of a "historic" structure which could be used for community uses would actually help the area. "
None of the advocates for preservation claim to have any idea what they would do with the building. They just claim it should be preserved so people can "tour" it.
Whatever that means is completely beyond me. Sounds elitist though.
The community gets nothing out of it. The City knows what the community wants and doesnt care.
"Translation "I am working as hard as I can to make life miserable for the 'gentrifiers' in Parker-Gray so they will move out"
You forgot to add:
"But oh by the way dont forget to drop your tax check in the mail and call the police hotline the next time you see a drug deal"
"What is the nature of the heritage that City officials want to maintain? Their actions seek to preserve violence, ignorance, and squalor. Where do they honor the heroic leaders of the fight to de-segregate, such as Ferdinand Day? Is T.C. Williams one of those heroes?"
This isnt about honoring black leaders, which sadly, it seems more white people support than black people.
Its about maintaining a quota system of public housing. Thats it. Nothing more, nothing less.
Its why Atlanta moves to Section 8 and we are stuck in the 60's. Leadership would rather maintain a quote at any cost, socially or economically.
"1. to improve (a neighborhood) by gentrification.
–verb (used without object)"
The problem is that some in this City (and some who dont even live here but used to) dont see it as improvement to move in, fix up homes, pay taxes, open businesses, and get crime off the streets.
This is not a "good" thing in Alexandria, again, according to certain folks.
And if you want to know who they are, just turn on channel 1 the next time Council discusses a racially charged topic like public housing or social services.
---Translation "I am working as hard as I can to make life miserable for the 'gentrifiers' in Parker-Gray so they will move out"
Community response: ITS WORKING!
"I would think that the preservation of a "historic" structure which could be used for community uses would actually help the area. But again, I may be missing something."
In the past, this structure was a source for community abuse. Future "community uses" are not on the table because the city allowed the structure to go into private ownership, and even refused to accept the building when the new owner offered to donate it to the city for placement on public property. It is a decaying eyesore that should be torn down so that the property can be put to a better use (consistent with current land use regulations for Parker Gray) that will generate more taxes for the City.
OK -- I guess I have it. Various parties make it difficult for you to improve the neighborhood, therefore preventing property value increases. As a result, public housing remains concentrated in Parker Gray, because it is most economically viable to keep the housing there.
"I would think that the preservation of a "historic" structure which could be used for community uses would actually help the area. But again, I may be missing something."
I have heard only one concrete idea from people who wish to preserve the building: make it a shelter for homeless vets.
Even with that idea I haven't heard these preservationists offer a plan on how to make that happen. That's my issue - proponents of saving the building are not offering a solution to the problem.
Problem = building and property in disrepair.
Solution = "We dunno"
I don't buy the "this is happening so fast" argument. This has been YEARS in the making. Where have they been until now?
"As a result, public housing remains concentrated in Parker Gray, because it is most economically viable to keep the housing there."
You've provided two assertions without support: (1)concentration is most economically viable; and (2)that it belongs in Parker Gray.
What makes you think economics drives the City's lack of action?
"I have heard only one concrete idea from people who wish to preserve the building: make it a shelter for homeless vets. "
Which is why people in PG think Boyd and Katy are a joke. Why arent Boyd and Katy pushing for a homeless shelter for vets in Delray or Rosemont?
Nope, has to be in PG.
Dont these clowns get it? People are sick and tired of PG being the social services capital of Northern Virginia.
"I don't buy the "this is happening so fast" argument."
Its the same tired argument they use with public housing. Tell that to the kids that are having their lives ruined living in a toxic social and economic environment that redevelopment is "moving too fast"
"OK -- I guess I have it. Various parties make it difficult for you to improve the neighborhood, therefore preventing property value increases. As a result, public housing remains concentrated in Parker Gray, because it is most economically viable to keep the housing there."
You basically have captured the mindset of the majority of PG homeowners (sadly, of African Americans, whites, and Hispanics).
"What makes you think economics drives the City's lack of action?"
Containment keeps the problems away from areas like King St and Mt Vernon Ave. How much would Delray or South Old Town be affected by an old-style, decaying housing project smack in the middle of their economic hearts?
Thus, the economics are simple; take more out of PG and give to other areas of the city while containing the City's problems in a certain area and make it sound like you are "preserving" a "heritage" and "community", even though you build nothing to support that heritage and the "community" is concentrated with levels of poverty that are considered dysfunctional by most sane people.
"You've provided two assertions without support: (1)concentration is most economically viable; and (2)that it belongs in Parker Gray."
See my other post from about 10 AM this morning -- I am with you on this one (Growler, please release it). These are not my assertions, just those who would want to have public housing concentrated in Parker Gray. FYI: my local elementary school is also disproportionally affected by public/subsidized housing, so I also have an interest in equitable dispersion.
"Why aren/t Boyd and Katy pushing for a homeless shelter for vets in Delray or Rosemont?"
The Mount Vernon Recreation Center would be perfect.
"What does a basketball tournament or working with alumni have to do with educational achievement?"
Absolutely nothing, but if he worked to improve the schools, specifically J-H, by scattering public housing, or at least encouraging redistricting to other schools, people would be less likely to leave Parker-Gray. If we don't move out we will continue to dilute the "African-American heritage" of Parker-Gray the preservation of which, at any cost, is his second highest priority. His first priority is being sure he runs unopposed again in the next election, which is why he would never do either of these things that would actually improve the schools and risk the wrath of the voters in other parts of the city. Basically a gamble that he can indeed fool enough of the people all of the time to remain in office.
Whats even funnier about the Mayors statements is that he knows and we know that if it wasnt for the collapse of Glebe Park, B
land never would have been on the table for redevelopment. He would have left it exactly the same.
Notice how the Mayor never mentions Adkins, the property directly abutting the Metro and where many children who go to GW live?
Apparently according to ARHA, its never coming down, EVER.
"Containment keeps the problems away from areas like King St and Mt Vernon Ave.... Thus, the economics are simple; take more out of PG and give to other areas of the city while containing the City's problems .."
Containment (the politically correct word for "segregation") is a political decision.
This is all about politics and holding on to power.
"Educators in this town dont seem to tie the citys housing policies to its education policy. no wonder they cant do much to fix the minority achievement rates."
I have always wondered about this.
I think it's time for the school board to study this. If they could gather the statistics and work out the relationship between ARHA residency and student achievement, it would be very strong evidence to present to the Council to force them to deconcentrate.
I attended this meeting -but left around 9:15 or so.
I was told at the night out celebrations that a petition was completed asking for this to be brought up before the city council.
I understand the desire to preserve this building, but the city had 3 chances at it. My biggest concern is financial. Who will pay to renovate it?
There are a lot of reasons not to get a definitive answer to that question, some admirable, some not. The study will not be done.
"There are a lot of reasons not to get a definitive answer to that question" actually there is never a good reason not to answer a question with a well researched answer, unless the person asking the question is under 10 years old.
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