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| The Community Improver,
December 1966 -- FULL TEXT |
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DECEMBER, 1966
VOL. IX
Asheville is on the move...
Progress Through Community Effort
THE COMMUNITY IMPROVER
CITY OK'S EARLY BOND VOTE FOR EAST RIVERSIDE
The Greater Asheville Council and the Chamber of Commerce, after an
extensive study, have both recommended that the city take action as soon
as possible to hold a bond election for the
East
Riverside Urban
Renewal
Program.
Both
of
these influential
groups have
stressed the need for further
study
on
the
other items but
emphasize the immediate
need
for the 1.4
million
dollars
to finance the
city's share of urban renewal
in
East Riverside.
The federal government
has already signed
the contract
to give the City
of Asheville
6.2
million
dollars
for
the renewal
program if the
city will supply
the needed 1.4 million dollars.
At the regular meeting on Thursday, December
15,
the City Council
gave City
Manager Weldon Weir the
go-ahead on preparations for the
East Riverside Urban
Renewal
bond issue.
Mr.
Weir said that the bond
election would
probably be held in
mid-February.
DIAGNOSTIC SURVEY
The results
of
the
diagnostic
survey, conducted by residents
of
the
East Riverside
area this past summer, will
be
ready
in draft
form early in January. We expect
the survey, which included 1200 families, will show up some of the human
problems and will recommend some ways to solve these
problems.
The survey covered a variety of
subjects
such as family composition,
money problems, and
problems of
housing.
SPREADING THE WORD
Several
church groups have learned
something recently
about urban
renewal
—
especially urban
renewal in
Asheville, and more
particularly
renewal in
East Riverside.
James Greer, Director of the Redevelopment
Commission, has spoken recently to
several groups
that are concerned
about the poor housing and
economic
conditions in
some
of the
areas of
Asheville.
Showing them slides of some of the blighted sections near
the
center of the
city, Mr.
Greer explained to
these people that Asheville now had
a
chance to do
something about these bad conditions through urban renewal.
He
stated that a large undertaking like
this
would cost a lot
of money, but that hundreds
of people
would be helped greatly by
it as
well
as
the
appearance of
the
entire city.
For
a relatively small
investment, Asheville can recover several million dollars
in
federal money
for
this
program
as well as new
public housing.
Furthermore, this
money would open
the way for new investment
of private
money. In
all, some
20 million dollars
could be spent in
East
Riverside
for
an investment
of
only
11/2
million dollars from
Asheville
directly.
He
pointed out that economists
say
that every
dollar spent
"turns over" five times before it goes to rest, so that the total
economic impact upon Asheville, because of urban renewal in
East River-
continued second
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side, could be as great as 100 million dollars. What this means simply
is better homes and better living conditions for the people of East
Riverside and a better Asheville for everyone.
Mr. Greer assured these groups that this single program could do more
in 6 to 8 years than has been done in the entire city for the last 15
years. He was also quick to say that it would take not only money but a
lot of hard work — the combined efforts of the Housing Authority, the
Opportunity Corporation, and the Redevelopment Commission with the other
social agencies.
Other meetings are already scheduled for the next few weeks in which
the staff of the Redevelopment Commission will explain, to interested
groups that have asked them to come, what urban renewal plans to do for
East Riverside and for Asheville.
NEWS FROM THE YWCA:
More about Christmas: The YWCA is offering a sort of Christmas
Package deal to help you get new ideas for decorating, cooking, gifts,
etc.
One of the most exciting "happenings" at the South French Broad
Building is the arrival of the "Green Hornet"! Twice a week after
school, from 3:30 to 6:00 P.M. the "coffee house" is open for teen-agers
to drop in and have fun dancing, playing games, or just talking. Coffee,
soft drinks, and snacks are available. It's great for getting
acquainted, for unwinding before homework, and for
just
plain fun. The
teen-agers have matte their own set of rules and all cooperate to the
nth degree! Wednesday and Thursday are the days until
further
notice. Drop in
and see what is happening!
OPPORTUNITY CENTER
Does this house look familiar? It should. For a long time it was used
by the Redevelopment Commission as a Rehabilitation field office.
Recently, when the "Rehab" office was temporarily shut down because of a
delay in city funds for the East Riverside Project, the house was
turned, over to the Opportunity Corporation for their "East Riverside
Opportunity Center" Mr. William Roland, who recently accepted a position
as Field Office Director with the Opportunity Corporation, now has his
office here.
The East Riverside Opportunity Center opened at 86 Livingston Street
on October 17, 1966. It will serve primarily the area bounded by Depot
Street and Clingman Avenue, extending across Hilliard Avenue, westward
to Coxe Avenue, out McDowell on east and west to the tracks at Biltmore.
The office will operate with a staff of six persons.
The purpose of the center is to assist the people in the area to make
use of existing agencies and to assist them in improving themselves in
the area of health, education, employment and social welfare.
The center will be involved in a variety of programs depending upon
the needs expressed by the residents in this area. The center will
stress employment opportunities and will have a job counselor on the
center's staff. Present staff consists of a director, community worker,
and secretary. |
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A mass meeting of the residents of
East Riverside was held recently by the East Riverside Opportunity
Center. The purpose of this meeting was to acquaint the people of the
area with the activities and services of the center. The services
emphasized were those dealing with employment and job training.
It is
the hope of the Director, Mr. Roland, that the people of the area will
begin to make greater use of the services available at 86 Livingston
Street. Besides help with employment, another service of the Opportunity
Center is that of coordinator with the many social agencies whose help,
is available to the people of East Riverside.
Mr. Roland welcomes the opportunity to meet with various civic and
religious organizations to explain the functions of the Opportunity
Center. Call 254-0851.
Here is part of the cause of slums. It is also sometimes part of the
result.
Sometimes this kind of thoughtless neglect makes people begin to lose
pride in a neighborhood that might otherwise be a good one. Maybe those
people who live near it get tired of looking at it and feel that the
only thing they can do about it is to move away from it — or ignore it.
In either case, it is the beginning of a downhill road. Without pride, a
neighborhood begins to die.
Sometimes a junk yard like this one is just proof that the
neighborhood doesn't care anymore — that it has given up. The people
have quit bothering to empty their waste cans, they no longer sweep
their floors. Dirt, trash, or junk just collects where it is left, and
no one goes out of his way to do anything about it. It just sits there —
and gets worse. And the neighborhood gets worse with it.
Isn't it a good time to take a long hard look at the kinds of things
we are willing to put up with? Maybe if we do, they won't be so easy to
ignore. |
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WINTER WARNING
It won't
be long before winter really sets in. The days are getting shorter and
people are using lights more as well as more heat.
Winter is one of the most dangerous times in East Riverside. More
fires break out in the winter than any other time. People heat their
stoves and furnaces hotter than they are supposed to be heated. They use
too much electricity and overload the wiring. Even when there is no
danger of fire, it is not healthy to heat your house too warm in the
winter.
When a window is broken or a door leaks, the stove or furnace has to
be heated hotter to make up for the extra cold air that gets in. This is
both dangerous and wasteful of fuel. It just takes a little time or
expense to cover the window or add felt weather-stripping to the door,
and it could save a lot of heat. It could even save your life!A THANK YOU NOTE
We want to express our heartfelt thanks to all of you who gave of
yourselves so warmly in our hour of need. Thanks to so many good
friends, an otherwise tragic accident was transformed into an
encouraging experience.
Mr. and Mrs. Tom Edgerton
Redevelopment Commission
of The
City of Asheville
P. 0. Box 7148
604 City Building
Asheville, N. C. 28807 |
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