FYI,
     here's an interesting article which also refers to Corktown & N. Corktown & the role of CDCs in this era, and I'm really curious as to what you think about it. Why? Some of its info as provided & events described get different interpretations than others of us might apply to the same facts. But no matter if we don't agree about the opinions expressed, it may be useful to know this is being circulated, how it's expressed & by whom. We may hear it repeated in conversation or business over the next months. Why does it seem important? becausegoals are an issue here, but so is trust vs action & by who "decides" or acts, I think.

 

     (For example, I'm puzzled as to why offers of housing incentives for employees, that could include N. Corktown as well as our area, got Jeff so upset, but apparently it did.) My opinion: I see positive impact comes to Corktown area from having Sue Mosey & active CDCs working nearby & think none of us have unlimited time to do it all or claim one of us should "do it all" or claim credit for all good. I don't have a quarrel if Midtown can get somethings done. & when Leslie Malcolmson works on issues as we have with the DPD & her CDC, it may help us too. I'm pleased that Vince Keenan & his voice were in the room at the mtg. I think we can be pleased when 700+ show up for a good Historic Home Tour,and about all the fun events we draw people for here. Look at all the work to make it a livable neigborhood that's relatively safe & clean, yes but also with good schools & generating some jobs along the way. Even I trust that most people here want a livable neighborhood & decent life, I know it can be a struggle to get some things done & details handled right, so I worry, follow data & fret. 

 

      Frankly, if I have questions about any plans that others announce for their organizations, I drop a dime on a call, email them with question or concern (or we can ask that we do as the Corktown CDC, etc.) If we want to have good service, it's not necessarily done by competing for more of increasingly limited services, but doing it more strategically & rethinking how to get the priorities handled (I'll come back to that.)... Public complaints that no one called Jeff first to tell him or ask for permission abt the incentives? Bless him, but doubt it helps, & haven't we seen that complaint many times before this article? The way it gets raised here may give us a way to discuss with other folks how Corktown community is making steps, & progress to regroup. How? around a new CRC, yes ... & around Corktown Business Assoc, around the CDC & around other entities like the Hist. Soc. & in an asortment of ways. Look, we talk to our neighbors & friends; we know some things get done & some of the people stepping up to the plate - we can share info, emphasize the work & encourage them too.

       June examples: 1)read about Vince Keenan attending a Community Policing mtg in Midtown for Corktown Bus. Assoc in the Det Free Presshttp://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012207020406. It's worth showing other people as yes, we can get some response. 2) Power outages, street & traffic light problems - & how many people got involved? Who called to get service restored - doubt I'm the only one. 3) It may seem like a slow process, & we've more expectations than patience. But aren't some of the roles that were being handled by Jeff, in his own one-man way, up until spring 2011, now getting filled by other people, who decide how to get things done in a slightly different assortment of ways? If we can't expect it to look or sound the same as the pre-2011 CRC or CDC did, community needs can still get addressed, handled by many other people on an appropriate scale, with calls, email & letters as needed... I'm not saying anyone in this community has to do it on the major scale as non-profits with full-time staff like Sue Mosey. We each do what we can without big claims of solving it all for maximum credit, but let's share our info & work our networks. And it may be a strength that no one person can claim to represent all voices or to organize the maximum in a way that's just not possible. Am I the only one that's somewhat sceptical when I hear claims or a spin that there's only 1 way to move forward? Is that in a perfect world? Don't live in a perfect world last time I looked out a window, but it's a real world where we live together, and we're among those who take fairly active roles & try to figure out how to "get er done." So let's take some pride in that, celebrate efforts spent, and progress produced, even on a small scale, by a whole lot of the folks in our neighborhood, even as Imagination Station repaints "It's OK" on the side (probably fried by too much fireworks is the guess of nearby neighbors). Some efforts are worth getting to "it's OK" & I trust we & a lot of other people want to get Corktown into the future in decent shape. So how do we sort the details, spread news & prod a little more, maybe even figure out how to work with other resources we have around us? Who can we encourage or trust in common efforts to help get improvements? yours, Judy C