Warren residents study revitalization strategy

By William K. Alcorn

The neighborhood approach is the foundation for the whole strategy.

WARREN — City residents like what the 2009 Warren Revitalization Strategy proposes, but some remain skeptical that the recommendations can ever be accomplished.

“I think a lot of the things are possible. Some of them are dreams, but we can hope dreams come true,” said Robert Weitzel, chairman of the North West Neighborhood Association (NWNA).

Other members of NWNA, wearing their identifying green T-shirts, are less optimistic.

“What they propose is good, but I don’t think we’ll ever see people coming into Warren to buy homes because there are no jobs here,” said Jack Denson of Lynnwood Northwest

“It would be a miracle if anything happens. There is no money,” said Larry Oswald of Niblock Street Northwest

Still, Oswald said the neighborhood patrols operated by NWNA have had a positive impact. “We’ve gotten rid of a few drug houses,” he said.

It is that kind of activity, people getting actively involved in their neighborhoods, that is one of the lynch-pins of the Warren revitalization strategy, according to Charlene Kerr of the Poggenmeyer Group, which designed the plan and presented it at a public meeting Monday night at Warren G. Harding High School. About 75 people attended.

The neighborhood approach is the foundation for the whole strategy, Kerr said. Under the plan, the city is divided into five areas: North East, North West, South East, South West and Central City. The city was deliberately not split according to wards, she said.

After identifying the numerous key issues facing Warren, it became evident that the task of addressing them and implementing solutions would be nearly impossible for a city that has decreasing revenues.

Thus, a grass-roots approach was recommended, using neighborhood associations and residents to develop revitalization strategies specific for their neighborhoods; using the five new schools as centers of redevelopment activities and working outward from them, she said.

Key problems are identified as crime and blight, with some 4,000 vacant housing units projected by 2018 if something isn’t done.

Regarding crime, Randal Davis, treasurer of the Take Back The Neighborhood organization in the Central City area, said, “We need the police to do what they are hired to do: Clean up drug deals and get prostitutes off the streets.”

“Clean up the city first, and then worry about revitalization,” Davis said.

After the presentation, Davis said he liked much of what he heard. However, he said the question is, what, if anything, will be implemented.

“In my mind, the first things we need to do is eliminate blight caused by the vacant homes and commercial buildings, particularly around the schools, and improve the appearance of the gateways to our city,” said Mayor Michael O’Brien.

This whole thing is about the neighborhood organizations. They are the eyes and ears that can help the city identify and prioritize problems. The whole thing is grass roots,” he said.

alcorn@vindy.com