The dinners were started a couple of years ago when antagonism between different segments of the community grew so heated that violence resulted and a series of strategies were put in place to ease ethnic tensions. In addition to the Friendship Dinners, an Anti-Violence Task Force was formed to take proactive measures in the community to prevent the future eruption of violence. These strategies have worked. Violence is way down; tensions seem to be greatly alleviated. For instance, one of the ideas that has contributed to community cohesion is Midnight Basketball, where the local Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) building is opened up on Friday nights so that local youth have a place to play basketball and soccer as a constructive alternative to roaming the streets. Hundreds of youth regularly participate in these late night games.
At last night's Friendship Dinner, led by the remarkable Port Richmond community activist Charlie Kitts, a professor and students from a Hunter College Urban Planning Studio who were asked by the Anti-Violence Task Force to come up with a plan for revitalizing Port Richmond, briefly presented their stimulating findings. What they came up with is impressively professional and worth studying closely. A brief summary of their recommendations follows, but actually reading the Executive Summary and full report is the best way to appreciate the breadth of their proposals. Here is the link to the report: http://issuu.com/npstorey/docs/vision_port_richmond
As this 143 page report states, the overarching goal is: "To unlock the potential of Port Richmond and increase opportunity for all residents by building a safer community, advancing economic development, and fostering neighborhood cohesion."
They focus their recommendations on 7 goals.
Goal One is Creating a Safer Community. Some of their recommendations for accomplishing this include:
- creating a community development credit union
- lobbying the local police precinct to hire more Spanish speaking officers
- Initiating a well organized campaign to clean up Port Richmond Avenue
Goal Two is Fostering Pride in Port Richmond's Cultural Diversity. Recommendations include:
- establishing a Multicultural Activities Committee to promote cross-cultural interaction and discourage future violence
- fill empty spaces with multicultural activities that improve the streetscape and encourage social interaction
- devise a neighborhood marketing campaign to improve Port Richmond's public image
Goal Three is Promoting Economic Justice and Development. Recommendations include:
- help connect job seekers to employment and education resources
- educate the community about micro-financing opportunities
- conduct a needs assessment survey of all small businesses in Port Richmond
Goal Four is Manage Growth. Recommendations include:
- apply for affordable housing grants
- create a local health cooperative
- improve Port Richmond's bicycle infrastructure and in general provide more transportation options
Goal Five is to Connect the Community to its Waterfront. Recommendations include:
- boost interest in waterfront projects by establishing a task force to promote waterfront construction and activity
- discourage land use on waterfront lots that is not waterfront-dependent
- encourage opportunities for on-water recreation and build a waterfront park at the end of Port Richmond Avenue
Goal Six is to Enhance the Built Environment. Recommendations include:
- make better use of underutilized spaces and buildings
- encourage sidewalk cafes
- implement a Port Richmond design code for all businesses
Goal Seven is to Strengthen the Anti-Violence Task Force. Recommendations include:
- incorporate the task force as a tax-exempt non-profit
- make internships available to help with coordination
- create a website and increase the budget through grants
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