Late yesterday afternoon I spent some time riding my mountain bike around several high crime areas that surround downtown Greensboro. One area in particular is plagued by rundown houses, some of which are condemned and others aren’t, and vacant houses that are boarded up in an effort to keep criminals out. The photo at the top of this post is of a house that I’ve been following for about a year and a half now. Simply put, it’s trashed. After pointing out the homes negative condition for quite some time the City has since condemned it (took place 2 – 3 months ago) and I hope it’s bulldozed very soon.
I need you to imagine how you would feel if the home above was directly across from your house, a house that you take pride in. How would that make you feel? Would you take pride in the community that you lived in?There will always be high and low income parts of Greensboro, but just because an area is considered to be low income doesn’t mean we should allow homes of this nature to exist.
I continued down Julian Street, which eventually ended at Benbow Road. Before taking a right on Benbow I noticed an additional comment that had been added to the s stop sign. See below.
Once I turned on Benbow I took a right and headed down a side street that I had never seen. When I turned onto the street I was somewhat dumbfounded at how the neighborhood seemed to completely change. There were no boarded up houses, the lawns were cut; it simply looked like a nice neighborhood. I happened to see a resident sitting on her front porch and stopped to chat. I asked, “What has happened that has made this part of the neighborhood so different than what can be seen one street over?” She responded by saying, “About 10 years ago the City knocked down some of those privately owned rental houses and all of these newer homes were built. It really turned the area around.” She said they still have their share of crime, but that it’s no where near as bad as what happens in other parts of the neighborhood.
Oh, and it is likely that somewhere along the line someone will mention that once the homes are torn down that we will simply be left with empty lots. While that may be true, until someone decides to rebuild, I need you too consider if you would rather live next to the empty lot that can be seen directly above, or if you would rather live next to the house at the top of this post.
When I’m elected to the Greensboro City Council I will continue to highlight homes of this nature and proactively pursue any recourse that the City can take to help alleviate the problem. It is simply unacceptable in my eyes!
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
