*The link to the Monroe Park Master Plan has been retrieved thanks to a friend that had the forethought to save the pdf to their computer. It can be uploaded through Monroe Park Master Plan
To upload this to your computer, click this link, look to the left under "view this book" and right click "pdf". Then select "Save File As" and save it to your computer. It is a large file, 66MB, and contains a 130 page pdf. The main point that I wanted to make from this pdf is the statement regarding "The ratio of nonhomeless users to apparently homeless ones must be at least 75-100:1 to draw female visitors in great numbers.", which can be found on page 61 on the bottom of the left column. This pdf also talks about the hiring of private security that may not have to abide by the same guidelines as police officers when dealing with 'apparently homeless' people.*
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Monroe Park is currently at the center of the latest heated community debates. Originally purchased in 1851 by the City of Richmond, the 11 acre park is now in need of major renovations. The City of Richmond has designed a master plan to renovate the park, at the cost of $6,179,000 taxpayer dollar for Phase One, which is called Park-wide Renovations. Phase Two, costing $1,051,000 would cover repairs to the Checkers Building which houses the bathrooms. Phase Three, called Site Amenities, is priced at $623,000. This is then followed with $1,150,000 for Programmatic Costs. This information is available at http://www.fmd.vcu.edu/MonroeParkMasterPlan.pdf. There was another link that explained the plan more thoroughly but the link to that no longer appears to be active. This link here appears to break down the costs a little more extensively, http://thewingnutrva.wordpress.com/2010/10/04/monroe-park-costs/.
I don't take up any issue with making repairs to the park. I believe the bathrooms should be in good working order, that there should be heat in them to keep the pipes from freezing during the winter. I think that some of the trees probably are unhealthy, although proper preventive maintenance probably would have prevented them from getting to the point where they need to be cut down. I agree that the lights could be upgraded to more energy efficient models that will produce more output. I don't necessarily agree that some of the blacktop paths should be completely removed, but I'm not very opinionated about the paths.
My main issue with the renovation is the tactic at which the City of Richmond is handling the homeless, and "apparently homeless" people that congregate in the park and receive meals from organizations and caring, compassionate people. In the master plan that is not currently available it was mentioned that the only way to get females to use the park was to reduce the ratio of "apparently homeless" people to 1 per 75-100 'apparently not homeless' people. This means if the city hit the projected number of patrons, about 900 at any given time, that there should only be 9-10 "apparently homeless" people in the public park. Supposedly if there are more than a 1:75-100 ratio, females will be afraid to be in the park.
So after reading the plan, talking to people using the park, and people that serve meals in the park, I decided to attend the meeting that Councilman Charles Samuels held in conjunction with Homeward at The Carillon in Dogwood Dell last night. It was put out as a public meeting to discuss where the homeless will best be served after the 9 foot tall construction fence is built around the entire 11 acres, which is estimated to remain in place for about 18 months. I arrived at the meeting and found about a dozen round tables set out with approximately 8 chairs per table. There were a few opening speakers, Councilman Samuels, a member from Homeward, a member from Embrace, and a man that has successfully won his battle with addiction and homelessness. After the introduction we were informed that the meeting was not designed to allow any one person to address their concerns openly, but we were to discuss amongst our table members what solutions there are for feeding the homeless after the wall goes up.
Now this didn't set well with me. I was there because I don't want to see the entire park closed for about 18 months, but instead done in sections, leaving some open grassy areas open for public use at any given time. It's similar to renovating a school, the renovations are made around the students. Similar to fixing a couple rooms in your house while you live in the un-renovated parts.
My table began discussions and almost immediately the whole table came to the conclusion that the park cannot be fully closed at any point. So where does that leave us? The eight strangers at my table wanted to voice their concerns to Councilman Samuels, not sit around talking about how we were all in agreement already and not being listened to by the meeting leaders. I called Samuels to our table and informed him that none of us agreed with building a wall around the park. He told me that we need to address it as if "the wall is going up, so where are we going to send the homeless people". I mentioned that his response would not be accepted by our group and he did not budge from his position. We were asked to come up with alternatives, and our group collectively agreed that (1) a small portion of the park must remain open, (2) portable toilets and hand sanitizing stations need to be provided while the bathroom is inaccessible, and (3) there needs to be a representative for the homeless community -not a paid shelter employee- and a representative for the VCU student body at any future meeting regarding Monroe Park.
At the conclusion of the meeting the room was asked to send one person from each table to report on what their small group had discussed. It seemed to me that the majority of the people in the room were in favor of keeping a portion of the park open, one even suggesting providing facilities to help with food preparation for the regular feedings. Another suggestion was to transport everyone down to the Conrad Center every weekend and have feedings there, which apparently is in the works. ($20,000 has been raised in effort to meet a $25,000 budget for 6 months transportation from Monroe Park to the Conrad Center.) I'm not really sure how they figure it'd cost $1,000 per weekend to run a vehicle they already have...
I left the meeting last night feeling that my concerns will never be considered, that the meeting was called to pacify the people opposing the 9 foot wall by letting them believe they have a fighting chance. It has left me with more questions than answers. Now I want to know what role VCU has played in encouraging the wall, what funding is coming from them. I want to know how much the CEO's of the non-profit homeless shelters are making, I'm guessing somewhere around $150,000 per year, but I haven't seen their 990 forms yet. I want to know if this is a direct attempt to try to flush the apparently homeless population from the VCU area, figuring that within 18 months they will be in the habit of going somewhere else and not ever return to Monroe Park after it reopens. I don't see that working. They will return. The park is for people, all people, regardless of how apparently poor, dirty, or hungry you may appear.
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*THIS UPDATE CAN NOW BE DISREGARDED, AS THE FILE HAS BEEN RETRIEVED AND IS BEING RECIRCULATED NOW. SEE TOP OF BLOG. This is the link to the Master Plan. If it ever gets fixed you will find more information here. http://www.monroepark.com/home/roadside/Monroe_Park_Report_2_2008.pdf
*Powhatan Citizen asked about the location of The Conrad Center. It is located at 1400 Oliver Hill Way. To put it in perspective, Richmond City Juvenile Court is at 1600 Oliver Hill Way and Richmond Jail is just across the street. The neighboring communities are Mosby, Whitcomb, and Southern Barton Heights, which as stated below is typically "low-income housing with single parents or other relatives that may not have the resources to provide three well balanced meals each day", although those certainly are not the only low-income homes in Richmond. In addition to that, this location is practically inaccessible to anyone traveling on foot. I also don't like the wording of the last statement "groups who served weekend meals in Monroe Park, are invited to move to The Conrad Center" as this implies a past-tense tone. Below are the posted benefits of The Conrad Center. The Conrad Center
Thanks Andrew. I have a good friend from out here in Powhatan that goes to Monroe Park on Sunday morning. We also have issues of gentrifying here in Powhatan. Where is the Conrad Center? I am 50 yrs old and I remember giving homeless my sandwiches in the 80s.
ReplyDeleteMaking the park usable for all the people of Richmond, not just the homeless and their supporters and those using it as a political football is not gentrification. Right now, most Richmonders and students feel excluded from using the park. They make that loud and clear by not using or passing through the park, women in particular. Those people were largely not represented in this meeting. It was obvious from the video link you posted that the audience was stacked with opponents and no serious discussion was given to the problems currently posed by the park to the city, the citizens, students and neighbors. This park has the opportunity to be a gem. It should be the showcase park for the city. If the activist community needs a greenspace to use, then there are many other options close by including Byrd Park, Randolph Park, Kanawa Plaza, Brown's Island, Abner Clay Park to name a few. It's obvious that there weren't serious discussions of alternatives and that the loudest amongst the participants never considered any.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your thoughts Paul. I understand that everyone has a different idea about what is best for their community, and our opinions differ about this situation. For decades Monroe Park has been a place that people know they can turn to when they need a helping hand and don't want to be processed through Central Intake. For instance a man once came to the park walking barefoot through the snow because he knew that he could get help there. It has been a place of building friendships and networking. It has been a place to come to when you are hungry. For all the people that know it is there, you won't be able to get the word out to everyone that all that has moved.
ReplyDeleteToday I had two former VCU students tell me that when they first arrived at VCU and were going through orientation that they were both told Monroe Park is a dangerous place and they should never go there. All things aside, people asking for change and cigarettes, and a few even calling out to girls walking through, Monroe Park is not an unsafe place. More so, I think it is a lack of understanding ones situation that leads to the fear that some students tend to have. Most students aren't from Richmond and will only know what is taught to them about the people and parks in their general area. There are more robberies and assaults on Floyd Ave and Grace St than Monroe Park. Maybe we should avoid those areas too?
What makes Monroe Park work, and why other city parks won't work, is that there are restrooms here that anyone is free to use. One of the gentlemen attending today's meal pointed out that if meals were served in one of the parks that doesn't have restrooms it will lead to public urination in the alleys around the park, then the police get called and before you know it they'll be relocating meals to the next park. The other thing Monroe Park has is a central location. This park is the most accessible park in Richmond to the majority of the community.
Educating Richmonders about who homeless people really are, and teaching tolerance and understanding for other members of our community, regardless of how poor and dirty they may appear, would go much further than trying to make them all disappear. They can't all be locked up in mental institutions, jails, or shelters.
One of the guys that serves meals for a faith based ministry told me after Thursday's meeting what helping the homeless community means to him. He once asked his five year old if he knew what a homeless person was. The kid answered "dirty people wearing torn up clothes sitting on the sidewalk". So he took his kid to the next meal, and on the way home asked him the same question. This time the kids response was "Dad, they're normal people just like you and me, but they just need a little help".
Restrooms can and should be provide at almost any location. Your philosophy is that Richmonders need to be educated so they can come around to your point of view.
ReplyDeletePeople are all for using parks as a dumping ground for the homeless, till it is their park. This tells you something about the general attitude towards this solution. If you have a mission to help people you have an obligation to consider the impact on neighbors and the rest of the city, not the other way around. The Fan, VCU and downtown in particular are impacted in a major way by these programs. This damages the economy of the inner city, creating fewer customers for local business and fewer jobs for local residents. Many of these peole are poor. Usually it is the poor who suffer most from programs designed to help them. Take a walk around Gilpin if you need an example.
From my point of view, the city is bending over backwards to help you continue your work. Many service providers are willing to cooperate, but there is a hardcore, very vocal minority who are making non negotiable demands. Homeless people are nothing if not adaptable. There are a dozen downtown churches, agencies and facilities that serve the homeless. A change in their routine, while inconvenient, will not prevent them from receiving help that is available.
Thanks for the opportunity to express my opinion.
"All things aside, people asking for change and cigarettes, and a few even calling out to girls walking through, Monroe Park is not an unsafe place."
ReplyDeleteAccording to who? That behavior does makes some of us feel threatened, especially women with an easy to grab purse. I don't want to be anywhere where I am going to be challenged at every turn for what I have by people who just don't want to go through Central Intake and admit they have lost control of their lives and need help.
If you are scared of Monroe Park move to the Suburbs. Seriously. The people who use the park now and who have for the past 20 years or more will continue to use it. Homeward, Embrace, and other bureaucratic or faith based programs are NOT what many community members or homeless want to participate in. That is their choice. Construction is frequently done in stages. That is what is being asked.
ReplyDeleteWe lived in Richmond for many years and walked through Monroe Park with the homeless. Unfortunately even if VCU runs the homeless out, they will eventually return to a more beautiful park with no services.
ReplyDelete@Paul Hammond
ReplyDelete>>Right now, most Richmonders and students feel
>>excluded from using the park.
This statement is completely unsupportable. The 75-year-old woman I spoke to at a church feeding program yesterday (the members of which all agreed this was gentrification) said the notion was silly. I don't know any students who *don't* walk through Monroe Park if it's the fastest way to where they are going. I'd be more than willing to take a gender demographic at any given time, but until one of us does, let's not employ arguments with no foundation.
>>Those people were largely not represented in
>>this meeting.
There were no students or women present in this meeting? You obviously weren't there...
>>the audience was stacked with opponents
What can this statement possibly mean? That of the Richmond residents who cared enough to show up at the open, public forum, most of them opposed closing the park? That's what we said. I strongly suspect that had the meeting primarily been comprised of people who were in favor of completely closing the park, you would not have made the claim that "the audience was stacked with proponents", and that you would have considered any such claim by opponents as silly. (Because it would be.)
>>creating fewer customers for local business
>>and fewer jobs for local residents
Did you just make the claim that Richmond has fewer jobs because people without a house play chess and cards in the park during the day? And what local businesses are you referring to employment issues with? There isn't a single one in view of the entire park, aside from the posh Landmark Theater, and they're certainly not hurting. Do you create arguments from data, or the other way around?
>>From my point of view, the city is bending
>>over backwards to help you continue your work.
What has the city offered? In what way could forcibly relocating all of these programs doing work be considered "bending over backwards"? No, scratch that... In what way is it NOT completely disregarding them?
>>Homeless people are nothing if not adaptable.
"Screw 'em. They'll figure it out."
Notice that there is absolutely no other group of people that anyone (yourself included) would remotely consider asking the question "What can we do about the ______ problem?" With no other group of people would it even be possible to talk about removing them from public space because of the delicate sensibilities of others. Speaking about this group of people as non-people illustrates the issue perfectly.
@ Anonymous
>>Monroe Park is not an unsafe place?
>>According to who?
The Richmond police. (http://eservices.ci.richmond.va.us/applications/crimeinfo/index.asp) But you know where IS pretty dangerous? The Carytown area. I think we should close it down completely and forcibly remove the businesses to root out the criminal element.
/sarcasm
@Kontra: I couldn't have said it better myself, especially the part about Carytown =P
ReplyDeleteAgreed... Kontra nailed it!
ReplyDelete