Who Leads the Generational Gap on Allied Drive?

I must precede my words with the statement that I do not purport to represent anyone other than myself. My blog reflects my opinions, my observations and my life experiences, and I equally support anyone in our community who wishes to express their opinions, observations or life experiences regardless of what they are or what statements they make. I may not agree, but I wholly support everyone's right to express themselves.

The very fuel that produced this blog was rooted in my feelings of being marginalized among the voices that represent our community. Throughout all the various politics that have taken place over the years I have spent here, my experience has been that some voices express our interests while others fall to the wayside. I did not find it effective to battle at meetings over what defines us as Allied Drive residents and I do not have the energy to figure out political agendas of anyone who comes forward to say this is what all of Allied Drive wants.

I would be the first to say that no one person, or not even a group of 30 individuals could accurately reflect what all the residents of Allied Drive want. Anyone who has knocked on doors here would know that there are so many different people here of different races, ages, educational levels, income levels, cultural backgrounds and primary languages spoken. If there existed a group of people that represented all the various groups of residents, I could not see there being any way that they could agree on something so minimal as the food served at a meal, let alone more important issues that relate to housing, education or economics. I think that is why there are so many groups and associations out here - to allow for something for everyone to belong to.

However in such a truly diverse community, it is inevitable that some voices will rise and others will be diluted, and it is all based on how much energy one wants to put into ensuring their voice is heard. Not too long ago, I was quoted as saying how can anyone get upset over being put out of Allied Drive? Really speaking, if all of us were told that this area was being turned into a sanctuary for homeless cats and we all must leave, though our people are diverse, we are common in the fact that we are survivors. We will make do. I think most of us, in this hypothetical example, would not divert the energy into voicing the unfairness of cats taking precedence over people. We will just do what we need to do to ensure our survival. If big man says it's time to go, I think it is time to go.

So among all the things in life we could divert our energy to, our kids, our dogs, our careers, our credit reports, our family relations, how many of us would consider it a wise investment of time and energy to combat the politics of voices representing Allied Drive to say something like "Hey, I think with some education and support and a lot of self-confidence building, many people here could become responsible home owners, and I think that would impact Madison's poverty issues"? I'll tell you from personal experience that I will say something like that once, twice, maybe three times, and maybe if I am truly frustrated, I'll voice it one more time, but after that, if I am still made to feel like a troll who has these ideas and concepts that are so ludicrous and far-fetched, I am basically done talking about it.

I love blogging because it provides a document that anyone in the world can reference without putting me in the frustrating position of repeating myself. So I journal today about who leads the generational gap on Allied Drive.

About a year ago, the entire staff at my work went to a motivational retreat in Milwaukee where various celebrities talked about success and perseverance. One of the esteemed speakers was none other than Mr. Bill Cosby. What struck me as a parallel between Mr. Cosby and my parents is with some of our elders who disapprove of the younger generation and the direction they are guiding our community. Similarly, Mr. Cosby disapproves of the direction the younger generation is taking his community. He often publicly voices his disapproval of hip-hop culture and the lifestyles of the younger generation. His comments prompted several guardians of the younger generation to voice their defense and the New York Times referred to the battle as "generational warfare."

One of the arguments is that the younger generation is a product of the older one and it is hypocritical for the older generation to criticize the younger generation without taking a look at themselves first. Mr. Cosby accuses today's youth of neglecting their history and overlooking the gains paid for by the blood of their ancestors. The flipside to this accusation refers to Mr. Cosby's younger years and the lessons he preached back then. Ironically, many popular hip-hop artists cite Mr. Bill Cosby as their inspiration.

Through the winter months, we had opened our home to many of the youth that "hang out" on the streets of Allied Drive to come someplace safe where they can eat (if we have food available), drink some soda and play some video games. Through this experience, I got to know how savvy our 15 and 16 year olds are when it comes to basic survival. Many of these kids were living in homes that were not very functional in the traditional sense, and in many ways, they were out on their own. I always heard people say that kids are amazing, but until I really got to know some of the youth that our community views as thugs or trouble, I never really appreciated it.

So one day, we have about 5 young people over at our place, all of whom are hungry, so we order pizza, of course with it's accompanying challenges of getting a pizza delivery on Allied Drive. Simultaneously, one of the hip-hop tracks from the video games came on that had the line "If ya hungry, pizzaman, he don't come around here" ... many of the other lyrics in the song were identified as a reflection of their own experiences of "life on the street" here on Allied Drive (not to undermine a real "life on the street" that youth experience in far more serious "ghettos" within major cities like Chicago or LA). For months onward, when that song came on, it was referred to as the Allied Drive anthem and it was expected that at that moment, in the video game, the player would prevail. How dare you die off while the Allied anthem is on! We had a lot of fun together, despite all the ugliness that likely was experienced outside of our home.

I made our declaration of the Allied anthem public in recognition of what I experienced with the kids I hung out with over the winter months. I wish more people could see what I saw or I wish some of the kids would have to courage or drive to write something that could be published and shared for the rest of Madison (and the world) to see that really reflects what is going through their minds. Maybe one day that will happen, but for now, this song is my best reflection of their experience as I see it.

Recently, the Allied Dunn's Marsh Neighborhood Association advised me that they are considering formal action, such as a protest, against my personal declaration of this song being an anthem without the Association's consent. I would like to make clear that the Allied Dunn's Marsh Neighborhood Association does not endorse anything that I say or do. And my declaration of this song as the anthem was in fun and jest, just as many of our community members proclaim themselves to be the "mayor of Allied Drive". There was a request to pull the song down, however after many experiences of witnessing kids being censored or otherwise blocked in expressing their thoughts and experiences in one form or another, I don't feel comfortable doing so. I will say that the Allied Drive anthem is in no way a formal anthem declared by Ms. Alice Howard or the Allied Dunn's Marsh Neighborhood Association, so please do not think that this song represents her or those associated with her.

All this makes me think of the generational gap and who will prevail when it comes to representing our collective voices. I have no doubt about it, the elders will prevail. If they decide to dedicate their energy into a formal protest, I am certain that the arguments will be compelling as to why such a statement is crude or inappropriate. There is always the issue of representing the positive - look at any debate about the validity of hip-hop as an expression of life. It all boils down to the question of whether life imitates art or if art imitates life.

Regardless, I would urge all members of our community the right to express themselves without any manipulation or censorship in what they wish to portray as their life experience or their opinions. Not everyone is going to agree, and I assume that my readers understand that my opinions are just that, my opinions. Accept them as that, and if you want to make your own judgment calls, feel free to do so, however make the effort to make sound judgments with complete information.

When our elders complain about our generation drinking or swearing or even having sex, we are also accused of ignoring our roots, forgetting where we came from and disregarding the sacrifices that our parents made to ensure opportunities for us. I never recall speaking to any of our youth and feeling that is the case. What I have observed however is that after being accused of not caring, we don't really care enough to set the record straight.

I can completely relate to what I have heard many kids say ... whatever.

Why Allied Drive IS about race

It is often relayed in race relation circles that the best way to overcome racism is to oversee the differences of race and simply look at people for who they are. As Dr. Martin Luther King said, judge individuals by the content of their character, not by the color of their skin. That is all great in principle; however generally, people do not have such discipline. So often we assess people based on what they look like, and once you go there, you can’t backtrack and defend statements without re-connecting it to race.

As much as I would like to talk about all the great people that live on Allied Drive and all the potential that residents here hold on their own, it is nearly impossible to talk about (and often defend) Allied Drive without addressing Madison’s divides relating to race.

I wish the following people didn’t go there:

"For the person shocked at the racial divide in this city all I want to say is that the white community has been bending over backwards to help black people. We are building them community centers, giving them their own personal community police station, giving them practically free housing and intregrating them into our neighborhoods, promoting equal opportunity at the expense of more qualified white candidates etc..etc..etc..etc... And the black community is showing their appreciation for our generosity by filling up the local jails, making the entire city unsafe, ruining the public school system so badly that parents are taking their children to the suburbs or sending them to private schools and putting enormous pressure on the hard working tax payer. Twenty or thiry years ago, at least we were rewarded with a few good comedians, good barabues and some quality music from black people, but we don't even get that from them anymore. The black community now takes much more than they return. I think most native Madisonians would have perferred if they just stayed in Milwaukee or Chicago instead of moving to Madison and bringing the ghetto here with them."

"It's the black people who are causing the problems. they are predisposed to violence. get rid of the black people, and you will get rid of the crime. there is no disputing this."

"I also lived on Allied Drive circa 1967 and it was a perfectly safe neighborhood. Even back in 1967 it was one of the poorer parts of the city, but there was absolutely NO CRIME. The only difference between then and now is the demographics of the neighborhood. Back in 1967 it was all white and now it is all black. I find it quite interesting that many people blame crime on poverty, but back in 1967 none of the poor whites were causing a problem."

Source for all above comments: Channel 3000 Forums

These sorts of comments are endless. For me, the icing on the cake is when a reputed newspaper publishes editorials that defend such ignorance, as the Fitchburg Star published the words of Kurt Getknecht:

"Fitchburg's no leader in the struggle for racial equality, but it's probably no worse than most areas of the country. We're a heavily segregated community, mostly by economic status and class, which is also characteristic of much of the country, including Madison. It was mighty galling it was to listen to Lorri Wendorf's discourse on how Fitchburg residents should embrace differences, which assumed that their concerns about traffic weren't valid. Mind you, I'm not a huge defender of all things Fitchburg, but I felt surprisingly defensive of our fair city. It's difficult to fathom how funneling more traffic through a neighborhood fosters understanding and racial equality, but I probably don't understand the lofty precepts of Madison's elite. Pity the poor Fitchburg resident who had a car end up in his bedroom, a few feet from his bed. He's probably confused to learn that his attempt to prevent this from happening again is a reflection of bias."

Racism is a form of abuse and as with any other abuse, it is not up to the perpetrator to define when abuse is taking place. Furthermore, being "probably no worse than anyone else" is not a valid defense. If you are honestly thinking that you are "probably no worse than anyone else", maybe it is time to venture out and see how you really fare with the rest of the country, and maybe even the rest of the world.

Look at Madison's disproportionate rates of incarceration, home ownership and per-capita income, all among which Wisconsin and Dane County lead in racial disparities when compared to other states and counties in the US. For three years of my life, I had a job that required travel for 120 days out of the year through which I have repeatedly visited nearly every major city in the United States and I can say hands down, I have never felt the levels of unspoken discomfort about race until I came to Madison.

Allied Drive is the most disconnected area of the city when you look at bus routes and accessibility, and we have to actually fight to open up a street? I’ve sat in and observed a lot of meetings about Allied Drive and I remember hearing Fitchburg residents say that they do not want the people of Allied Drive walking up and down the streets of their community, so to back track and shift the focus to traffic safety is like listening to a rapist blame short skirts. You have got to be kidding me.

I have not written in my blog for some time because it has to be known that these issues are very tolling. It is similar to being in a difficult relationship. Sometimes you come to the conclusion that your partner is not going to change so futile efforts may be better spent toward something more constructive. Like a condo downtown. In a city that embraces differences, away from all this madness.

Community Blogging Could Lead to Some Economic Sustainability

I have always wanted to help people in my community become a little more technologically literate. Nowadays, there are so many legitimate ways to earn money online simply by being engaged with a little ingenuity. The Internet is global so what could be a barrier in your local community, could be a strength in your global community. It does not matter where you are from or what language you speak, the Internet serves a purpose of bringing everyone together. I really want to make an effort in 2008 to identify some people in my community who could commit to learning some new skills and one of the things I thought I could do is teach a group of residents how to maintain a blog. What goes with that is learning how to get paid for blogging. I am working on reaching out to people in the community and I hope that this time next month, we will be able to make some headway on getting a class of some sort going. I'll keep you all posted!

What Constitutes Bad Return-On-Investment for Allied Drive?

When evaluating investments, we most often turn to numbers. In the case of the city-owned properties on Allied Drive, it would seem fairly simple to look at the amount of money that Madison’s taxpayers invested into the property, and then work the numbers out to ensure a fair return. However the City of Madison invested into Allied Drive not necessarily to crunch out a profit, but rather to invest in the people and the community. If stability in our community could be achieved, it would ripple out to affect some of the social ailments that plague our city, such as crime, homelessness, unemployment and poverty.

This is all great in principle, however within this process, it is often overlooked that lives are at stake. When our alder, Brian Solomon knocked on our door this weekend to encourage us to come out to another community meeting to voice our thoughts on the redevelopment, it got a little heated. Brian told us that as of a week ago, Phase 1 of the new development process was set to establish all 40 units as 100% Section 8. Now they are talking about 75%. The problem is that there are 30 families that live in the city properties that do not qualify for Section 8 (about 2 families out of 32 do qualify). So if only 10 of us can come back in Phase 1, where are the other 20 supposed to go?

Throughout this process, I have made efforts to remain actively involved and when asked for feedback I have offered it. I have taken personal time to visit with various city people to talk, I have spent time repeatedly offering the fact that I do not qualify for Section 8, and neither do many of my neighbors. When I am told that Phase 1 is likely to be 100% Section 8 just weeks before Phase 1’s redevelopment plan is etched in stone, it sounds like no one ever listened to me, or my neighbors.

The city has been challenged with settling at a solution for the newly acquired properties on Allied Drive in an effort to achieve this goal of stabilizing the Allied Drive community. Within their effort, they hold public meetings where those within the community can freely offer feedback and very often, the need for more Section 8 housing is cited. However who is coming to these meetings and who is raising their voice to guide the redevelopment movement? It is very rare within all these public meetings that I have seen any of my city-property resident neighbors. I have further witnessed some very disturbing methods of manipulating the open meeting process to advance agendas and it all boils down to this: things are not always what they seem. In my conversations with confused or frustrated neighbors, I have encouraged them to write letters to officials and committees that guide the redevelopment process, since many of them are simply unable (or at times unwilling) to come out to public meetings. I thought maybe that would help guide the process. One of my neighbors went the distance to do so … unfortunately, her words also seemed to fall on deaf ears.

It is important to make the distinction between those of us who are really currently living on Allied Drive as leaseholders, and those of us who are living here because of being temporarily taken in by friends and family due to some life circumstance. It seems like if the actual leaseholders in the community are driven away, the goal to achieve stability in our community will be futile. Many of us in the city properties have lived here for 5 years, 10 years and 25 years. That sounds somewhat stable to me, and if those households are driven out of the neighborhood through the Section 8 filter, is the city really achieving its goal?

On top of that, I know that I will have challenges finding a place to live outside of where I am at, if I am asked to move this year. I have some major obstacles that relate to my credit and my background that served as the prime reason Allied Drive became my home. My years on Allied Drive have been tough. My household has had two eviction proceedings in the last year that we successfully combated, but will a new landlord look over the fact that we allowed our rent to back up over $5000 due to extenuating circumstances and consider that we paid that off in 90 days to offset the evictions? If we are displaced, I honestly do not know where to find a landlord that will consider my income without considering my background, my rental payment history or my credit. Two years ago, Allied Drive was the only solution I was able to find after living in a hotel for two months. I am not looking forward to going back to living in a hotel.

I have a puppy to think about. When I look at the investment of faith I am making with the city that there will be a solution for my household within this mess, I am not sure if my investments are sound. I think that the city could potentially put me out through this Section 8 filter, granted I will likely have 60-90 days notice, but sometimes it seems like making an effort to find another place to live in another area of the city and eliminating that unknown in my life would make things a little more stable for me and my household. Who knows, maybe when I am an outsider looking in at the whole Allied Drive mess, I’ll join the rest of Madison in thinking that mass Section 8 is the best solution.

Allied Drive Community Meeting Unveils New Plans, What?

The big meeting that took place this weekend to obtain resident feedback on the path of development for the Allied Drive city properties where I live was brought to my attention by my alder, Brian Solomon. I have to say, Brian made a very genuine effort to get the word out. I received a voice mail, a flier taped to my door, and I saw fliers plastered all over the apartment complex in which I live. When Sunday rolled around, I was thinking, damn, it’s Sunday! I have to work tomorrow, I still have laundry to do, I need to make a grocery list, the apartment’s a mess, my puppy feels neglected. But Brian said this was an important meeting. They all are.

There was a decent turnout. All the familiar activists were there. And some new faces. There was also one other city property resident whom I recognized that showed up. It may not have been the town meeting that many were hoping for, but until it is realized that city people speak a different language than us residents, participation will remain where it is.

First of all, we are not trained to read schematics so for some, the diagrams are all just a bunch of shapes. Many community residents at the meeting still thought that the diagrams reflected all of Allied Drive and did not understand that this new development will only impact nine properties. Even when it is all explained to us, we will still harbor on details that may not really impact the overall design because we are not trained in urban planning so we do not really know exactly what to ask. On top of that, nearly half of the city property residents do not speak English as their first language and some need interpreters to even communicate at these meetings. It’s kind of like when someone asks, “How are you?” What can you say? Uh - fine?

In these situations, maybe we have to rely on experts to do what experts do. When it comes down to someone talking about schematics, I get a little impatient. I guess I can afford to trust the experts because if the end result does not fit what I said I wanted a year ago at the community design meeting, I can afford to shop elsewhere for shelter. Many of my neighbors can also afford to shop elsewhere and that is likely why they do not feel the need to give up a Sunday afternoon to hear city people talk about plans. Most of us have faith that the city leaders will come up with a good solution based on the information they have acquired from us. There are some people who live in the 10th district that are next-to-homeless and need a place to live that is affordable and will accommodate a lack of income and they voice their concerns at all these meetings, however I am not sure if this specific Allied Drive redevelopment project of these nine particular buildings is supposed to solve poverty, homelessness, unemployment and underemployment. Until it is understood what the Allied Drive redevelopment project is to achieve, I think that the confusion and communication lapses will persist.

Some people raised concerns about the affordability of the units. However the residents who currently live in the city-owned apartments were not the ones to raise that question. It’s a logical question that would come up if you were asking the world what they think. I wish this place would hold a public meeting for the entire City of Madison to attend and express their concerns about redevelopment. I’d be the first one to say my concern is that I don’t make the income to live here. I bet that if I consume the entire meeting with my questions about affordability, the actual residents that pay rent there would get a little irritated and after a while they will likely stop coming out to the meetings because their questions and concerns are not being addressed. That is precisely why I left the meeting early. I understand the city strives for a solution that will please everyone, so naturally, their job is to listen. They are definitely doing a wonderful job of keeping their ears open. Now that we have a listening ear, the line to express concerns is growing so long because our community as a whole has a lot of concerns to express. However when it comes to this specific redevelopment project for these nine buildings on Allied Drive, our meetings are filled with people who simply do not live here.

The question asked over and over again was "How much will the rent be?" We talk about displacement and we talk about all these programs that would allow residents to remain here, and ideas come forth at these meetings asking the city to consider 100% Section 8 housing in the new development. I know that my household would not qualify for Section 8 because my household income is too high. Would that mean that I would have to move out? My next-door neighbor has made clear to the city that she would not qualify for Section 8. Would she have to move also? My upstairs neighbor would also not qualify, and neither would my neighbors on the second floor, and my friends over in the 2345 building also would not qualify because their incomes would be too high for Section 8. Would they also have to move out? That sounds like displacement to me.

I raised a question at the meeting in the midst of an argument between some community members and Mark Olinger over whether the new development could be 100% Section 8 or just 80% or 70%? There are 32 households remaining in the city properties. "How many of them are Section 8 recipients?" I asked. Mark indicated it was something like 2, maybe 3. That is less than 10%.



The properties that the city acquired are probably among the nicest apartments on Allied Drive, which I know does not say a whole lot, but I know that the criteria to get into these buildings included an income requirement of three times the rent. Rent here is between $550 and $725. Do the math. Our households can afford a mortgage for a first home if we had some help. One of the households in the city properties is paying for two apartments to accommodate their family. I know from sitting on the CDBG Commission that the City of Madison has some great programs for first time homeowners and there are a lot of people in these buildings that would make great candidates for such assistance. Within that prospective, I think that the city properties striving for at least 50% owner-occupied units may help move our community forward (and not out) if the assistance to obtain one of those units is connected to us residents.

It really pisses me off when people talk for me, and many of my neighbors share that sentiment. I live here in the city property so ask me what I can afford and ask me what I want. Ask my neighbors what they can afford. Ask them directly what they want. Don’t rely on an organization or a survey to speak for us and then interpret that turning Allied Drive into projects is the solution. There are only 32 of us left, how hard could that be? There used to be 80 of us, and more and more residents are leaving the city properties, and they are not all moving into substandard conditions. They are moving into better areas of the city into nice properties. If we had comparable properties out here, maybe some of us would not move out of this neighborhood and maybe we could help provide the stability that the city is looking for in this community.

I would be interested in an owner occupied unit that has 3 to 4 bedrooms (with a basement?), and I would like down payment assistance and some counseling to help me with challenges with my credit. If I do not get that here, I will get it elsewhere and that would mean that I will not stay in this community. I do not want to live in the projects.

That’s all I have to say about the meeting this weekend (at least for now!). I’m not going to write about how some Fitchburg residents are so impassioned about fighting the concept of streets opening up Allied Drive into the surrounding neighborhoods. That’s all for another day, but I will say that the Berlin Wall comes to mind.

Thank You City of Madison for Plowing Allied Drive's Snow

I have had to go to the downtown MATC campus about 10 times in the last couple weeks, and the snow banks there are next to impossible to navigate around if you are on foot. Many people in the Allied Drive community are on foot and many of us have no alternative than to walk in order to get to the businesses close by, including Walgreens, McDonalds or Cub Foods. If you are walking with a stroller with multiple small children, the uphill walk to get to the end of Allied Drive is very cumbersome when you factor in snow and ice. I know resources were challenged with all the snow we got, and I am very thankful that the city has contributed to such a great job with the plowing of streets and walkways in the recent days. Thank you!!

The Art of Listening

One of the responsibilities that accompany being a city commissioner for the City of Madison involves reviewing requests for funding and contributing to a voting process which determines if an applying agency is granted all or part of the funding they request. With any grant application, there is a need to identify a problem and articulate a solution that is associated with a dollar amount. As a group, we determine if the agency’s proposal is a viable and sound response to a valid issue, and if the majority is in agreement, the funding moves forward.

One aspect of this process that strikes me is how many agencies develop solutions without incorporating the contributions of the communities affected by the issue. Individuals affected by social ailments are not incapable of contributing or producing a solution.

I seem to have a slightly different prospective because in addition to being on two city commissions, I also work for an agency and serve on a board that responds to needs within the community that I live in. Through all this, I interact with a lot of agencies and a lot of providers, and overall, I have often witnessed people being told what their problem is and then subsequently being told what their solution is. As a resident of Allied Drive, I have often been told what to do to solve my problems. Go to the food pantry or fill out these forms for some other kind of assistance. As one resident, I am saying that is not the long-term solution. No one seems to ask me what I want. Partly because it is assumed that they already know.

You ever see the kung-fu movies where in the midst of a fight scene, two fighters jump kick at each other, but completely miss one another? That is the problem and solution here. As I see it, many community and government agencies, and many people, often fail to listen. When we are in a position of power and responsible for providing solutions, we often forget that we have a responsibility to listen. Really listen. Listen with the purpose of learning and understanding without any preconceived thoughts that you already know what is going on. What you may learn is that the real problem is not what you thought and therefore, the solution was not what you envisioned. This applies to all the leaders in Madison. There are never any waivers to listening and understanding. In other words, just because you are of the same race as those you are trying to serve, or speak the same language, or just because you know someone’s mother, or just because you have known the person since they were a child, does not automatically mean that you fully understand each other.

There are a lot of people out here that want to contribute to better lives for all residents. There are also a lot of people here who want better lives. I don’t know exactly what the path looks like to get there, however I know there can not be just one voice guiding all of us which way to go. Please listen, and allow everyone to have a voice in our efforts to move forward.

This column was originally published in Madison Voices, Allied Drive's community newspaper. Visit their Web site at: MadisonVoices.com

Halloween on Allied Drive vs. State Street

I found Halloween to be unbelievably quiet out here - I remember it was like that last year too. There were a few costumes here and there, not a lot of people out on the streets, and all around, the aura was not consistent with children's frenzy and excitement. It was fine for me because I was not all that up for going out or dressing up this year anyway. An interesting conversation I had with a neighbor who was going out to State Street for the first time ever, revealed that she was actually scared to go out to State Street. She said that she is petite, and she has heard it was crazy out there and she just does not know about the whole plan. Ironic, because I hear that all the time about people being scared to come out to Allied Drive.

Last holiday season, I was was selling really heavy on eBay where all my spare time in November and December involved making my share of 4th quarter retail profits. During those two months, it made sense to hire someone to do some light housekeeping for eight weeks, once a week for one or two hours. Would you believe that I had three different businesses tell me no, they will not come out here? One of them I remember after telling them my address starting asking me a LOT of personal questions about my living situation, why I need a maid, and I was thinking, aren't I the one that is doing the hiring and supposed to be the one asking the questions? One of them said they needed a deposit because of the "risk" involved in cleaning my house, and since I was an eBay pimp that month, I had the cash flow, so I agreed, maybe a little too fast because he called me back to tell me he can't do it because of some other lame reason. Then there was one woman who had an ad in the State Journal classifieds who finally said she would do it for $14 an hour and a two hour minimum. Fine. eBay was consuming all my time and the two extra hours to help me sustain all my other responsibilities would have helped me not kill myself from sleep deprivation.

The day she was supposed to come out, she called early in the morning to ask me if my apartment building is safe. She said her boyfriend told her Allied Drive was a bad neighborhood, so she wanted to make sure. I told her that I have never had a problem here. Then she asked me how dirty my place was. "I mean, is it really grungy?" Ok, now I was getting irritated, but I maintained my composure and said, no, not really. She said her boyfriend was going to come with because she just did not feel safe. Again, I am a little irritated because I really was not wanting all these people in my house snooping around and lifting my valuable eBay secrets. So she comes out, I hear a knock on the door, by the time I get to the door, I see a woman practically running out to the parking lot. The naive part of me thought, oh, maybe she forgot something and she's coming back. About 15 minutes later, the phone rings, and it was her. She said she can't come out here. She was here and she just did not feel comfortable. There was a car in our lot with a broken window and she could not afford to allow her things to be stolen. You know, whatever.

Let me tell you about things getting stolen from here. I had accidentally dropped a Visa gift card that fell out of my lap while I was getting out of my car in the parking lot. The next day, one of my Latino neighbors approached me and gave me the card saying they found it next to my car. Now this was a gift card that anyone could have just used without getting in any kind of trouble. I thought the card was lost and I really didn't care because it only had about $8 left on it, so it was no big loss. However the card was returned to me by one of my neighbors who saw it next to my car and assumed it was mine. I really didn't want to hear about this lady thinking that everyone on Allied Drive was out to steal the junk in her run-down car.

Anyway, back to this lady who looked so raggedy herself, I really don't know if she could've cleaned all that well anyway. First of all, if she would have taken the time to really look at what was in my parking lot, instead of just seeing what she wanted to see, she would have noticed a lot of really nice pimped out rides. I have a lot of Latino neighbors who work on their cars all summer and you can tell that they really love their cars - and they hook their cars up - there are some really sweet rides in our lot! We had a memo from Meyer Management telling us that we can only have a certain number of cars parked in the lot, likely because some of the cars that my neighbors work on are extra cars over and above what we are allowed to park. She said she was scared, what was she really scared of?

I don't know - it is probably the same thing that my neighbor heading out to State Street was scared of ...

Prisoners of our own homes?

I keep hearing a lot of talk about streets opening up the Allied area so that through the middle of Allied Drive, there would be another street that goes through our neighborhood creating a pathway between our neighborhood and the rest of the Dunn's Marsh community. Many individuals are vehemently against this road, and following is a summary of reasons I have heard at various neighborhood association and public city meetings:

1 - The streets are already very narrow and the open pathway would increase traffic and residents don't want any more cars coming through their quiet street.

2 - It would be so expensive and as city tax payers, many individuals feel they have the right to say no on the grounds that it would just seemingly be irresponsible use of tax dollars, and that there are better things to spend money on.

3 - The individuals that tend to speed and race down Allied are thought to potentially speed down the newly open street as well, and who would want that?

4 - And lastly, perhaps an extension of the above point, some of the residents on the other side of Allied just don't want Allied people coming out to their domain. A street would seem like an open invitation to come out to their neighborhood.

There are some very basic reasons that I see in favor of opening up the street, some of which are summarized as follows:

1 - In terms of safety, if there are more openings into Allied Drive, that makes the neighborhood less segregated from the rest of the city and allows police to have more ways to come into the community serving as a deterrant to some of the crime areas that are somewhat out of reach to normal traffic.

2 - It would be easier for those of us whose mode of transportation is foot to have actual streets to walk down, as opposed to shortcuts through fields and brush, especially in the snow and rain. Speaking from experience, it totally sucks walking to Walgreens in the snow. No one shovels snow off the fields.

There are some basic urban planning reasons for opening up the streets that boils down to a healthy community needing streets to access the rest of the community. I remember going to a neighborhood meeting and hearing a resident from the other side complain about the prospect of the streets opening up and the reason cited was that he did not want "people from down there, up here." There was some consensus among those around him and I don't think that he realized that I was one of those dreaded people from "down there" and hearing that conversation made all of the above really irrelevant.

It seems the real question is whether Allied Drive is deserving of access to the rest of the city, or are we all summoned to remain trapped in this little street with minimal access to what all the other residents of Madison have access to.

When my father was younger, he would often opt for quick fixes on home repairs. We often fixed leaky pipes with duct tape. One thing I learned growing up is that band-aid fixes typically result in something blowing up down the road and requiring a lot of money and a lot of time, and sometimes a little bit of heart to fix. For example, when pictures are damaged in a flood, it takes a certain type of attention to salvage them. That leaky pipe is Allied Drive. For years, we have made little fixes on Allied Drive, parallel to duct tape on a leaky pipe, and things are ready to blow. So be prepared, Madison, the overall solution will require a lot of money and a lot of time, and maybe a little bit of heart.

Survival of the Fittest on Allied Drive?

I participated in an Employment and Training Open House today at the Boys and Girls Club, and it is always nice to do the work that I do in the community that I am connected to. As the appointed MC for the event, I navigated the various training programs available to residents in the community while making my best effort to keep the attendees engaged. All but one attendee was from the Allied Drive community and all but three attendees had been out of work for at least 90 days. One of the comments that consistently came forward was the need for a job now, today, yesterday. Rent is backed up, lights are about to be turned off, a baby is on the way. The question we were confronted with was how can we expect anyone to go to school for even as little as 3 weeks without pay? “What kind of job do you want” was not even a question to ask. Many in this room were willing to do absolutely anything at all that would offer a paycheck. How does that get anyone ahead? We cited success stories of other residents who sat in the same very seats months ago and made commitments to enroll in training programs and are now working at places like US Cellular, The Isthmus and Wisconsin Department of Revenue. It can happen, however it will be an uphill battle, and I was able to guarantee everyone in the room that at least ten things will pop up and attempt to block graduation from any program. It takes a lot of perseverance and a lot of determination to get ahead around here.

Much of that can relate to anyone’s life, however what makes Allied Drive unique is that everyone is in survival-mode, everyone is in crisis and everyone is pumped with serotonin in this grand effort to make it to the end of the day. When you live in such an environment, I swear, it impacts your ability to think straight. All the crisis situations I have been in out here were followed by this urgency to fix the situation with the most accessible solution. Nine times out of ten, that solution was self-destructive in some way, but it pushed the problem to bay. And though I knew it was self destructive, I opted for it anyway. I don’t know why. It has only been recently, through very strict discipline and consciousness, that I stopped myself from taking out a payday loan or going to that auto title loan place down the street whose signs scream at me as I am pulling down Allied Drive EVERY DAY. All these words screech, like "Fast Money," "No Hassles," or "Up To $10,000 NOW." Something makes me want to go in there and something makes me think that I would actually qualify for something close to that $10,000, and that would somehow solve all or most of my problems – can you imagine a $10,000 pay day loan? It would take decades and the value of a house to pay that off!

There is some kind of essence that breeds on Allied Drive and shifts us to this mindset that we are on the verge of collapsing. That distorts our ability to respond in a sound manner. They say that crisis meets everyone at some point in time, but imagine being confronted with it at the same time as all your neighbors, every day at every hour! Have you ever seen “28 Days Later”? That is what life out here feels like every day, all the time.

The Power Of One

This Saturday, September 15th, come out to our community to participate in a walk that will help support MAP with your donations of $1 or more.

The registration for the walk will start at 8:00 am and conclude with a short ceremony around 10:00 am with a presentation from the Employer Group. If you have any questions, please call 608-239-4286.

The campaign is centered around the POWER in ONE ... see you there!

Katrina's Two Year Anniversary

As Katrina's anniversary approaches, let's serve a reminder.

Neighborhood Festival

Our Neighborhood Association really pulled off an awesome community festival! There really was something for everyone - from Spanish dancers, to hip-hop DJ's to double dutch contests, and of course food! Outside of a Dunn's Marsh resident trying to shut the thing down due to a permit issue, everything went extraordinarily well - Thank you Ms. Alice Howard for pulling it off!

Ironically, the block was so quiet this weekend ... no fights, no crazy dealings - kind of makes you wonder if some of the drama stems from boredom?

Anyway, check out the news coverage ...