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- It’s About Time! Public Housing Residents Get First Class Treatment
It’s About Time! Public Housing Residents Get First Class Treatment
- By Jolanda Jones
- Published 06/17/2009
- Editorial and Opinion
- Unrated
I’m writing this for two reasons: 1) finally, there is something positive to hear regarding the government’s treatment of people living in public housing, and 2) the government departments which I collaborated with responded more swiftly than normal, even for wealthy citizens. I’m hoping that praise, when warranted, will motivate and model appropriate behavior and responses in the future.
Let me start from the beginning. I received a call on Thursday afternoon, May 7, 2009, from a concerned resident, advising me that that the sidewalks around Kelly Village were in dangerous disrepair and that a senior citizen was injured as a result. He asked me to please help. I couldn’t fathom how a sidewalk could be dangerous to residents, so I decided to go see for myself. When I arrived, I couldn’t believe what I saw. Outside of the gate of the housing project with apartments which had handicap ramps, the sidewalk was broken and cracked and un-leveled, from tree roots, to the tune of 2-3 feet in some places. While I was there, I saw an elementary school girl, in her school uniform, trip and fall on the unbearable surface, get up, dust herself off, and proceed with her life. That’s just how life is for people who are accustomed to impoverished conditions. What struck me, however, were the three male senior citizens who were sitting under a tree and for all intents and purposes, trapped by the sidewalk because they didn’t have the agility or youth of the school girl. They were, ironically and respectively, 1) in a wheel chair, 2) using a walker, and 3) in a scooter.
I called the Mayor’s office and the Houston Housing Authority (HHA) to respectfully and somewhat emphatically demand that we do better by these citizens and fix this dangerous sidewalk. Within a couple of hours, promises had been made by both the Mayor’s office and HHA to repair the sidewalk. I explained the promises to the citizens. They didn’t believe me due to the city’s history of disenfranchisement. I promised them that I would follow through and get the city to keep its promise.
By Friday afternoon, the very next day, the sidewalk repair was underway and part of the sidewalk had been torn up. Construction tape had been put up around the work area. HHA, the Parks and Recreation Department and my office were trying to make sure that the residents didn’t lose the beautiful and historic old trees which are gathering places that provide shade to the residents while still providing sidewalks that comply with requirements including the American with Disabilities Act.
Two days later, on Sunday, I drove to Kelly Village with my son and a friend, just to make sure I, along with Kelly Village residents, weren’t hood-winked and bamboozled. We parked, got out, walked around and spoke with residents. I wanted to see, with my own eyes, if they were continuing to move and not just selling wolf tickets. To my surprise, more work was done and progress was being made. On Monday, I called HHA to congratulate them on their work so far, and to ask when the project would be complete. I was pleasantly informed that it would be finished in four phases by the end of July.
The following Friday, I had a town hall meeting for the residents to notify them of the progress and the plan. HHA, via a power point, and the Parks and Recreation Department made presentations. There was some resistance to the town hall because some thought a sidewalk didn’t deserve a town hall meeting. I, and my staff, on the other hand, thought a town hall meeting was appropriate for public housing residents, to give them a taste of how other, non-public housing communities, are treated. It was a positive step. Of course, we had to deal with past injustices but the residents are giving me a chance to walk the walk.
In sum, I would like to thank the Mayor’s office, Horace Allison of the HHA and Joe Turner, Director of Parks and Recreation for assigning a Forestry worker to help with the salvage of the trees. In other words, Kelly Village received new sidewalks around the entirety of their property, after over 25 years of neglect. And with a smile in my heart, they got the repairs started within one (1) day and as of today, half is finished, the north and east sides of the property and the remainder is forecasted to be complete by the end of July due to issues relating to parking spaces.
Per Tanya Smith, a Kelly Village resident with a brand new baby girl, who needs leveled surfaces to carry her newborn, “I am glad the sidewalks are fixed; they have been bad since I moved in. I’m glad that Council Member Jones came because it made a difference with the sidewalks.” Furthermore, neighborhood resident Jerome Walton expressed, “It’s been an enlightenment for the community and it’s been truly an uplift in the quality of life. It has changed the attitudes of the people…we finally believe that someone from City Council has a true concern for us. We are looking forward for you [Councilmember Jones] to do more.”
To the residents of Kelly Village, specifically, and to Houstonians, in general, I try as best as I can, to carry your ball of constituent issues, as close to the goal line as I can, sometimes even dragging [figuratively speaking] the opposition along the way.
Sidewalks around Kelly Village were in a horrid state of disrepair.
Residents of Kelly Village were amazed at the speed in which the city moved to repair the sidewalks surrounding their property once
Councilmember Jolanda Jones got involved.
Let me start from the beginning. I received a call on Thursday afternoon, May 7, 2009, from a concerned resident, advising me that that the sidewalks around Kelly Village were in dangerous disrepair and that a senior citizen was injured as a result. He asked me to please help. I couldn’t fathom how a sidewalk could be dangerous to residents, so I decided to go see for myself. When I arrived, I couldn’t believe what I saw. Outside of the gate of the housing project with apartments which had handicap ramps, the sidewalk was broken and cracked and un-leveled, from tree roots, to the tune of 2-3 feet in some places. While I was there, I saw an elementary school girl, in her school uniform, trip and fall on the unbearable surface, get up, dust herself off, and proceed with her life. That’s just how life is for people who are accustomed to impoverished conditions. What struck me, however, were the three male senior citizens who were sitting under a tree and for all intents and purposes, trapped by the sidewalk because they didn’t have the agility or youth of the school girl. They were, ironically and respectively, 1) in a wheel chair, 2) using a walker, and 3) in a scooter.
I called the Mayor’s office and the Houston Housing Authority (HHA) to respectfully and somewhat emphatically demand that we do better by these citizens and fix this dangerous sidewalk. Within a couple of hours, promises had been made by both the Mayor’s office and HHA to repair the sidewalk. I explained the promises to the citizens. They didn’t believe me due to the city’s history of disenfranchisement. I promised them that I would follow through and get the city to keep its promise.
By Friday afternoon, the very next day, the sidewalk repair was underway and part of the sidewalk had been torn up. Construction tape had been put up around the work area. HHA, the Parks and Recreation Department and my office were trying to make sure that the residents didn’t lose the beautiful and historic old trees which are gathering places that provide shade to the residents while still providing sidewalks that comply with requirements including the American with Disabilities Act.
Two days later, on Sunday, I drove to Kelly Village with my son and a friend, just to make sure I, along with Kelly Village residents, weren’t hood-winked and bamboozled. We parked, got out, walked around and spoke with residents. I wanted to see, with my own eyes, if they were continuing to move and not just selling wolf tickets. To my surprise, more work was done and progress was being made. On Monday, I called HHA to congratulate them on their work so far, and to ask when the project would be complete. I was pleasantly informed that it would be finished in four phases by the end of July.
The following Friday, I had a town hall meeting for the residents to notify them of the progress and the plan. HHA, via a power point, and the Parks and Recreation Department made presentations. There was some resistance to the town hall because some thought a sidewalk didn’t deserve a town hall meeting. I, and my staff, on the other hand, thought a town hall meeting was appropriate for public housing residents, to give them a taste of how other, non-public housing communities, are treated. It was a positive step. Of course, we had to deal with past injustices but the residents are giving me a chance to walk the walk.
In sum, I would like to thank the Mayor’s office, Horace Allison of the HHA and Joe Turner, Director of Parks and Recreation for assigning a Forestry worker to help with the salvage of the trees. In other words, Kelly Village received new sidewalks around the entirety of their property, after over 25 years of neglect. And with a smile in my heart, they got the repairs started within one (1) day and as of today, half is finished, the north and east sides of the property and the remainder is forecasted to be complete by the end of July due to issues relating to parking spaces.
Per Tanya Smith, a Kelly Village resident with a brand new baby girl, who needs leveled surfaces to carry her newborn, “I am glad the sidewalks are fixed; they have been bad since I moved in. I’m glad that Council Member Jones came because it made a difference with the sidewalks.” Furthermore, neighborhood resident Jerome Walton expressed, “It’s been an enlightenment for the community and it’s been truly an uplift in the quality of life. It has changed the attitudes of the people…we finally believe that someone from City Council has a true concern for us. We are looking forward for you [Councilmember Jones] to do more.”
To the residents of Kelly Village, specifically, and to Houstonians, in general, I try as best as I can, to carry your ball of constituent issues, as close to the goal line as I can, sometimes even dragging [figuratively speaking] the opposition along the way.
Sidewalks around Kelly Village were in a horrid state of disrepair.
Residents of Kelly Village were amazed at the speed in which the city moved to repair the sidewalks surrounding their property once
Councilmember Jolanda Jones got involved.