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Status of N. Monroe Revitalization

Status of N. Monroe Revitalization

About two weeks ago, we made a request to have a written status update on North Monroe Revitalization, which, according to previous reports, was scheduled to break ground shortly.

On September 7, we received (via our appointed city rep, Tirrell Black) the following statement from Andrew Worlock, who is helping to oversee the N. Monroe revitalization project at the city level:

We are working on finalizing the contract with Studio Cascade. We have re-scoped the consultant’s work plan to provide a greater emphasis on economic development and identifying the public actions (infrastructure, etc) that are needed to stimulate private investment within and along the corridor. The approach uses a more refined focus given to three nodes along the corridor: a northern node, a “mid” node and a southern or “Northbank” node. We think this will mesh well with the neighborhood planning efforts of the EG Neighborhood as well as the other planning efforts (Kendall Yards, Spokane County) ongoing along the corridor. We hope to have the consultant under contract early this fall.

We’ll present this statement and discuss its impact at the neighborhood council meeting this week, which takes place on Wednesday, 7pm at the Corbin Senior Center.

Now, Where Do We Go from Here?

Now, Where Do We Go from Here?

Thanks to everyone who took the time to follow the story about The Hoods and our response to it, we’ve had hundreds of new visitors to this site over the past 48 hours. We hope that it won’t be a one-off and that many of you will return to stay abreast of much less incendiary news about neighborhood developments and events.

Whether you agree with our point about The Hoods or not, we want to invite everyone with a stake in Emerson-Garfield to participate in our ongoing efforts to improve the neighborhood from the bottom up. Contrary to stereotype, Emerson-Garfield’s neighborhood council and planning committee aren’t a cabal of grumpy old men griping about kids on their lawn — the groups are diverse, they’re vibrant, they’re active, and they’re always looking for ways to become more of all those things.

Some of the biggest challenges we’ve historically faced are ignorance and apathy, but The Hoods has shown that people can become informed very quickly if the incentive is there, and that those people are anything but apathetic about their neighborhood.

So, where do we go from here?

Don’t limit your concern to a single of outburst of controversy. Don’t limit your comments to a single blog post. Don’t sour on an issue because of criticism. Instead, show up to neighborhood council and planning meetings. Speak your mind. Offer your input. Make suggestions for improvement. Help with the legwork. Because neither the individual councils nor The Hoods are the sole arbiters of what our neighborhoods are or what they can be. That takes all of us working in concert.

Here in Emerson-Garfield, there are two meetings this week that would welcome new faces, new voices, and new ideas:

  • Neighborhood Planning, 6pm on Wednesday at Corbin Senior Center. This is an initiative that is working toward a documented vision that could guide the neighborhood for the next decade and beyond.
  • Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council, 7pm on Wednesday at Corbin Senior Center. This focuses on practical issues and improvements such as crime updates, new playground equipment in the parks, and event planning.

If you’re fired up and live, work, or own property anywhere in Emerson-Garfield, we hope to see you at one or both of these meetings.

Neighborhood Potluck Wrap-up

Neighborhood Potluck Wrap-up

The Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Potluck took place last night at Emerson Park. There was a great turnout of people from all over the neighborhood and a ton of food that included great dishes like quinoa salsa, English shortbread, Asian peanut noodles with tofu, and seafood salad (in addition to the free hot dogs, of course).

City councilwoman (and current state senate candidate) Nancy McLaughlin took part, as did former councilman Steve Corker. Downtown’s Main Market Co-op was also on hand to help spread the word about affordable local food. As part of the market’s contribution to the potluck, they brought along a giant bowl of the popular kale salad from the deli.

During the meeting portion of the event, all the attendees were given a chance to introduce themselves and talk about what they wanted for the neighborhood. Their suggestions included more bike lanes on the residential streets, better collaboration between local businesses and residents, steps to reduce crime (although a city police officer noted that Emerson-Garfield actually has one of the lowest neighborhood crime rates in Spokane this summer), and more community-wide activities.

We also discussed and voted on park improvements. Several new pieces of playground equipment — possibly including a seesaw, a merry-go-round, swings, and a slide — will replace the single unit in Emerson-Park, and both Emerson and Corbin Parks will get new electrical hook-ups for things like live music. Corbin Park will also have a new set of swings put in.

At the end of the evening, we got the chance to find out about something else that’s going on in the neighborhood — SpoFlow, which takes place every Wednesday night at Emerson Park [map] during the summer. It’s a fun live music jam session with yoga and hula hoopers.

Night Out Against Crime Wrap-up

Night Out Against Crime Wrap-up

At yesterday evening’s Night Out Against Crime event in Corbin Park, Pizza Rita raised $242 from merchandise sales and donations for COPS North Central. That’s not bad, considering that they were charging just 50¢ for large slices and pop — and they were selling the remaining whole large pizzas for just $3 (or two for $5!) at the end.

There was music by the Liverwurst Lads and Zach Hval, and later in the evening there were fire dancers from Visual Vortex. Brian Dickmann, owner of our neighborhood Pizza Rita, was on hand (along with plenty of his staff) to help run the evening and promote the many items that were available for auction — like a snowboard and vibrant Hawaiian shirts.

2012 Emerson-Garfield Picnic & Potluck, Aug 8

2012 Emerson-Garfield Picnic & Potluck, Aug 8

Lucky residents in Emerson-Garfield have already begun receiving their flyers for this year’s Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Picnic & Potluck, which will be held Wednesday, August 8 from 6 to 8pm in Emerson Park [map].

Click either of the icons for a larger view:

The picnic/potluck is being organized by members of the Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council — an all-volunteer organization that’s dedicated to bringing improvements to the neighborhood and ensuring a better quality of life for residents and business owners alike.

This event will be a great chance to meet your neighbors from all over Emerson-Garfield neighborhood and to hear from EGNC members on things like:

  • Upcoming events
  • Crime reports
  • Initiatives by the City of Spokane
  • Neighborhood planning
  • Park improvements

Everyone who lives or does business in Emerson-Garfield is welcome to attend. Invite your closest neighbors! Invite members of your charity or congregation! Invite the postman! Invite the cashiers at Zips on NW Blvd and Pizza Rita on Indiana or the baristas at Caffe Delicio!

There will be free hot dogs and soda, but all participants are kindly asked to please bring a dish (seriously, folks, please bring a dish!) to ensure that we’ve got enough food and enough variety. It could be a bowl of your homemade potato salad, a bag of tortilla chips and a jar of salsa, or some fruit from a local grocer.

Costs for all the supplies are coming out of our own pockets, so if you’re feeling generous, here’s what else we could use:

  • Extra utensils
  • Extra cups
  • Additional hot dogs or burgers (and buns)
  • Juice

Please let us know if you’re bringing any of the above so we can plan accordingly. Leave a comment below, e-mail us, or call (509) 325-4340.

A neighborhood council meeting will follow the event, which means you can take part and decide if you’d like to become an active member.

We look forward to seeing you there!