November 10, 2009

PIP

Maybe it is me but I am not sure how I feel about taking a problem like the PIP and saying that we are making it all better by spreading their clients throughout the City of Worcester?

15 comments:

Gabe said...

You are absolutely correct Bill. Let's just move the entire thing to Holden.

Paulie's Point of View said...

why would we do this Gabriel? If the demographics were all Holden residents or a high percentage perhaps but I do not think this is the case...

To have a seat at the table Gabriel you need to do more than shout out stuff like this...something you do often.

I think you mean well but one of these days to really be taken serious by more than your crowd of freinds who think you love WooTown more than anyone you will need to work up a sweat and more than a sweat from eating banana halapeno pizza!

I have a huge investment in this neighborhood and I to am very worried about this recent decision that my neighborhood had absolutely no say in...Jordan Levy who lives on Whisper Drive and refuses to go into the Dunkin Donuts downtown because of the vagrants had a seat at the table but me who by the end of the year will have quite a few quid invested in the hood nor Bill who also does had none...

Bill Randell said...

Gabe:

Nobody more then I would like to change the downtown demographics and have my housing right next to my office.

Looking at my 6 year old daughter, I am sorry but I just don't see downtown as a good place to raise a family.

Instead of alienating people like myself, who have chosen to reside outside the city (and many other business people), you need these people to help make downtown the place you envision.

Bill

David Z. said...

Methinks Gabe was just being facetious guys.

Gabe said...

Hi 5 David.

And you know, for a while I listened to some of your retort Paulie, and trust me when I say this I respect the hell out of you, but don't think that what I do, and my "contribution", doesn't make a difference.

Is it as large of a difference as what you and Bill do? Probably not. But I have seen impact and influence from what I do within my own community first hand, even if it just making folks pay attention and be more aware of the what's and why's of the city. If this inspires others to action then my job is done.

Good day.

Paulie's Point of View said...

I do not think Gabriel was tongue in cheek Dave...

Gabriel....before you make such a statement why don't you ask me, Bill and a slough of other cats who have invested a lot of personal quid into this neighborhood what we think....have coffee and we may make you rethink the move to Holden issue..this is not a them against us issue..this is about a city making continual decisions without including it's partners

Bill Randell said...

The bottom line is the question should be asked why aren't people like myself and Dave Zimage opting to live in Worcester...

David Z. said...

I'm waiting for my share of stimulus money to move back to the city. :)

Gabe said...

My original post, about the PIP moving to Holden was sarcasm. Wow.

Bill Randell said...

Gabe:

Sorry if you were just kiddin. This has really hit a sore spot with the Chandler Business Association.

We have been working on this engaging with various city officials, as well as elected officials pretty much constantly the past two years. At no time during any of these meetings, did anyone mention anything about the PIP moving to the Community Healthlink.

Needless to say we were all beside ourselves to read about it in the newspaper for the first time. Again, sorry just a bad day when I saw your comment about the PIP and Holden.

Bill

David Z. said...

Mayor-elect Joe O'Brien has just sent word that he would like the four of us to discuss our “differences” over a couple of drinks.

Gabe said...

Nah no problem, what I didn't realize was that that was there were talking about moving it. I am happy to see some action as far doing something to get rid of the PIP all together, however, it seems to me that this could definitly be shitty for the neighborhood you guys are trying to turn around.

It's a weird thing though. The reality is that there is no such thing as a metropolitan area without it's slums and bad parts of town. And when the entire urban area is a slum, well, you kind of have to choose your battles if you want to see some revitilization. I hope you guys succeed but I don't have any close friends or family that live or own businesses in the Village of Peidmont and I very rarely go there myself aside from a very rare dinner at Evo. I am not trying to be harsh and I know it's not the most politcal thing to say but the substance addled have to go somewhere and the farther they are from my neighborhood the better.

I could probably help the cause a lot more by renting a nice place from Paulie, moving into the Village of Peidmont and helping you guys in any way that I can, but the fact of the matter, and what I keep arguing about is this. I actually have some damn good city living right now. Fed Square and the Canal District really actually aren't that far from being real, honest to goodness AWESOME places for a person of my lifestyle to live.

I enjoy, brick and cement and storefronts, and large buildings, and 20 plus unit housing. As far as the VOP goes Pleasant is the only place I can really get that and Pleasant is a long way from being what Fed Sq even is now or what the Canal District is now.

It's all subjective, but for the most part I actually have been enjoying my past two years down here in Fed Sq.

Could and should I do more? Definitely, but I am sure that if affordable housing made a B-line out of the VOP and into another neighborhood you wouldn't shed a tear. This is how I feel about any possibility of a PIP exodus. It ain't actually in Federal Sq, but it's close enough to affect us.

My bitch is getting more folks like myself living there and convincing businesses that they should open shop there, and in turn convincing folks that they want to build and refurbish there.

Gabe said...

By the way. It's been my opinion for a few years that all Worcester needs to turn it's urban core around is one crown jewel of an urban neighborhood that is actually in demand for housing.

I feel very strongly that the Canal District has all the ingrediants for this to happen.

A. A large group of folks who have already been romanced by this area of the city.

B. Land. There is actually land here to build. This is actually an urban neighborhood that can be reshaped and a neighborhood can actually be created.

C. There are many already existing amenities that appeal to the demographic that this type of crown jewel needs including restaurants, bars, specialty foods, shopping, and train service.

What I wish more than anything Bill is that folks like you and Paulie could be convinced to throw your considerable efforts into this one neighborhood that in my opinion isn't that far from reaching it's full potential.

I feel that one incredible urban neighborhood would have a domino effect in this city.

I LOVE what you guys are doing on Chandler St though. Don't ever misunderstand that fact.

Paulie's Point of View said...

hellava thing to joke about Gabriel....I got hundreds of thousands of dollars and years invested in the neighborhood and you think it is a fucking joke!

they laugh outside the city about the morose of WooTown daily...add one more fucking guy without a clue to the city-just what it needs!

Jahn said...

David, if you want to see good ole Stimulus money at work just drive by Bill's office on Pleasant St. Looked to me like they were cold planning Bill's stretch of Pleasant St and getting it ready for some new bituminous concrete. Glad to see Pleasant St is in tall cotton

Bill, are you getting new brick sidewalks like the Banal District or just concrete ones like Clark University gets over off Park Avenue or heaven forbid, mere macadam sidewalks made from poor mans trap rock.

Meanwhile some of us have to live on a dirt road with no sidewalks.

The Pleasant Street Reinvestment & Recovery Act....!!!!!!

Chandler Street Reinvestment & Recovery Act = nuttin but recovering bums, hobo's, and other ne'er do well types moving into brand new digs. Once again these folks belong out on a farm in Dana or Savoy.

Did I hear on the radio that Worc Common Grd and the city have solved or come up with a plan to solve the flooding over on May & Silver Sts? Inquiring minds want to know who is paying the freight on this fix?