Disappointing turn out at mayor’s Listening to Lakewood session
Considering that the July 22nd Listening to Lakewood meeting was supposed to target the decently-sized section of the city stretching from West 117th to Nicholson between Lake and Detroit, the turnout was total disappointment. 35 or so people heard the mayor give a rather typical self-serving stump speech and PowerPoint presentation.
To the uninitiated, FitzGerald’s schpeel was probably a feel good event. His message: Lakewood was in bad shape before I took the reins, but now it’s comparatively blue skies and sunshine. If there was a scintilla of doubt about the purity of his soul, he casually reminded the audience he used to work for the FBI.
His hour and forty-minute presentation and Q&A session were flawed by dastardly omissions of fact. For instance, in trumpeting the increased number of uniformed police officers and establishment of neighborhood police offices, it should have been mentioned that the program’s funding came exclusively at the expense of other city services.
In an act the dearly departed Michael Jackson might have described as “very, very, very devilish,” FitzGerald referenced the youth re-entry program at Hidden Village when someone raised a question about the MHS clients on Bonnieview, but conveniently side-stepped specific mention of Hidden Village’s federal lawsuit against the city alleging racism and violations of fair housing laws.
And, for the record, Mayor FitzGerald was a councilperson during almost the entire period of time when the city’s finances ran amuck. He’s as much responsible for that mess as the people he likes to point the finger at.
Residents had a range of familiar questions and comments. One elderly fellow expressed his displeasure about stray dogs, and dog walkers who don’t curb their pets. He also was unhappy about discourteous bicyclists who travel on sidewalks.
A Mathews Ave. resident was ticked about kids who routinely walk in the street and the influx of residents in subsidized housing. (“If the economy continues to go downhill, it’s going to increase landlords’ temptation” to accept housing vouchers, FitzGerald said. But, not to worry. “We’re gonna just have to manage it,” he said.)
Another person was unhappy with the poor quality of communication from the recreation department (run by the school board) in regard to the process of reserving playing fields. The mayor said the city and the school board were working on an agreement to revise and clarify each others’ responsibilities.
Somebody else was peeved that people on Thoreau are leaving garbage cans on their front lawns well after the conclusion of garbage day. The mayor nodded. He cuts down Thoreau during his morning commute to city hall from the land of milk and honey.
A citizen queried FitzGerald about his opinion of Bill Mason’s proposal to reform county government. Not good, said the mayor. He described the plan as “risky” and “very flawed.”
Overall, this Listening to Lakewood session was a missed opportunity. The unvarnished truth is that Ward 4 is home to many of the city’s worst crime and decay problems. These problems will only be solved when the residents are organized, informed, and empowered.
If FitzGerald was serious about drawing a crowd, he would have drafted Ward 4 Councilperson Mary Louise Madigan (who was present at the meeting) and each of the three at-large council people to go door knocking. I’m sure the folks living on Clifton Prado have a few things to share. The residents who most needed to be there were absent.
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