Maxwell Park Neighborhood News

by Sarah Hipolito

Watch Out, Here We Come! We have been having too many armed robberies in the neighborhood. But how to get the word out to the over 2,000 homes in Maxwell Park? The Neighborhood Council board, Jose Dorado, Robert McGillis, Jan Hetherington, Krista Gulbransen, and Jeremy Gluskin, put their heads together and devised a way to notify neighbors about the meeting electronically and in person. In 12 days' time, 25-plus volunteers copied, printed, and distributed flyers throughout the neighborhood while notice of the meeting went out on the 592-member Yahoo! group. So what makes a good agenda for a meeting of this magnitude? Not only did we want to get information out about the armed robberies so all could be extra aware, we also wanted to take the opportunity to gather forces for a Neighborhood Watch program. First and foremost was to let neighbors, police, and City Council know what steps the neighborhood had already taken in response to the increase in crime. We wanted to end the meeting knowing what additional things could be done to keep us all safe. The response by the community was overwhelming. Over 270 neighbors, 16 members of OPD, and three city staff or councilmembers were present. Chair Jose Dorado made a presentation of current facts about the robberies. OPD responded to a series of questions about what was being done for the neighborhood. Grace Neufeld, executive director of Neighborhood Solutions, told us more about her business, which helps neighbors combat problem landlords. Pat Patterson and Paula Lewis gave a brief history of the Allendale Neighborhood Watch, which has been in existence for over 27 years. Oakland's Neighborhood Services Manager Claudia Albano explained the concept of Neighborhood Watch (Home Alert). Over 50 neighbors signed up to be block captains for Maxwell Park. Araina Richards said she will help organize Neighborhood Watch block by block. Jan Hetherington, membership secretary for MPNC and Yahoo! group moderator, will assist in coordinating the program in Maxwell Park. The evening ended with a showing from Police Chief Tucker, who spoke about the slow progress being made in increasing the number of officers required by Measure Y. He and the rest of the city staffers stayed after the meeting for networking with the neighbors. We are grateful for the hospitality by Ruben Aurelio, principal of Maxwell Park School, for hosting our monthly meetings. To form a Neighborhood Watch group, contact Claudia Albano, calbano\@oaklandnet.com. If you have a problem landlord, contact Neighborhood Solutions, Inc., 392-0115 or SolutionsInc\@ev1.net. To join the MPNC Yahoo! group, contact Jan Hetherington, membsecretary\@maxwellparknc.com. MPNC meets the second Wednesday of each month at Maxwell Park Elementary, Fleming and Monticello.