Crow Hill (Crown Heights) Town Hall happening Today 3/23/12

I'm in attendance at the Crow Hill Community Association Town Hall starting right about now (12:20p) at PS 44 on the corner of Classon & St. Marks.

Live blogging isn't my forte but I'm going to give it a shot. A diverse crowd if civic-minded folk of many stripes are gathering now in the auditorium. A cheerful staff of volunteers are helping everyone get situated and a fiddler is warming things up.

Can't wait to hear opinions about the neighborhood issues, new businesses, development and of course bike parking.

Come for the fiddling stay for the friendship. Who doesn't love a good fiddle metaphor?

(Semi Live Blogging)

12:30 Garnett and Nick (writer of the I Love Franklin Park blog) open the meeting telling their stories of coming to and living crown heights. They've made to point that the conversation is intended to be open to everyone and that no topic is off the table. Including the much debated topic of gentrification.

We're told we'll e breaking into to small discussion groups and then a full discussion will be held at the end of the meeting

12:46 Karen Granville crown heights resident she reminds that our voices will shape our neighborhood.

Each group will feature a conversation facilitator to help the discussion stay on topic

12:50 were getting into discussion groups based on our birth month. Seems like a hilarious meetup ppsession I can't wait to see the June group try and stay on topic (speaking from experience I'm a Gemini)

(Update)
I couldnt get great cell service in the auditorium even though its above ground (thanks AT&T) so my last posts didnt make it out.

For a recap you'll probably want to check the "I Love Franklin Ave" Blog since Nick was one of the many volunteers faciliating the event.

Over all I thought it went very well providing an open forum in smaller groups whose keypoints were poured into a wider discussion (after I left). Based on the discussion I was party to there seem, very generally to be two directions of conversation, one in my view, comes from pain and poor treatment long term residents have received in our community, and the other comes from people who like most people came to this neighborhood to improve their lives and are left wondering if that should carry around a scarlet letter, or if its even worth it to try to make amends. I'm writing my thoughts about that and I'll post them soon. My overall take-away is as great as I think this Town Hall was, if we go into these avenues of conversation as well as the avenues in our neighborhood with a intentionally intransigent point of view we can expect all our worse fears to come true.

We can do better together.