Pasadena is truly a city that has a character all its own; a place to be proud of and to love.
But I can’t ignore what has been happening in our streets and neighborhoods. I can’t help but wonder what things would be like if Neighborhood Connections was still in existence.
I’m not saying what we are experiencing is a result of the demise of Neighborhood Connections nor am I saying that the organization would bring an end to all of this unrest. But Pasadena would have a resource for neighbors to become empowered and unified in order to make safer streets and neighborhoods.
But what happened to Neighborhood Connections that its existence was no longer justifiable? Was it reduced from a fully staffed entity to an individual that sent out a canned newsletter, never returned phone calls nor responded to emails? Or was it an organization with a staff who was readily accessible and available and was knowledgeable of neighborhood issues and had access to a vast wealth of resources. True to its name, it connected neighbors with other neighbors experiencing a similar situation. It also kept neighborhoods informed of hearings and other issues impacting their immediate vicinity.
To this day, when someone asks how to make their neighborhoods safe, there is a consensus that Brian Biery, former director of Neighborhood Connections, is the person they need to contact. Perhaps with the changing of the guard at City Hall, it is time to revisit the need for an organization such as Neighborhood Connections.
Sincerely,
Stephen Lipira
Got something to say, email Managing Editor André Coleman, at andrec@pasadenanowmagazine.
Get our daily Pasadena newspaper in your email box. Free.
Get all the latest Pasadena news, more than 10 fresh stories daily, 7 days a week at 7 a.m.
2 thoughts on “We Get Letters: Re-establish Neighborhood Connections”
What is the difference between Connections and Next-Door Neighbor which is very active in East Pasadena?
I am both a former president and current co-president of my neighborhood association. I fully support Stephen Lipira’s call for the re-establishment of Neighborhood Connections. Having just completed my tenure on the Pasadena Redistricting Task Force, the importance of established neighborhood associations was in stark evidence as we weighed the importance of “communities of interest” in an effort to comply with the new Fair Maps Act. After the demise of Neighborhood Connections the mechanism for maintaining existing neighborhood associations and the establishment of new associations has all but ceased. Instead, we see instances of this importance process being usurped by special interests as is evident in the case of the more recently Downtown Neighborhood Association which claims to represent an area that is larger than a City Council District and attempts to subordinate the community interests of no fewer than six pre-existing associations within its borders. This kind of wholesale community interest land grab would have been tempered, if not prevented, if a responsible agency had been in charge of the process. We need our Neighborhood Connections back!