Lyell-Otis Neighborhood Association Meeting Minutes of April 11th, 2005
Meeting Began at 7:09 P.M.
‚WELCOME‚
Welcome & Review Of Minutes: also online at http://journals.aol.com/nicenrg/LONA
Housing Report:
4 four were removed from our list of 15, there is room for eight more - let Mike V. know
Other locations are still being fined
Suggestion: write letter to city regarding city owned homes on Austin St - are not helping neighborhood’s image
Sharon-NET:
still fining and citing problem locations
Mary, the investigator, has a very good response time
Burglary/Robbery:
about three garages broken into - tools taken Curlew Street and Lee Road areas
some are petty larceny or auto theft
no house numbers are given out on the list - only if you live on the street
Policeman Joe Hayes:
smaller clusters of burglaries this past month - many of garages/sheds - crooks look for unlocked ones
PAC-TAC Saturation Walk - first one of this spring on Tues 4/12/05
- no training required, meet at 6pm at NET, leave at 6:30pm
using community van as a resource with community info to reach out to neighbors
hopefully will alleviate the prostitution problem
Bob Stevenson is still on court watch and can attest to the prostitution problem - most are addicted to drugs
a lot more "open air" solicitations, and not just after dark
Carla Palumbo, Monroe County Legislature:
referral to look at DSS was defeated in committee
was there any breakdown in system - i.e. since Mr. Lyons was found dead in his home, but not until months later
she has grave concerns if DSS can do their work with the extreme budget cuts, plus many complaints are logged
some small improvements have been made, but the "next time" incident could be prevented
internal investigation to see if the system in place can work
Carla’s Town Meeting: Quality Of Life Issues
Wednesday, April 27th 7-9 PM at Holy Apostles Church
come together across neighborhoods and brainstorm solutions with the public
open invitation for all
reach Carla at 647-4072 to RSVP
Comment: Section 3 Quality of Life Committee - Franklin Louk is the LONA rep; each neighborhood has a representative on that Sector 3 committee
Comment: Franklin Louk, as our representative, will be attending meeting with Cedric Alexander, acting police chief, and District Attorney Mark Green on Monday, April 18th in City Council Chambers - NOT a Council Meeting
LONA will write letter re: sex offenders in our neighborhood next to schools, churches, daycare centers, bus stops, etc.
Bob Stevenson, City Councilman:
Good news, bad news
Rochester will receive about $1/2 million from NYS Traffic Conference - "TRAKS"
crime report can be hard to read by the third carbon copy - TRAKS issues electronic tickets and such
will be placed in about 200 cars
$25,000 will be spent for overtime for "STEP"- Selective Traffic Enforcement Program
last year about 856 traffic citations were issued; 278 for speeding, 198 for violations like running lights and such, rest for variety like not turn signals, vehicle lights not working etc.
March 31st - prostitution sting landed 17 total = 16 ladies and 1 transsexual
10 of those 17 had to appear one week later
of those 10: 3 remanded to other courts, 7 "frequent fliers" arrested many times a year
Mike passed around list of prostitutes’ names - same name seen over and over again
court watch - happy with arraignment, as just about everyone received a $500 bail, so most weren’t going anywhere for at least 8 days
on 8th day - they had to reappear for a pre-trial conference - 7 plead down to violation, & got time served 8 days
that very night, one that had just been released was working Lyell avenue almost by the NET office
distraught by that occurrence, wrote letter
Bob read draft letter to District Attorney Mike Green to explain how prostitution destroys the NW Rochester area:
- the following is the general idea of the letter and not a word for word quote -
City home values plummet, small businesses close and move elsewhere, residents are clamoring for relief from women soliciting on their streets, cruising "johns", as these are not ideal conditions for raising a family.
Prostitution Sweeps are just a start. March 31st, police arrested 17 for prostitution, a B- misdemeanor which carried a penalty of up to 90 days in jail and a $250 fine
On April 7th, 10 reappeared for pre-trial conference. The result was a slap in the face to the Lyell and Plymouth Avenue neighborhoods. 7 arrestees were able to plead down - their sentence was time served, 8 days. The result was predictable. That very night one of these same women were on the streets again working their trade.
These are not the results that citizens want. The hard work of the police is not questioned. What is questioned is why the ADA agrees to a lesser charge. Neighborhoods suffer, as the appearance is that no one gives a "darn".
Citizens believe that if the officers of the court (example: the judges, district attorneys, etc.) had hookers working their streets and johns cruising for women, the results of the pre-trial would be very different.
Why should a prostitute choose drug court? What relief if there for city residents? Resources are tight and citizens are grateful for whatever arrests are made. The funds for the hooker details are not insignificant. Volunteer court watchers are willing to follow these unfortunate victims of drug addiction through the court system. All this effort is for naught with no modification of behavior.
This will be signed as coming from many Rochester citizens such as the court watchers, LONA, and etc.
behavior modification needed - some still working the streets even when they will be reporting to another judge
offered 90/90 jail or enhanced diversion
Guest Speakers:
M. Lee Eldridge, news director of WROC channel 8 - the local CBS station
his background - from Louisville, Kentucky - made a difference in Atlanta and Memphis - in Rochester for 5 ½ months
Crime tracker (not crime stopper) works on front end - i.e. before crimes occur
most people are not too worried about violent crimes/homicides
petty but costs us money gets on nerves - car stolen, bikes stolen, break-ins, theft
work with police identifying trends reporting
1. Put word out on trend that normally isn’t reported on - expanding coverage WROC will go talk to community
2. Gets more people involved to help
3. Criminals watch news - reporters must be careful what is reported so as not to interfere with police work
4. Keep reporting until that type of crime is reduced
Steve Levine, reporter known from WROC channel 8's "8 on your side" features
grew up on Lake Erie, has been here for about10 years
emphasis is on prevention of crimes
security locks on windows-found out by woman in Perinton - learned other safety tips in February coverage
Cathy Orr reported on break-ins in parking lots - homeless pretending to be employees
cars being stolen for joy riding; lots of Dodges and Chryslers; Hondas Toyotas, Nissans for parts
drug dealers passing stolen cars from person to person
handouts from Steve Levine-cards and magnets
M. Lee Eldridge added:
works closely with law enforcement
police get to know the same criminals, many have a severe drug addiction
build bridge with law enforcement; some used as informants
Comment: How fast of turnaround time on crime trend?
If WROC finds out about crime trends to work hand in hand with police to alert community immediately
Project Cease fire - gangs-just by association
Comment: Policeman Joe-cases reported on was great; helps to disperse information to more people in the community
Quality of Life Committee, Frank Louk:
enable citizens to disseminate information, find solutions, get "good" and "positive" items about our area in news
Comment: Why wasn’t Lyell-Otis a featured neighborhood in the city living sundays events, as this could help get the word out about our neighborhood association and could recruit new members? Bob Stevenson said that it was up to the realtors and The Home Store to get areas listed on the website and to get that information out.
Comment: LONA members went out for many years and personally tried to get more folks involved - but no one showed up at the meetings after saying they would attend.
Comment: restaurant that opened - attended early meetings, and then after it got what it wanted from LONA, never showed again.
Comment: hard to get new members because, unfortunately, many are afraid of retribution from "bad seeds" in the area
phone in to committeemembers, then Frank Louk will bring info to LONA
Mike V. spoke on the issue of duplication of C of O information
there is mis-communication with all neighborhood meeting groups, not enough back-and-forth
same thing happened with tonight’s presentation from WROC - other neighborhood groups should have been in attendance at the same time
Bob V.S. - PCIS dispersed info about tonight, but no people showed
Frank Louk - Section 3 looking for the best way to disseminate information
Cookbook - Mike V.:
150 recipes can be put in
4 pages of LONA history, Northwest Area late 1800's early 1900's, factories, different ethnicities
Dividers, Helpful Hints, Table of Contents - entrees, sides, beverages, desserts, etc.
@ $2.50 per book, sell for $6 - 70 to be sold to break even - great for Christmas gifts!
fill out recipe sheets, as name goes next to recipes in the book
get back to Fran next meeting May 9th
Sector 3 - Bob V.S.:
$60,000 in grant money coming from Sector 3 - meeting was held today (April 11th, 2005)
concrete pillars project was turned down
NCS, the group that made a presentation here months ago, gets $10,000 to change traffic flow on Driving Park
Susan B. granted $10,000 for 2 more statues in their park
$10,000 granted for a flower garden for the neighborhood group JOSANA - it will be located across from Rhinos Pae-Tec Park, which is across from an old gas station where the ground is so contaminated, the city doesn’t want to dig it up to clean the area due to costs. Also, there is a stipulation that this grant must have matching funds and JOSANA must maintain the garden, or money must be repaid to Sector 3
$30,000 granted to Edgerton Recreation Center for redoing the track
Meeting adjourned at approximately 8:20pm
