Turning Around Vacant Property in Richmond

From The Richmond City Department of Planning & Development Review:

Mark your calendar for Friday, August 20 for a educational discussion and panel on revitalizing vacant properties in Richmond.

Hosted by The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, the Virginia Local Initiative Support Corporation (LISC) and the Partnership for Housing Affordability, the morning will include a dynamic discussion with regional leaders and national experts about addressing vacant property issues in Richmond-area neighborhoods.

The forum will focus on existing tools and strategies, as well as explore new policy alternatives that address concentrations of vacant properties in communities.

Rachel Flynn, Director of Planning and Development Review, will be joined by two city attorneys at 9 a.m. to discuss “Neighborhood Stabilization Tools and Strategies in Greater Richmond” and review vacant property trend data in the city, local policy tools and strategies, and a case study that demonstrates how a vacant building can be turned around.

The second portion of the program at 10:30 a.m. will discuss “Neighborhood Stabilization Policy Alternatives” and the panel will include, Jim Kelly, Assistant Professor, University of Baltimore; Meredith Mishaga, Program Coordinator, Baltimore Neighborhood Collaborative; and  Racquel Reddie, Community Development Manager for the National Community Stabilization Trust.

They will discuss current foreclosure trends, impacts, programs and community development best practices that can help stabilize neighborhoods with high concentrations of vacant, foreclosed and/or bank-owned properties. Click here for more information.

Details:
Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond
701 E. Byrd St.
Friday, August 20, 2010 - 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Call (804) 422-5013 for more information.

Randolph Community Group June Meeting

The Randolph Community group requests your presence at the:
Randolph Community Group June Meeting
Tuesday, June 1st at the Randolph Community Center
1415 Grayland Avenue from 6-8 p.m.
All students, homeowners, and renters invited!

Guests to Include:
Catherine Howard–VCU Vice Provost–Division of Community Engagement
Reuban Rodriguez–VCU Associate Vice Provost/Dean of Student Affairs
Rachel Flynn–City of Richmond–Director of Planning and Development
Thomas Barnes and Darlene Mallory –Clean City Commission
Ward Kuper–RPD–3rd Precinct Community/Environmental Officer

Please come and help us build a wonderful, cohesive community!

Randolph Community Forum

When: Tuesday May 4, 2010 from 6 to 8PM
Where: Randolph Community Center (1415 Grayland Avenue)

The Randolph Community group requests your presence at the:
“Randolph Community Forum”
All students, renters and homeowners invited!

Guests to Include:
E. Martin Jewell, Councilman, Richmond City Council, Central 5th District
John Venuti, VCU Police Chief
Ronald Brown, VCU Community Development Coordinator - Carver
Catherine Howard, VCU Vice Provost - Division of Community Engagement
Reuban Rodriguez, VCU Associate Vice Provost/Dean of Student Affairs
Rachel Flynn, City of Richmond - Director of Planning and Development
Pastor James Henry Harris, Second Baptist Church
Ward Kuper, RPD - 3rd Precinct Community/Environmental Officer

Representatives from RRHA, The Fan District Association, The Carver Area Civic Improvement League, and the Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association have also been invited.

Please come and help us build a wonderful, cohesive community!

Councilman Marty Jewell Hospitalized

On Wednesday April 14, 2010, the Richmond City Council released this statement regarding Councilman Marty Jewell:

(Richmond, Virginia) – Yesterday evening, [Tuesday April 13] Richmond City Councilman E. Martin “Marty” Jewell, Central 5th District was admitted to St. Mary’s Hospital.

Upon experiencing some chest discomfort and with his physician’s office being closed, Councilman Jewell decided to go to the hospital where he was admitted and is currently being evaluated.

Councilman Jewell anticipates being discharged in a couple of days and thanks the Richmond Community for their thoughts and prayers. Mr. Jewell’s family requests no phone calls, flowers or visitation at this time.

CONTACT    For more information please contact Francine Young, Richmond City Council Central 5th District Liaison, at 804.646.5724.

—

The people of Randolph wish him a speedy recovery to full health.

Randolph Community Group Meeting Rescheduled!

President-Elect, Stephanie Rizzi invites all Randolph residents to the next Randolph Community Group Meeting, Tuesday February 16 from 6 to 8PM at the Randolph Community Center. (Previously scheduled for Feb 2, but moved back 2 weeks due to weather.)

Our guest speakers for the evening are:

Dr. Ruben Rodriquez
, Associate Vice Provost and Dean of Student Affairs
Chief John Venuti, VCU Police Department
W. Hawkins Kuper, 3rd Precinct Community Environmental Officer

PLEASE COME OUT
, STEP UP and SPEAK UP

Light refreshments will be served. Hope to see you there!

State of the City Address on Tuesday

The Annual State of the City Address will be held on Tuesday January 26, 2010 at Richmond CenterStage, Carpenter Theatre from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM. This is a public event that is free and open to everyone. Complimentary parking is available across from the Grace Street side of Center Stage. Enter from 6th and 7th Streets.

CAPS Meeting Tomorrow

The Community Assisted Public Safety (CAPS) meeting is tomorrow.

Date:   Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Time:   6:15 p.m.
Place:  Round House at Byrd Park (600 Swan Lake Dr.)

What is CAPS?

Community Assisted Public Safety (CAPS) is a systemic change in the way the residents and city administration think about and approach overall neighborhood health in the City of Richmond. CAPS seeks to eliminate blight and restore luster to our neighborhoods by partnering with citizens to identify and eliminate the problems associated with the most troublesome properties in our City. CAPS provides a vehicle for us to work together to ensure that each of Richmond’s neighborhoods is clean, safe, and healthy.

The CAPS philosophy recognizes that code enforcement alone cannot deal with blighted and other problem properties in the City. Nor can the Police alone always solve crime-plagued properties. A key feature of CAPS is that numerous city departments work together as a team with citizens to ensure that a problem property will stay a priority until a satisfactory resolution is reached. The CAPS process has achieved outstanding results in all parts of the City.

Neighborhood Patrol Discovers Another Break-In

Tonight I went out with another homeowner to drop off flyers about the recent buglaries and to keep an eye out for everyone. We walked around most homes - particularly the dark and obviously empty - to make sure no “two legged rats” were around.

We didn’t get far before discovering one house with a broken window and a back door with shattered glass. We immediately reported this to the police and they came out to investigate. The police seemed very aware of the many recent burglaries in the area, and even said they caught 5 kids coming out of one house. But in that case the criminals were underage so they were quickly released to their parents! Apparently B&E (that’s breaking and entering, for those who don’t speak Cop) isn’t a big deal if you are underage.

It’s obvious these kids are coming in groups and targeting homes when no one is there. This last home was completely dark, the motion light was not working, the security system was not in use and the next door neighbor said he hadn’t seen anyone there for about a week. That house was an easy target, and as I write this the resident still does not know they have been robbed because no one knows exactly who lives there or how to get in touch with them.

If you are leaving your home for more than 24 hours, do yourself a favor and let your neighbors and the police know. Richmond City Police offers a free home watch service. Just visit the local precinct (We are 3rd precinct, Sector 313 located at 301 South Meadow Street, Richmond Virginia 23223). or download the form from this page. (They prefer a few weeks notice, so try to plan ahead.) And at least leave some lights on and activate your security system! ADT has plans for less than $30 a month. If your security system is not active and monitored it is useless.

We Must Do Our Part To Stop Crime

From the Randolph West HOA President:

We must all do those things necessary to prevent crime.

We tried for over 5 years to get street lights. Yes we will get them in the next 60 days installed as long as RRHA and the City fund the installation as promised.

All of you were instructed to make sure your MOTION LIGHTS were operable. On each break-in or attempted break-in the Homeowner did not have their MOTION LIGHT in the on position; this is negligence.

We have also found that some of you refuse to utilize your built-in home ALARM SYSTEMS BFE had installed in every home in Randolph West; this is negligence.

However, we can not make any excuses for the criminals who would enter your homes with the intent to rob you or do harm to you. These people are not worthy of living period.

Every Homeowner should stay alert wherever you live and also watch out for your neighbor too.

The police are only going to come after you have been victimized, therefore, it is incumbent upon you to do the right thing. Most of you do not follow simple requests to keep your TRASH CANS pulled back to the concrete pad in front of your storage room for obvious reasons. When a neighborhood starts to look tacky and slummy, that neighborhood tends to invite the two legged RATS!!!

All of you need to do better to protect your turf and do not despair when these awful things occur because of simple security measures neglected by you. We are living in tough times and there are those who want to take what you have rather than get a job to earn what they want.

CRIME ALERT! Another Break-In

On Wednesday December 23 at approximately 10PM a house on Jacquelin Street was broken into. The criminals broke a side window with a 2 by 4, and climbed in the window. The homeowner was not home but, a security alarm was present and active. At this time it appears the alarm and/or vigilant neighbors scared the criminals off and they left before stealing any items from the household.

Please continue to keep an eye out for yourselves and your neighbors, particularly during the holidays. For more ways to protect your homes, see this list of 10 Ways to Secure Your Property.

Update (12/29)

On the night of Sunday Dec. 27 a home on Kemper Street was burglarized. The criminal(s) broke the glass on the back door and unlocked the door through the broken window. The were able to steal a few items from the house. There are also reports that a home on Lakeview has been burglarized as well. We will post more info if and when it becomes available.

Also, there are reports that these criminals are going out of their way to break into unoccupied households. They are sometimes simply knocking on the door to see if anyone is home. If someone answers the door they claim to be looking for a random person and then say they must have the wrong house. If you ever have someone knocking on your door, and you do not know them, DO NOT open the door. Instead, call 911 immediately.