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.

Randolph Neighborhood Holiday Party RESCHEDULED

UPDATE: The Holiday Party has been rescheduled for tomorrow, December 23 from 5:30 – 7:30PM.

The Randolph Community Group (NOT the Randolph West HOA) will be hosting their annual Randolph Neighborhood Holiday Party, Wednesday December 23 (originally planned for Dec 19). The event will be held at the Randolph Community Center at 1415 Grayland Ave from 5:30 – 7:30PM.

Come meet your association representatives and mix and mingle with your neighbors in a  festive environment. There will be crafts for the kids, holiday music, food and fun!

For more information call 646-1080 or 257-7273.

Recent Break-Ins & 10 Ways to Secure Your Home

Over the past week there have been reports of attempted and successful break-ins in Randolph West. 1617 Jacquelin Street was broken into twice in recent days and there were attempted break-ins at 1700 Kemper Street and 1608 Lakeview Avenue.

1617 Jacquelin had 2 laptops and a Playstation stolen. The house was entered through a side window where the screen was cut and removed. The incidents occurred sometime during the night this past weekend (Nov 20 – 22).

10 Ways to Secure Your Property

There are many different things we can do to secure ourselves and our property while living in downtown Richmond:

1. Lock Windows, Doors and Use Window Security Tabs
   

   An extended window security tab.

   Everyone knows this, but you can’t be reminded enough – lock and bolt your doors. Lock your windows. Also, all windows in Randolph West have security tabs. Be sure they’re activated (extended) and your windows will not be able to be opened more than a few inches – even if someone breaks the glass.

2. Add Additional Locks
   Even with your doors locked and bolted, a good hard kick can sometimes break the frame and open the door (ever watched COPS?). Install additional locks beyond the standard locks to prevent people from kicking your doors in. If you’re not sure how to do this on your own contact the HOA – info@randolphwesthoa.com
3. Activate Your Security System
   All homes in Randolph West have a built in security system, but it must be active and used properly to provide any protection. These systems can be activated and monitored by any security company (like ADT) and the cost is very minimal – $20 to $40 per month.
4. Turn On Outdoor Lights
   Criminals don’t want to be seen when they’re trying to break into a home. Turn on your front and back porch lights and leave them on all night, every night. If every home in Randolph West keeps their lights on, break-ins will be reduced! New street lights and alley lights are on the way, but until then we must light up our area of Richmond.
5. Keep blinds closed
   Criminals are more likely to break into a home when they know they have the chance at stealing something valuable. Keep all your blinds closed night and day so anything of value will be hidden from outside. And if your blinds are broken, replace them immediately. Broken blinds don’t just allow criminals to browse the merchandise, it also makes the neighborhood look bad.
6. Do not leave product boxes outside
   If you buy a brand new big screen plasma TV (or any other valuable product that someone could carry away quickly), don’t advertise that fact by leaving the box outside. To criminals that’s like putting up a sign saying “Break into this house!”
7. Know Your Neighbors
   Simply taking the time to know who lives around you will allow you to know when someone around our homes is not supposed to be there. Stop and introduce yourself.
8. Join the Email List
   Anytime there is any criminal activity we send out messages to the email list. Click here to join the email list here and you’ll know immediately if there are any incidents.
   
9. Get Renters Insurance
   We have a lot of renters in our area. If you rent in Ranoldph West (or anywhere else really),  you’d be wise to have a renters insurance policy. They’re very inexpensive and will protect all your valuables. Check with car insurance company as they might provide even more discounts for having multiple policies.
10. Get Involved
    Be a part of  the Homeowners Association and/or the Neighborhood Watch. Even if you’re not a homeowner, we want you to be at the meetings and communicate with everyone. Randolph West neighborhood watch contact: Tyrone – jacksoty@aol.com HOA contact: Morgan – info@randolphwesthoa.com

What To Do If You’re a Victim

If you have a break-in (or notice an attempted break-in) please do the following:

1. Call the Police. Call 911 or the Richmond Police non-emergency number 804-646-5100.
2. Notify the Randolph West Homeowners Assoc.  – info@randolphwesthoa.com – so we can get the message out to everyone.