assistance
From: Deborah Behrens (debbehAuto-trol.COM)
Date: Tue, 28 Mar 1995 08:01:22 -0600
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>From URSP-HCD [at] UMDD.UMD.EDU Fri Mar 24 10:12:38 1995
Date:         Fri, 24 Mar 1995 10:11:10 -0400
              <URSP-HCD [at] UMDD.UMD.EDU>
              <URSP-HCD [at] UMDD.UMD.EDU>
From: Jervay Place <MELEC [at] UNCWIL.EDU>
Subject:      assistance
X-Cc:         cd4urban [at] u.washington.edu

To all interested:
Robert S. Jervay Place is a public housing development located in
Wilmington, North Carolina. We, the residents of Jervay Place who have
organized as the Residents Organization, are requesting assistance from
architects, planners, and anyone else who may be interested in the
process of resident participation in the rebuilding of our homes.

Jervay Place was constructed in 1951 with federal, state and local
monies. It is managed by the Wilmington Housing Authority (WHA).
The design of Jervay is two story row homes of brick construction. A
total of 250 units were built.

In the 1980s, the social conditions at Jervay deteriorated. Drugs, crime
and harrassment grew rapidly. Jervay developed a very negative reputation
in a short time, although for many of us, mostly mothers and grandmothers,
the negative image of Jervay was exaggerated and stereotypical.

In 1992, the WHA approached us in one of our monthly resident meetings.
The authority wnated to seek money from HUD to renovate Jervay. They
wanted our input and we gave it. We held a planning charette where the
WHA architects and staff listened to our ideas about what we felt was
wrong with Jervay, most noticably a concentrated effort to provide services
for the residents.

Throughout the year, we attended meetings and became thrilled with the
attention and the idea that our homes (NOT OUR UNITS!) would be redone.
Many of the residents had spent a decade or two in Jervay, seen the
good days and the bad and wanted to participate in revitalizing the
spirit of Jervay, whose motto is UNITY IN THE COMMUNITY. Mr. Robert
Jervay, by the way, was the founder of Wilmington's last remaining news-
letter, _The Journal_, dedicated to the concerns of African-American
residents.

In February of 1994, the WHA pulled the rug from under us. After months
of participating in the planning of Jervay's revitalization, the authority
decided that it was best to demolish the units, lower the density by
half and build single family homes (although over 70 % of us are single
mothers). Needless to say, we were devastated that we were left out of the
decisionmaking process. The authority needed our consent in order to
successfully submit the new proposal to HUD. We did not give it. Instead,
we pursued the option of resident-buyout.

That was September 1994. Since then, we've been working with the local
housing authority but the relations are tense. We created a Task Force,
composed of the city planner, staff from the WHA and residents. Through
negotiations, we were able to make certain that the formation of the Task
Force be included in the new application for demolition and reconstrcution.
We also received a guarantee from the WHA to open up the planning of the new
site for revisions by the Task Force.

The WHA has essentially challenged us. In a word, they are saying if you
are satisfied with 125 units, mostly single-family "townhouses" and a
generic community center, then let's see you do better. We're no experts
!! We need advice to meet this challenge. We want to know of designs
and programs for single-moms, children and senior citizens.

Today, Jervay has only 120 units occupied. The WHA's policy is once
vacated, units are boarded up. We 'survivors' are predominantly African-
American working women, with kids. Grnadmothers, too. We don't have much
time to do planning etc. If you have any conceptual ideas as to going
about building a new Jervay that meets the needs of the current population,
please contact us.

Just to let you know where we stand, the Task Force meets twice monthly.
In the next sessions, the residents must present a broad, generic plan
for the type of housing they desire to see built. We've been meeting and
we are interested in mixing seniors, single moms, and nuclear families
together. "It tkaes a whole village to raise a child". We do not want to
isolate the seniors from the moms, etc. What do you think?

Thanks for your time and may god bless!

Resident Organization of Robert S. Jervay Place
J. Watson, President


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