Seeing The Good And The Bad
The job of the Woodhaven Residents’ Block Association (WRBA) is not to be a mere cheerleader.
Don’t get the wrong impression: We’re very proud of Woodhaven. If we weren’t, we wouldn’t invest so much time and energy in it. But that pride doesn’t stop us from having a realistic understanding of our community.
The WRBA won’t just praise Woodhaven while turning a blind eye to its problems. Our view of our neighborhood is balanced. We want to hear about the bad things as much as we enjoy learning about the good things. In fact, we might be more aware of Woodhaven’s problems than most fellow residents, because so many of our neighbors call us when they have a problem.
Three recent examples illustrate the point.
In early January, a local newspaper ran a front-page story about the longstanding problem of prostitution near the southwest corner of Woodhaven. The article did not present Woodhaven in the most flattering light. But we didn’t reject this sort of coverage.
When there’s a problem, the WRBA acknowledges it and then tries to do something about it. At our January town hall, we openly discussed the issue of prostitution in our community, and we’ve been taking steps to combat it.
Last week, another weekly published an article about a house on 88th Avenue in Woodhaven that has been spewing raw sewage onto the street. This is not the sort of thing you want to hear is happening in your neighborhood.
We didn’t deny it or minimize it, though. Instead, we made clear that this is a serious problem, and we’ve been doing our best to get the city to address it.
And at last month’s town hall, we held a “straw poll” in which Woodhaven residents voted on which issues they believe are most pressing. We actively invited our members to complain-and then we pointed a spotlight on those complaints that were voiced most often.
Some organizations are, first and foremost, cheerleaders for their communities. Although there’s a time and place to call attention to your neighborhood’s positive attributes, a consistent failure to acknowledge the full picture can damage an organization’s credibility.
Residents who believe their local civic organization is out of touch with their day-to-day lives or unaware of the real problems confronting the community will conclude that it’s not worthwhile to become part of that organization.
Moreover, when an organization dispenses nothing but praise for its community, that praise loses its meaning. Compliments diminish in value when they’re doled out inappropriately or too readily. They are also less significant coming from someone who views everything through rose-tinted glasses.
Thus, when the WRBA gives kudos to its community or to fellow residents, you can be sure we mean it and that it was deserved.
This was the case two weekends ago when the blizzard dumped snow on Woodhaven.
The WRBA was in touch with a teacher from St. Thomas the Apostle School to arrange for several local students to shovel the sidewalks outside the homes of elderly or disabled residents. The teacher and her students’ willingness to help were admirable, but the story doesn’t end there.
It turns out that before we could dispatch the students, neighbors of those elderly or disabled residents took the initiative to clear the sidewalks on their own. Over and over, we heard from folks we thought would be in need-and learned that they had already been looked after.
That, of course, deserves applause. To those generous Woodhaven residents: thank you.
The WRBA appreciates the good aspects of Woodhaven while recognizing where the neighborhood can improve. The combination of the two is what keeps us going.
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Editor’s note: Blenkinsopp is a member of Community Board 9 and director of communications for the Woodhaven Residents’ Block Association. For more information on the WRBA, visit www.woodhavennyc.org.
