[Durham INC] Neighborhood meetings around Old North Durham Park

[John Haws]

INC members may be interested in the community meetings around Old North Durham Park. Ray Gronberg wrote a well-balanced piece here:

http://www.heraldsun.com/view/full_story/12456917/article-Old-North-meetings-to-go-ahead?instance=homefirstleft

The next two meetings are:

Sunday, March 27, 2011, 4:30 p.m. - 6 p.m.
Saturday, April 2, 2011, 1:30 p.m. - 3 p.m.

And will be held at Durham's main library.

http://www.ci.durham.nc.us/departments/parks/DisplayAnn.cfm?vAnn_ID=3669

The first meeting was incredibly contentious. El Kilombo Intergalictico, a local group of Duke grads that models itself after the Zapatista movement in Chiapas, recruited numerous neighborhood families and brought a good bit of anger and frustration to the first meeting. Anita Keith-Foust also brought her brand of commentary. There was much shouting, and tremendous grandstanding, by El Kilombo.

Basically, Central Park School For Children (a Durham Charter School), along with a neighborhood coalition including Bob Chapman, TROSA, and El Centro Hispano, wants to contribute money toward (and have some say in) improving the park (the city would be the one doing the actual planning and work). El Kilombo (and I surmise Keith-Foust) see this as an intrusion into their community, and I think they believe this private-public partnership sets a precedent for a system of economic inequality, and usurps their and their community's right to self-determination. 

The City says the park will remain a public park, no matter what, and without the donations of CPSC and the neighborhood coalition, the park is a very low priority for improvement.

If it's anything like the last meeting, it will at least be dramatic, although not necessarily productive.

- John

p.s. Please save the debate over charter schools, and expressions of Love or Hate for CPSC, for another thread.