Wanted: local activists

Better communication and more volunteers are keys to revitalizing Baldwin, residents say

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A lack of communication and no centralized clearinghouse for concerns is hampering Baldwin activism, a group of community members concluded at an informal meeting last week.

Many in the community said they would be interested in helping to improve the quality of life in Baldwin, but they believe their concerns aren’t being heard by those in established organizations.

An unofficial activist, Heather Cameron, emailed a number of people last week urging a meeting at which those who felt that they were disenfranchised could voice their concerns. The meeting took place Aug. 20 in Baldwin Park, and between 20 and 25 people attended, including State Assemblyman Brian Curran (D-Lynbrook), whose district includes part of Baldwin. A number of other community leaders were also there.

Cameron said she initiated the meeting because she was hearing a number of complaints from residents. She said that in many cases, the complaints were being addressed, but word was not getting out to the public.

In other cases, she said, existing organizations either were unaware of problems or had failed to respond to residents’ needs. In addition, she said, residents are often not invited to meetings of established groups. Instead, representatives of activist organizations are sent to those meetings with the intent of reporting back to their membership, and either the information isn’t passed along, or only a small number of people — not the general public — hear it.

The overall result, said those who gathered at last week’s meeting, is that little gets accomplished in Baldwin. Nearly everyone pointed to the longstanding proposal to redevelop Grand Avenue, which has largely stalled for almost 20 years.
Some attendees chided the Town of Hempstead for that situation, noting that even though the town declared the area blighted, it has never claimed eminent domain.

But Charles Dickens III, chief executive of Swirl Bliss Frozen Yogurt, laid the blame for that problem at the feet of landlords. “They are using this as a write-off,” he said. “The landlords are doing this on purpose.”

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