Northeast News
January 14, 2015

Letter to the Editor:

Apparently Charles Melton isn’t actively engaged in the renaissance within Historic Northeast (HNE). In fact, I don’t believe he even lives here which may be why he is so far off base in his recent assertions in your paper that the community is perceived as a “lawless slum,” “people think they are in Mexico or Somalia,” “agencies do not work together,” asserts that Scott Wagner has done very little for the area, and “the CID has had no visible results.” People who spread malicious and dishonest information must be challenged because too many people reading their words take their uneducated comments as fact when they couldn’t be further from that.

As president of both Scarritt Renaissance Neighborhood Association and Northeast Alliance Together (NEAT), I have had the opportunity and pleasure to be actively engaged with many residents, agencies, city staff, city council people, business leaders and others who have been working tirelessly over the last few years to enrich the Historic Northeast and improve the quality of life for all of those living and working here.

What Mr. Melton calls a “lawless slum” because dangerous criminals were rounded up in December, those of us in the know call the result of the community working closely with the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department to establish block watch programs and eliminate those who would come into our community to bring their violent, drug-induced ways into our midst and think they will be allowed to live among good people.

He seems to believe that thinking we live in Mexico or Somalia is a negative thing. In fact, most of us who actually live here consider living like we are in Mexico, Somalia, Ethiopia, Argentina, Vietnam, Italy, Afghanistan, etc. is one of the key reasons we are here. Where else in the city can one experience the diversity of cultures that I see in my neighborhood every day?

Clearly Mr. Melton doesn’t know that NEAT is an alliance of over twenty nonprofit agencies and neighborhoods along with city staff and elected officials who have spent the last two years envisioning and developing priorities and seeking funds focused on commercial and residential development. Those agencies include the Northeast Chamber, Hispanic Chamber, Mattie Rhodes, Westside Housing, LISC and many more all focused on a common vision and agenda. The work is slow in these difficult financial times but it is steady and exciting for anyone willing to get involved in the process.

Apparently Mr. Melton doesn’t travel down Independence Avenue. If he did he would have noticed how incredibly clean the Avenue is, he would see the lime green clad men constantly picking up trash and moving loiterers along or removing ice and snow from the bus stops. Likewise, he would have noticed the security guards in the lime green cars patrolling the area. If I had a business on the Avenue, I would consider that a great return on my $300 investment each year.

And where do I begin with all that Councilman Scott Wagner has done for Historic Northeast even though he is only an at-large councilman for our community? Scott was directly responsible for $220,000 in matching funds that NEAT received to match a $150,000 grant from Mid America Regional Council and the Office of Housing and Urban Development to address commercial and residential development. Three dangerous homes were demolished in Lykins neighborhood last summer thanks to Scott’s advocacy. That set the stage for a commitment from the city manager’s office to focus on the demolition of up to 100 dangerous homes and buildings in HNE in 2015. Scott led the charge on creation of a fund for creation of CID’s throughout the city and made sure that HNE was the first to benefit from it.

Councilman Wagner provided the funds that allowed for the creation of the new HNE logo and with the donated support of Michael Bushnell and the Northeast News created the website www.hnekc.com for the community’s benefit. For over a year, Scott chaired the community-wide Gateway Task Force to address graffiti and the illegal sale of bath salts/drugs in convenience shops. That task force led to murals being created in high graffiti areas in HNE and ordinances on bath salt sales. The list goes on and on. I personally don’t know of a time when a council person who was not directly responsible for a district was as engaged as Councilman Wagner has been in his support of this community.

And speaking of neighborhoods…

This year alone Scarritt Renaissance raised funds and began the process of installing a playground and improvements to The Concourse, held an Easter Egg Hunt for over 300 children, had 5,000 guests at our annual Halloween event, held monthly dinners at local restaurants, held clean ups, closed down a nuisance property with cooperation from the police and FBI, purchased a vacant lot to landscape, received PIAC funds, had a chili dinner and a cocktail party, Wednesday bike rides, partnered with the art institute to install art on the windows of a vacant school, held block parties and had six homes open for the Northeast Kansas City Historical Society’s tour, which brought over 800 people from throughout the region into our beautiful community to experience all that it offers.

Lykins Neighborhood is doing incredible things to rebuild homes and lives devastated by blight and crime thanks to the work of The Urban Farming Guys and dedicated residents. People should check them out on You Tube!

And each of the other neighborhoods has undertaken their own initiatives to give new life to their residents and homes. Years of urban decay that began in the 1970’s is steadily being replaced by renovated homes, community gardens, playgrounds, an influx of new residents, an active and vital Kansas City Museum, new infrastructure, social enterprise, concerts and other community gatherings, wonderful activities at the Northeast branch of the KC Library, SVN School, Harmony KC, and other initiatives.

So my suggestion is that Mr. Melton and others who take aim at a community and its inhabitants with their misinformation and negativity take a tour with those of us in the know to witness first hand this rebirth. Or better yet—they can get actively involved by attending meetings, serving on committees, raising money, canvassing the neighborhoods or doing any number of other positive activities.

Leslie Caplan

Northeast resident