On two occasions you invited city councilors and a former city councilor on the radio station to knock down the City of Worcester Planning Department & City Administration decision to not allow the removal of 124-126 Chandler Street from the CCOD-not once did you invite opposing view from a city councilor or a member of the Chandler Street Business Association who agreed with the City of Worcester Planning Department and City Administration decision .
On each of these two occasion you along with some of these sitting and former councilors who all live on the west side took personal jabs at folks who stood tall supporting the City of Worcester Planning Department & City Administration and who also live/own property or a business on Chandler Street and who have worked very hard and long to get Chandler Street included in the CCOD.
These very same people you and your fellow councilors have taken personal jabs at with no recourse to defend themselves on the radio station because we were not invited on to be given equal time to debate have not only invested millions of dollars in private capital on the corridor and surrounding neighborhood but have also invested thousands and thousands of hours in the revitalization of the corridor and neighborhood over 15 years.
It should be noted that when your District and District Councilor had the chance to be compassionate to people in need-your District suggested changing the Dover Amendment to save your neighborhood. When the time came for my neighborhood to be compassionate to people in need my neighborhood rolled up its sleeves and worked arm in arm with the city and SMOC to create what is now called PIP II and to this day it still works arm and arm with this same program and the sleeves have never come down.
The below quotes are from Councilor Economou concerning the Dover Amendment-the issues may be different but our concerns are the same-“preserving neighborhoods” AND “more local oversight”
http://worcestermag.com/2015/07/21/dover-amendment-revisited-in-worcester/35162
“I just feel the time has come for our city to be more proactive in preserving our neighborhoods,” Economou said.
“When it comes to zoning, there needs to be more local oversight,” he says. “What’s the saturation point? There needs to be a formula in place, not just Worcester, but each community. What’s each community saturation point?” Economou said.
Our commercial corridors today are saturated with auto repair shops, our commercial corridors are beyond the saturation point and this saturation is not assisting in preserving our urban neighborhoods-an issue that does not effect you on Whisper Drive but it does effect us on Chandler Street and in the adjacent neighborhoods….this auto shop saturation is one major reason but not the only reason why the CCOD was created.
The Property at 124-126 Chandler Street has never been a location for automotive repair and allowing this change would have added yet one more on to the corridor-the CCOD stopped this as it was created to do-tough urban renewal decisions require tough leaders!
When you left office in 1994, Jordan, Chandler Street was a complete mess….today it is on the road to recovery because of the Chandler Street Business Associations steadfast efforts over the past 15+ years…..as you know from your years in a leadership position it is not easy making difficult decisions but many times these decisions need to be made for a brighter future for all not just one.
Sincerely
Paul Collyer
Chandler Street Business Association
