There’s nothing wrong with neighborhood beautification. But given the sensitivity to change in ER and the perception of who drives that change, how were legacy residents/neighbors engaged in this project? I hope this was their idea and the new residents are helping execute the vision, not the other way around.
The intentions here are good, no doubt, and it sounds like you got some positive feedback already. But it’s a fine line and there are people who will see the bright new mural and not react with the same enthusiasm.
…why? If you live in a neighborhood, it’s your neighborhood. This is just silly morality policing, sorry.
…something tells me that anyone who is unenthusiastic about a harmless neighborhood mural are probably gonna be difficult to please, no matter what lmao
I know @Jake it does seem like a stretch but it’s not. I’ve lived in this neighborhood for years and understand the dynamic. It’s complicated. Remember the condos across from Ligon were described as “luxury” in the context of ER gentrification. They’re the least expensive new condo product this close to downtown, starting <$400k, and provide true missing middle housing. But it’s new, so the perception is that it’s luxury and unaffordable and continuing the gentrification of ER.
We’re fortunate to have a diverse membership in our community group, from people who have just moved here to people who have lived here 50+ years!
We shared the design with all of them and asked for their input ahead of time.
We also shared the design with neighbors along Haywood Street and in the broader neighborhood through our community newsletter (over 100 subscribers).
And we also shared our intentions for the mural (and the design) during our Hustle and Hoedown Block Party in August, which attracted over 200 neighbors.
I suppose we always could have canvassed further to collect responses, but you’ll never be able to please everyone. Besides, one great thing about murals is they can always be painted over! We are not opposed to redoing the mural in a few years. We could even make it a regular thing if there’s interest.
People that bitch about a bright new mural in their neighborhood are the same people that will bitch about bitch about absolutely everything. If we wait and get everyone’s buy in on everything, nothing will ever get done.
They could have pulled a Raleigh City Council and continued to ask for “more public feedback”, set up public workshops and commentary sessions, and maybe even set up a CAC, belaboring this until the project inevitably died. Luckily not the case here.
You guys are awesome! As someone who lives in the extended neighborhood (I’m across Raleigh Boulevard, but I pass through here almost daily), I am always happy to see people who choose to go above and beyond to get involved and make a difference.
Sure, some people will be upset because they prefer the colorless brick walls of their youth, but without people like you, the whole world would be colorless brick walls.
The only thing upsetting me here is realizing how much more I could and should be doing to help make a positive difference for those around me.
Oh my god we do not need to do multiple rounds of public engagement virtue signaling to paint a wall a nice color! This thought is literally everything wrong with progressive municipal politics tied up with a bow!
Awesome, thanks for this response. That’s all I was asking and thought my comment was respectful. I support the mural. I’m just trying to reinforce that all changes in ER should to be intentional and not just reflective of the new residents’ wants. We need to respect the people who made this a neighborhood in the first place. It sounds like you all nailed it with the planning of this and your openness to adapt in the future. Well done.
I live nearby and would love to participate in something someday. I go out and pick up trash multiple times per week. If anyone ever wants to join me for that, shoot me a DM.
We plan on being there Sunday to help. Hopefully there’s a small section for my 3-year-old to help, he’ll love this. We’ll be in a Carolina Blue golf cart.
Totally! As we’ve evolved as a community group, one thing we’ve really tried to be intentional about is inclusivity. Unfortunately, especially in our neighborhood, this often doesn’t happen easily. It can take effort to properly engage the people who’s opinions and interest matter most. But the last thing we want to be is a community group only for a small (ie, white) segment of the neighborhood. Events and programs like our block party, spring clean, food pantry, mural, and more are all designed to bring everyone together.
And, regarding trash pickups, we do that too! We have a regular trash cleaning meetup on the last Saturday of every month (which is this coming Saturday, the 28th!). We meet at 515 Haywood at 9am. Join up and say hi!
This area is truly an underrated gem, it has historic charm with some modern flare with how the neighborhoods are designed. This also relatively diverse, as of now, and has potential to be a place for large amounts of small retail, multiple types of middle-missing housing on many of the vacant lots.
We had a great turnout and lots of helping hands! We also raised over $200 through our Spring Clean for our Haywood St. Food Pantry. We’ll be using that to keep it stocked over the next few weeks, although we can always use more help! We accept donations via Venmo: @HaywoodCommunity.
Come by and check the mural out in person! It looks great! Once the store across the street gets redeveloped (which I hear Ben Steele is planning to include another mural on the Lenoir side), this little intersection will really have new life!
Is there more info on the food pantry? I used to drop unwanted (sealed, non-expired, non-perishable) items off at the corner of New Bern & East (there was that Little Free Pantry on the corner) - is this one of those situations?
We had a blast, it was nice meeting you as well. This area should look a lot different soon, I also noticed yesterday they were drilling for soil samples at the lower fields of Ligon yesterday. That’s a few years out, but good to know they’re working in that direction.
