I like Joel Banner Baird’s opening in his Burlington Free Press article today…
Take notice, Burlington vandals, taggers and would-be thieves: Little Brother is watching you.
And he’s swapping notes with his (and her) neighbors — and the police — on Front Porch Forum, a community-based online network serving Chittenden County…
And he goes on to shed some light on the story we discussed here. And I just noted a comment left on the Free Press site by wordwhip99…
The po po do the best that they can. And just like every thing else, and everyone else, there’s room for improvement. There’s good cops, and crappy ones. There’s good folks around town, and lazy uncaring ones. Etc. But what it really boils down to is that Americans seem to always rely on someone else to take care of their problems.
It’s a community problem here and cannot rely on just the cops to reduce or solve, but ALL the community members. The parents. The (failing) education system. And so on. Stop looking the other way and speak up when someone throws a candy wrapper or bottle on the ground.
Well, I could go on… I know I speak up, and I applaud others that take some kind of action, as well as Front Porch Forum.
Have you done anything to help your community today?
Thanks to Heather Belcher at Sweet Clover Market in the Essex Shoppes for running this bit in her e-newsletter…
As summer winds down and fall comes blowing down from the hills, people also tend to see more of their neighbors… at least until the snow starts flying. What a great time to sign up for Front Porch Forum. Have you heard of it yet? It’s free, it was invented locally, it’s informative and fun. Clearly identified nearby neighbors connect over lost dogs, plumber recommendations, block parties, car break-ins, firewood sources, and lots more. I live in Westford, and receiving emails through the Front Porch Forum definitely makes me feel more connected and informed about what my neighbors do at work and at home, what they value and how they play! You probably shop at Sweet Clover Market because you value relationships…with your farmer, with your butcher, with your grocer. Front Porch Forum is a terrific way to enhance your relationship with your neighbors…sign up today!
Heather’s grocery store is one of more than 75 local businesses reaching into thousands of Chittenden County inboxes via FPF advertising.
Well… one moment it’s Burlington neighbors coming together through Front Porch Forum to share news of a rash of property damage (looks like the police may have caught the vandal due to this vigilance). And the next, it’s a lovely story from Huntington about neighbors rallying to help… well… read for yourself…
We just wanted to post a quick “thank you” to many old friends, neighbors, and quite a few new friends who were so incredibly generous during my sister’s unexpected visit with her three boys.
As a result of my request for car seats on the Front Porch Forum, we got an outpouring of support from so many people — in the form of car seats, play dates, toys, art camp, childcare referrals, loaner kids equipment, the use of a cabin, the use of guest rooms in other houses, babysitting, a borrowed car, and lots and lots of moral support.
My nephews (age 10, 7 and 7) all have new friends here in Vermont. They attended multiple birthday parties and even a few sleep-overs while they were here. Thank you! One of them, who is somewhat slow to make friends, said “Next summer, I want to spend 6 weeks in Vermont so I can play with all my friends.”
Once again, we feel truly fortunate to have landed in such an incredible community. Thank you!
Wow… an early morning confrontation of one of Burlington’s vandals/taggers… with photos! Front Porch Forum members sticking up for their neighborhoods in Burlington’s Hill and Old North End areas…
First from Jeff on the FPF ONE East Neighborhood Forum (posted August 25, 2008 – 1:31 pm)…
A new type of vandalism is now occurring in the Old North End. I awoke yesterday, Sunday August 24, to find deep purposeful destructive gouges in the soft evaporator coil fins of one of my air conditioners. The protective screen was removed and discarded on the lawn. This air conditioner is located deep onto my property, way down the driveway, by my back entrance. The perpetrator was trespassing while committing this crime. The air conditioner’s efficiency is severely affected by the blockage to air flow and the destruction is so severe it cannot be repaired. The damage was not there Friday evening.
What makes this worse is that the same damage was done to 4 other homes in the immediate neighborhood. While driving in the Old North End, I saw similar damage to 2 others near the intersection of North Street and North Winooski Ave.
I took photos yesterday and today. Though they won’t transfer to the forum, I can forward them to any who are interested. Some air conditioners are damaged with initials
(P.H.) gouged into the fins. Others are intentionally severely gouged, so as to render them useless, together with initials gouged into the fins (A.X. and SBK).This type of behavior is permanently destructive. These are expensive items which are damaged to varying degrees affecting their cooling function, and because of the manner
of the damage, in many cases, cannot be repaired.This is not graffiti, where a chemical can be used to remove the “tag”. I estimate that the damage caused to these 7 air conditioners is over $1,000. Does this rise to the level of a felony?
What is happening to our city?
And also from a couple in the FPF South Union Neighborhood Forum area (posted Monday, August 25, 2008 – 9:17 am)…
I want to let everyone know that Sunday morning at 6 am my husband and I woke up to the sound of someone pushing our window a/c unit in. After we yelled at the person to get away, thinking our apt was being broken into, we realized we had been tagged. (the metal grating on the back of the a/c unit was pushed spelling out ‘PH’) Immediately [my husband] got into his truck and drove around the neighborhood to find the guy who did it, with his camera in hand, we managed to get a photograph of the guy. He is 18-22 years old, white, brown hair, carries a red backpack and uses the Tag PH. [My husband] confronted him and asked him if he was a “writer” (a term used by graffiti artists and taggers to identify each other) and the guy responded in a rather incriminating way saying “No, dude, I don’t wri.. I mean I don’t know what you are talking about…” The guy seemed really antsy and nervous and that is when [my husband] photographed him. We did call the police, and an officer took down all of the information. I noticed he also tagged the post office drop box by Bite Me. If any one has any information about this person or sees him… please contact the Burlington Police. This is vandalism and destruction of private property.
Oh… and one more… from Jill also on the FPF South Union Neighborhood Forum (posted August 25, 2008 – 10:09 am)…
Hi, On Sunday night at 2:30 there was an attempted break-in at my house. I had the front lights on, the back lights on dim and my car in the driveway, plus a few lights on downstairs (at least they are all compact fluorescents). They first tried the backdoor and propped the screen door open and the house was locked and then they started opening and cutting the side window screen. Moose (my now official guard dog) woke up and ran downstairs barking and I went downstairs and saw the motion lights were tripped and the window wedged open and screen cut. I called the cops and they were there in a matter of minutes.
Related to P.H. too?
Update: From Jeff on the FPF ONE East Neighborhood Forum (posted August 26, 2008 – 12:56 pm)…
A heads up on the progress in this case…
Together with the brave work of Clark, as described below, the Burlington Police Dept’s South End staff has joined with Lt. Jen Morrison from our North End area to identify the “PH” vandal and bring him to justice.
Officer Hemond, working with Officer Belleville from the South End, communicated with the Five Sisters FFP to apprise them of their progress. Seems 10 – 20 homes were similarly vandalized in that neighborhood.
Michael Wood-Lewis has been very helpful to me (and to the BPD) to coordinate, from the civilian side, forwarding of information between neighborhoods and BPD officers working on the case.
Gail Shampnois and Alicia Taylor from the UVM Office of Student & Community Relations are following this case and have indicated that if the offender is a UVM student then they will pass through the UVM justice system as well.
Heard today from Monique in Berkeley, CA…
We were visiting family in Burlington, VT, and found a house sitting via a friend of a friend via Front Porch Forum!! It was GREAT!! … I am desperately trying to find an effective way to communicate with my block in [Berkeley] re: emergency preparedness, crime prevention. block parties, etc. I organize a lot of events on my street. I think Front Porch Forum would be ideal.
We get requests like this frequently and we’re methodically putting the pieces in the place for expansion.
Local college professors invite me to address their students occasionally about Front Porch Forum. The classes range from social work to entrepreneur-ism to tech. And I usually get a little positive feedback, but sometimes it’s hard to tell if the message is getting through.
So I was especially pleased to get this wonderful note from Jennifer today…
Hi Michael, you are amazing. All I can say is, your life changed mine, and I am ever grateful. After you spoke to my Community College of Vermont Business class, I signed up for my FPF Neighborhood Forum, it enhance my life in a way I can’t explain, but I feel at home now. Thanks for everything you do!
Also, she’s started her own business and is looking to advertise it on Front Porch Forum.
Which brings me back to this morning several states south of here… I was watching a maple tree drop hundreds (thousands?) of its helicopter seeds on a Pennsylvania yard… and I’ve seen this same tree dump as many in the spring. And from all these thousands of seeds… I’ve seen one or two saplings rise up and take root. So it goes.
A Front Porch Forum subscriber to the Charlotte Shore Neighborhood Forum just posted this…
Do you have a recliner in your house that you are no longer using? I have a dear 77 year old friend in Burlington who has had serious circulation problems in her legs and is looking for relief by resting in a comfortable recliner. I will offer to pay for it (under $200) and deliver it to her.
So, not only is she going to great lengths to help a friend in need, but she’s offering dozens of nearby neighbors the opportunity to join that effort… and to bear witness to this act. And we’re all a little better for it.
Favorite Front Porch Forum posting of the day (from my neighbor, Don)…
Neighbors – I am looking to buy a vinyl version of Meatloaf “Back Into Hell” (it’s the Bat out of Hell II), from around 1993, I think. The condition of the vinyl is not important, but my sister wants a cover in good condition to complete a full set of Meatloaf memorabilia. I guess there’s no accounting for taste, but she is my sister, so I said I’d help. Any aging head-bangers out there?
Now that’s a good brother.
Front Porch Forum is focused on its pilot area of Chittenden County, Vermont (greater Burlington). We’re working on expansion plans too and we’re fielding lots of lovely requests from individuals and communities across North America. One such note just came in from Michelle in Louisville, KY…
I feel like our neighborhood desperately needs this form of outreach. We need a block watch, a place to hold forums, and other necessary meetings. I believe developing a tight knit community, restoration, getting to know your neighbors, etc. will greatly reduce the amount of recorded and unrecorded crime in my area, as well as produce an atmosphere of ownership and respect.
I look forward to being able to work with all of these places in addressing their needs for neighbor-to-neighbor connection and community building.
The depth of community running through Burlington’s Old North End is bubbling to the surface more and more these days. As discussed previously, a number of residents used Front Porch Forum to spark a discussion about drug dealing, public safety and overall quality of life issues. Some natural community organizers among them, channeled the energy evident on Front Porch Forum and organized a community meeting… held last night.
Here’s a report posted to FPF by State Rep. Christopher Pearson…
Tonight’s forum was well attended and I must admit the discussion left me a bit humbled. While I get frustrated with late night walk-by noise and we’ve been talking about fireworks waking us up late at night all too many in the Old North End live with drug deals, theft and more on a daily basis.
The message from [Police] Chief Schirling was loud and clear: they need our help. Even if you know the police could not make it to your street in time to stop the disturbance they are constantly building cases and monitoring our neighborhoods to figure out where their attention is most needed.
Burlington Police at 658-2700. You might also find their Citizen’s Guide to Reporting Crime helpful.
And John Briggs reported for the Burlington Free Press too…
Crime numbers are down, yet it doesn’t feel that way for many residents in Burlington’s Old North End this summer.
Worries about the quality of life in the neighborhood are nothing new, but the approach to a variety of issues at a well-attended community meeting Tuesday, from drug sales to noise, was more “What can we do?” rather than “How can we get them?” as it was just a few years ago.
That’s great… so good to hear that the tone was mostly positive and working toward solutions. This was our goal when we took the unusual steps of suspending the topic for a couple weeks on one of the FPF Old North End neighborhood forums… it had wandered away from being civil and constructive. Encouraging results.
We’re starting to see something similar happen in Winooski now through Front Porch Forum… civil and constructive conversation among neighbors (and local public officials).
UPDATE: The Free Press published my letter to the editor today… much appreciated…
Old North Enders engaged for solutions
We were thrilled to see that local residents were focused more on “What can we do?” rather than “How can we get them?” at the recent community meeting about crime (“Old North End worried about quality of life,” July 30).
We’re humbled that thousands of neighbors have used FrontPorchForum.com to engage in civil and constructive conversation online about these persistent challenges. And we’re also glad that so many people heeded the call to move the conversation offline and engage in face-to-face dialogue at community meetings.
On the whole, we see more people getting to know their neighbors and engaging in solving local problems — a hopeful sign for the Old North End and Burlington.
MICHAEL WOOD-LEWIS
Burlington
The writer is the co-founder of FrontPorchForum.com.
Ghost of Midnight is an online journal about fostering community within neighborhoods, with a special focus on Front Porch Forum (FPF). My wife, Valerie, and I founded FPF in 2006... read more