Walkable Eastwood » compassion

Demand safer streets!

Lonnie — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 03:35:15 +0000

I am always amazed at the sheer courage it takes people using wheelchairs to navigate the streets of Eastwood. In the summer, they have to work their way up and over or around broken or heaved sidewalks, sidewalks made narrow by encroaching grass and dirt, and cars parked over the sidewalks. And in the winter, just one house on a block with its sidewalk made impassible by snow means anyone trying to get from point A to point B must then walk in the street.

My mind boggles at the people who park on the sidewalks right in front of a certain gym, across the street from senior housing where wheelchair users live. This is the route the wheelchair-bound would take to get to the community center if there weren’t cars on it. Where is the logic in parking so close you don’t have to walk half a block to get to the treadmill??

Sig Snyder sent me this from the Transportation For America website:

If a jumbo jet filled with 400 passengers dropped from the sky every month, you can bet it would get serious federal attention. Well, that’s about how many pedestrians are killed on U.S. streets every month – but until now it hasn’t gotten nearly the attention it deserves.

The good news is that we can fight the problem at the root with strong leadership and more resources from the White House for “Complete Streets” – policies that will ensure that streets are designed with all road users in mind, not just motorists.

CLICK HERE to ask U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to make safer streets a priority!

And let’s not forget to keep working on ways to keep our sidewalks in good repair summer or winter.

Can you rescue this dog?

Lonnie — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 03:35:19 +0000

An Eastwood neighbor moved and cannot expect his family to continue to care for his dog. He has two days to find a home for it or it will be put down. Look at this gorgeous dog:

The dog is at a home on N. Midler. Contact John, the owner, here:

Phone: 315-679-1495 Email: jjcranda@syr.edu

I have no other information. Good luck, John!

Sean Kirst: “Neighbors step up for emergency”

Lonnie — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 03:05:43 +0000

Sean Kirst, a columnist and blogger at the Post-Standard, has written great columns about various aspects of Eastwood. This is one you won’t want to miss, as it exemplifies what urban living in a close-knit community looks and acts like: people who care for each other.

Neighbors step up . . . → Read More: Sean Kirst: “Neighbors step up for emergency”

Support the Mia Sgroi Education Fund

Lonnie — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 16:49:59 +0000

In memory of Joe-joe and Julia Sgroi

The tragic fire suffered by our neighbors some weeks ago will affect its survivors for the rest of their lives. So that they might be assured of our care for them, we ask that you go out of your way to buy as many of these bracelets as you can in support of the Mia Sgroi Education Fund.

Bracelets are $2 (or more if you like) and can be purchased at the Palace Theatre or at Sacred Melody Bookstore in the Eastwood Plaza. Each bracelet has both children’s names on it:

Can we respond compassionately to crime?

Lonnie — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 23:40:53 +0000

One of the gems of our neighborhood is Sunnycrest Park. There are very few urban parks in this country where you can both golf in the summer and ski in the winter, but Sunnycrest is one of them. It is a facility for residents, non-residents, students who attend school nearby, anyone. It has the dedicated people of the Sunnycrest Park Association watching over it and working hard to make it the joy that it is.

But something has happened there that could sully its reputation if we don’t respond quickly and appropriately. A crime has been committed. A fellow enjoying a solitary round of golf was taunted and then attacked by teenagers. He was hit on the head with a golf flag and required three staples to close the wound. He said he would probably never return.

And that is our loss. One golfer from Cortland means an awful lot to us just now.

The easy – and lazy – response is fear. It takes no thought, no plan, no cognitive effort to react with fear. Goodness knows, we are taught by the media, the politicians, the drug companies, to simply react with fear. But I’d like to propose a different reaction: compassion.

Now I’m no bleeding heart! I feel that a pragmatic response is the best one, but let’s define our goals first. Most of us would like to live in harmony with our neighbors, including the young people who did something that was very, very wrong and will not be tolerated here. So how do we create that harmony? How do we show compassion in the face of violence?

Communication: to the golfer, to the kids, to the parents of those kids, and to the public in general. And what might our message be? I’ll start with some ideas, but would love to hear some more in the comments here.

1. Mr. Pendergast (the golfer), I would like you to come back to Eastwood. I would like, personally, to buy you a cup of some of the finest coffee in the Northeast, right here in Eastwood. I’d like to know more about how you’re feeling about what happened the other day. But mostly I’d like you to know that Eastwood is overwhelmingly very nice people.

2. Kids… Wow, did you mess up! You probably know that. You may be confused about how it went that far. But you must also know that when you do stuff, good or bad, the world eventually deals out logical consequences. What goes around will come around. But your story must be a lot more complicated than just one stupid act in our park. I’d like to ask you a bunch of questions. I’d like to tell you how I feel about everyone, including you, being able to walk around Eastwood in safety. I’d like your ideas on how we can all feel safe again. Including you.

3. Parents of the kids: this must be such a hard time for you. I know… I had a really difficult kid. With the help of one federal program and a bunch of strict adults in his life, he finally got his act together. But it was exhausting raising him! I bet you know what I mean, big time. I’d like to meet with you. I’d like to think up some possible solutions to whatever it was that inspired the kids to do what they did. It’s probably tough, but I don’t believe any problem is unsolvable.

4. Eastwood neighbors: to the best of my knowledge, this was an isolated event. That golfer may have had an equal chance of getting hit by lightning, this sort of thing is so infrequent here. But let me state this clearly: in my humble opinion, this sort of thing is absolutely intolerable and we must act to prevent it happening again. My question to you: Is Eastwood worth the effort?

What are you willing to do?