It's a Beautiful Day in This Neigborhood...

Remember Mr. Rogers' opening song? I must've sung it a jillion times to my children when they were small.

"It's a beautiful day in this neighborhood,
A beautiful day for a neighbor.
Would you be mine?
Could you be mine?"

I can see him zipping his sweater even now. My youngest kids are teenagers, so we haven't watched Mr. Rogers for a long time. But this past week that jingle came to mind a lot.

I'm on the board of a community development corporation and we're requesting a rezoning of three small residential lots to accommodate an economic development project. I won't bore you with lots of details, but the project involves an anchor retail store, five store front shops, and five 3-bedroom apartments targeted for use by families who are preparing to transition from renting into homeownership, and two handicap accessible apartments as well as a job training/career resource center. We hope to bring more economic viability to this part of our community. The other seven lots we'll use for the project are already zoned commercial.

I wouldn't be a board member if I think it was a neat project. However, we've encountered some folks who oppose it. What they lack in numbers, they compensate for in volume, which has registered in the chambers of our local government (why is it that the "not-in-favor" folks always seem so loud?). The planning and zoning commission tabled their decision on whether or not to recommend the rezoning to city council until we have demonstrated that we have a lot of grass roots support. Our organization has to ante up, so we've hit the streets.

My house is across the street from the property in question, which means the people most affected by the development are also my neighbors. I have enjoyed meals with some of them and have had long conversations over the fence or on my big front porch with quite a few others, but I merely smile and wave to the majority, barely knowing their names. So "hitting the streets" means I'm getting to know this last category of neighbors better.

This week, while soliciting signatures in favor of the rezoning, my husband and I met a hard-working woman who is raising her three neices on one income. We spoke at length about the issues facing our economically depressed neighborhood. This homeowner has some strong opinions and some helpful suggestions. We met a long-time resident and small business owner who is networking with other owners to strengthen their businesses and create more opportunities for one another. No shortage of opinions and ideas there either. He remembers a time when this neighborhood had more minority-owned small businesses sprinkled among the residential areas and is eager to see that return.

There was a retired couple whose home sits on the lot right next to the proposed development. They invited us in and asked us to sit for a while and have some iced tea. And there's the minority grad student who grew up in a house just a half block from ours and has a deep love for the neighborhood. She's studying criminal justice and is headed to law school. When she related that she still encounters professors who don't think she "belongs" in their classes, I suggested she ask them if they could spell C-o-n-d-o-l-e-e-z-z-a, and we all laughed.

There was also the mom with six small children right around the corner from me. Found out they could use the little red bicycle that we have been wanting to give away. She was concerned about the drug dealers and her kids' safety. I'm pretty sure she'd join with me in a project to control the litter along our streets, too.

I'm so glad that this rezoning issue "forced" me to collect signatures and meet more of the folks who live nearby. They are interesting, diverse, and friendly. We mentioned to several that we ought to have a block party BBQ later in the summer and get better acquainted. Maybe we could set up tables on the empty lot...

"...I've always wanted to have a neighbor just like you.
I've always wanted to live in a neighborhood with you.
So, let's make the most of this beautiful day.
Since we're together we might as well say:


Would you be mine?
Could you be mine?
Won't you be my neighbor?
Won't you please,
Won't you please?
Please won't you be my neighbor?"