In
an effort to increase visibility and decrease crime rates in our
neighborhood the WSWCA has embarked on a project to light every street
and alleyway in Washington Square West. On going fundraising efforts
have succeeded in lighting several blocks but we have a long way to go
before every block is finished.
Recent Success
1) Lighting of Pine Street between 9th and 13th Street
2) Dec. 2006: Jefferson agrees to light the 10th and 11th blocks
of Spruce Street.
3) Lighting Grants Available to Washington Square West Residents
Lighting Grants
Washington Square West Trust is offering a $75 reimbursement grant
for all Wash. Square West residents or property owners who improve
the security in the currently ‘dark’ areas around Wash. West
by adding new or replacing inoperative lighting. These areas must
be accessible by the general public to qualify, but lighting for a dark
alley does. Also, upgrading your current front door lighting to
a nice shiny brass fixture does not qualify (sorry!), but replacing
that useless knob and wire floodlight on the shared sidewalk out back does.
In order to qualify, the resident must notify the Civic
that they are planning to apply for the grant so someone can meet with
them and look over the current state. Contact the Civic at info@washwestcivic.org. Once
the lighting unit has been purchased, we’ll need a copy of the receipt(s),
which will then be submitted to the Trust for processing.
Membership Drive
The Membership Committee is developing new ideas to get membership
numbers up and increase awareness of WSWCA’s activities. Some of
our current projects are:
Yearly Membership Drive
Beginning in the new year all new household owners and current members
will be sent application forms to renew or sign up for a new membership
with WSWCA.
Block Captains
Currently we are looking for volunteers who would like to become
block captains in the neighborhood. A Block Captain’s responsibility
would be to meet with residents and business owners on their assigned
block and listen to their questions, comments and complaints, create
a phone tree for emergencies, and meet with other Block Captains to pool
resources and ideas. If you would like to get involved with this
program contact WSWCA at info@washwestcivic.org.
Website Improvements
As you may have seen there have been several improvements made to
the WSWCA website and there are many more to come. Some of the
highlights are the Interactive Map page which allows visitors to explore
the local businesses and landmarks in our community. The RSS
feed so that now you can get your neighborhood news downloaded directly to
your favorite news reader, is available on the right hand of every page
(just click the orange button). Coming soon will be a video
documentary about the Washington Square West Neighborhood.
If you have any comments, or suggestions on what you would like to see
on the WSWCA website contact Alex Seigfried at zodwallopp@gmail.com.
