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ESTABLI SHED BY THE MAYOR AND THE BOARD OF A L DERMEN, NOVEMBER, 1DCC 1203 CITY HALL, ATLANTA GEORGIA 3030$ TELEPHONE 522·4.CS EXT. 439 MR . I nv1NG K. KALER, Ch airman THE HoNORADLE SA~! MASSELL, JR. , Presidc1't, Board oj A ldermen Ex-Officio MECI:i:ANICSV ILLE-P I TTSBURGH AREAS MEETING , WEDNESDAY, APRI L 5, 1967 at Z TON HI LL BAPTIST CHURCH, 666 Mc DANI EL ST. C0111l\1ISSION M E MBERS MR. T . M. ALEX ANDER, SR. Mn. R . IlYR0 !-1 ATTRIDGE M RS. SARA BAKER MISS HELEN BULLARD MR. R. J . BUTLER MR. RonEnT Donos l\fa. HA~!ILTON DOUGLAS, J R, Miss Hele n Bu l lard , Chairman, called the meeting to order at 7 : 4 5 P . M. F ort y -seven a tte ndance c ar ds were retur ned . Member s present: MR. C. G. EZZARD l\IoST RE\'ERE KD PAUL J. HALLINAN Mr. Rolland Maxw el l Dr . Sam Wil liams Rabb i Ja cob Roths child Mr . Clarence G. Ezzar d Mrs . Eliza K. Paschall, Executive Director Arch bishop of Atlanta MR . J OSEPH HAAS ?\:In. AL KUETTNER DR. ROBERT E . L EE


11n. ROLLAND l\IAXWELL


J\fR. F . W."PATTERSON RABBI JACOB 1\1. ROTHSCHILD MR . M. o. "B uzz" RYAN Observe r s: MR. JACK SELLS lllns . MARY STEPHENS THE REVERE!-ID ~AMUEL WILLIAMS M RS. ELIZA K. PASCHALL, Executive Director Mrs . Jacob Rothschild Mr s. Ma rilyn Bald win Mr . Joseph Amisano Rep . J ohn Hoo d Miss Bu llard rema rked that the CRC wa s appo i nted by the Ma y o r and the Board of Aldermen to try to help to deal with t he pr ob lems o f l iving together . She asked t he gr oup what it cons i d ered No. 1 pr o blem in all Atlant a . Gr o up a n sw e red : " Mo n ey .. money .. money. The next pr oblem : nc lea n u p . .. c lea n u p . The y a rds, the streets . " I ndi v iduals spoke out mentioning cri me; h ousing ... n o t enough and what there is, i n a dequate. At this point, Miss Bullard invited pe o ple to get up and speak out. 1. MR . MARVI N K. MACDOWELL, 7 8 1 Hubbar d St . S. W.: Sp eaking f o r SCLC, Operati o n Breadbasket . They are hav i ng me eti ngs in the di ff e r ent neighborho ods , Mechanics v ille , Pit tsb u rgh, Grant Park , to get s ome t hin g done regard i ng hous i ng and secon d, t h e streets ... t he majority ar e dirt s t r e e ts whi c h n e e d to be pa v ed . Sa id the pe o p l e wil l have t o get up and s peak . Mi ss Bu l l a rd a s ke d if the compl aint had been ma d e t o t he city f o rma l l y or i n for mally. He s a id t he y have been to EOA cent ers i n the n eighb o rhood s . 2. MR . RUDOLPH HINES, 65 Harlan Rd . S . W. : "One of the problems in Atlanta is lack o f c o n ce r n t hat the p e op l e o f At l ant a hav e about somebody else ... For 11 months I was assista n t d i rec to r for John Hope Homes. I know how these people liv e . .. Hines c ontinued . HI don ' t represent any group but my conc ern is .. f o r all the Negroes in Atlanta .... the evils can be p i npointed i n this one ... it is inhuman . •. it is beyond the law . . . . a lady called me tonight . • . she said last month I pa id $46 rent ••• in April I pay $ 8 6 .. " On questioning from :M iss Bullard, he said this is the way rents are adjusted and computed in public housing .•. that Mr. Satterfield and Mr . Boggs are little g o ds in this town. He told of an incident where a person was seen at the car stop and since he was then piesumably working, his rent was adjusted so that he owed back rent of $490. Mr . Hines commented �Page 2 of Minutes o f Mec han icsvil l e - P itts bur gh deeting, Ap ril 5, 1 9 67 that the tenant orga nization wa s n ot eff ective since Pa ragraph 9 in the lease says the man ger of any ind iv idu a l h ousing project in Atl a nt a c an e v ict any family without written n otice f o r the re a son o f t he evi c t ion . Mr s . Pa sc hall s a id s he und erstood that readjusted retroactive. Mr . Hines said that if a person calls the the cal l is sent back t o the area manage ment office ... a the mer e fact that the tenant cal ls downt ow n makes that l in.e for eviction . rents were n o t c entral o ffi c e vicious circle ••• tenant n e xt in Mrs. Pa sc ha ll as k ed f or location o f s pe c ifi c st r eets tha~ needed repairing t o pa ss o n t o Mr. Nix on. Group : " McDani el St re et .. . it is a hazard . Bas s Street . .. from Cooper to


McDani el.


Pry o r .• . Minor a St ree t to the stadium. " In the group' s op ini on, f o rmal complaints o n these st reet s have .prob ably ~ one in t o the wa steb a s ket . A wo man remarked tha t on the weekends , teenagers tear them (the roads) up . 0 3. REV o L. C. CLACK, 591 Pulliam St. SW.: He objec t s to Coll ier Street being z o ned for commer ci a l use . Thinks it unnecessary ..• commercial district ~ready ou t t o Fulton Indust ial Boulevard . Adv ised he had been to one zoning meeting . Said he was ma k ing a statement right then r equesting it b e kept resident i al. To ld Dr . Willi a ms he th ou g ht they should nttend the zoning mee t ings . Dr . Williams s k ept ic al ab o ut the effective ness of zoning hearings. Miss . Bullard to next speaker: "Are you spea k ing as an individ u al?" 4 . MR . EDWI N MOODY , 24 1 Doane St . S . W. nFor once in my life ! " Said h e ag - eecJ wit h Dr . Willi a li1S ab out zoning comm ittee . Has sever a 1 re commend a tions f o r Comm ission to pr esent to "city fathers" as foll o ws : a. "Top issue is ap poi n t ee s ... most of prob lems b loom fr o m pe o ple app oint ed t ha t kn o w o r care very little fo r t h e p r oblems ... how c a n a well fed per so n know actually h ow a hu ngr y p erson f eels .. how can a p e r son in a mansio n k now h ow a p e r son in a r a gged, subst a ndard house lives? b . " Tax dol l ars - start to spend :fu nd to l abor where i t has been ne gl ected •. in Mechanicsville , Summerhill , Pittsburgh . c . "Hire us on a qualified man- to-man basis ... in the Ge or gi a State Employment Service , it hasn't stopped ... d. "Laws voted by legislature . . almost any tax increase is helping poverty . . Atlanta's sewage t a x falls on the tenants • . . our representatives voted themselves raises .. this means more tax f 6r the po o r man to pay. I will not vote for a single person offering f o r re - electi o n next time and I hope you will follow the s ame example . e. "I will conclude with planning , z o ning and housing .. to get a house you have to get it zoned from a to z , to get commercial you have to aet it zoned from a to z, same for schools . .. when y o u go before the zoni;g committee, you don't make A, you done lost out • •. these departments should be one and a n allowance should be made for elderly homeowners ••• mernbers, please don't ?ome out and listen and place it in file 13--come out here and do something a bout this •• . there is a long hot summer coming ••• I got �Page 3 o f Minut es of hlechanicsville - P~tts burgh Mee~ing , April 5 , 196 7 k i ds in the s c hools and those t~o - for - a - qua~ter r i des c ome dear for me ... State Ca pitol r e increase) ..• the Co~ i ssion (Publi c Serv ic e ) wi ll h o ld a he~ring .. . the more of us get there the less chance t hey will get to raise . . . Sommerville will get mad but I h ave got t o pay Mr . Sommerville . ( he menti oned meeting a t Remarked that not voting for those presently in office mi g h t let ~he n ext o ne know n o t to vote h imself a raise. On questioning by a reporter, rema r k ed that the Ge o rgia State Employment Servic e s till g o es by a color 1_ ine. . 5. MRS . ETHEL SHAW, 592 Wh i te h all Terrace. Complained o f sur r ounding apartme nt bu ild ings hav i ng n o janitors . "Have c alled City Ha ll fiv e times , writ t en t o Iva n Al le n, J r . . . . the inspe c tor came o ut and went ar o u n d a nd c leaned up o ne ti me . . . been n o o ne s ince. Don't know wh o t he landlo rd s o f buildings are .... . . apartment t 600 1/hitehall Te rrace is ridic ul o u s. " ( _ is c u s s ion between Mrs . Shaw and person in group re co nta c ting her ar e a bl o ck c hai r man f o r c orre c tive action . ) 6. REP. J OHN HOOD , 124 Dis t rict, 802~- Pryor St . S . W. I n c h eck i ng, he f o und that mo tels are going in thi s area. P r y o r St . area sewe r pr o blem is a hazard .•. on a rainy day your car will a lmost dr own o u·t . Commi ssi o n s hould rec ommend to City Hall s ome thing be done . Need a scho o l t o g o a long with 650 apartment units planne d for construction o n McDaniel St . Constructi o n (of the school) has not st a rted and if it is to b e finished within the allo tted time , they will have t o g et o n t he ball (they bein g the Bd . of Edu c ation) to get property in this ar e a . Mr . Hood advised h e had v o ted for salary increase. One person reported a riv e r when it r ains on Ira Street where he lives a nd a horr i b l e mess afte r war ds. 7. MRS . ROSA BROWN, Cha irman of Area Block 4 2, EOA . Adressing Mr. Hood: "The pe o p l e on Garbaldi Street have been aski n g for a light . " Cited dange r s of d ar k a re a . Se wer too s mall on Steve ns and Sa nders St . .. st ays stopped up a ll the time. (Light o n Ga rib a ldi between Ba ss & Stephens.) Mrs . Pas c hall advis e d t ha t t he cit y is b e g i nn i n g a l i ghti ng mo dernizat i o n p l a n - asked that she be advised o f specia l places where lights ar e needed takes six to e i ght weeks bec ause the Boa rd o f Ald ermen h a s to pass a reso lutio n f o r eac h l oc a tion. Group : "Vle have asked for a light at Rockwe l l a n d Mc Daniel. 396 Baker i s broke up . " Mr . Moody speaking again asked why the pla n ners and the zoning committee don't get together on the Model Ci t y plan - wo rk in pla ces goi ng to be wasted office building was t o be built o n Richards on and Cent ra l - neighborhood protested - protes t ed on I - 20 . I f c omme r cia l comes into ne i ghbo rhood, r e sidents might as well pick up and leave . Mrs . Paschall reported what Mr. Gladin told her about the Model City program - the application from City of Atlanta to Federal Government is for $500,000 to pay for a year of planning and at the end of the year would come a grant to put the plans into effect •. if grant is approved, they will want to meet with thG people in the community to talk about what kind of neighb?rhood the peop~e want - the more _prepared the people are to talk about what tney want , the s~ronger the plan will be when it gets going. �Page 4 o f Mi nutes o f ~e c h a nic svil le - P it t s burgh Me et ing , Ap ril 5, 196 7 . 11 !\~r . Mr . Hood sp e ak i ng a g ain: Ezzar- d and I ar e in a p eculiar situat ion be c a use the las t t wo meet ings I ha ve f o u nd myself with t h e Comm i ssio n in the nei ghb o rhood i n whi c h I liv e ancl I h ave been tr y i ng t o ke ep up wi t h it a s muc h as p ossib l e . " Thinl~s a st r oqg or g a nizati o n wi ll be needed i n Atla n t a i f i t g et s t he grant . Th in~s o ne a nd a h a lf million dolla rs is a s mall sum. Mr . Bl a c k wel l a n d Mr . Th omp s o n (c o n g ress me n fro m 4 th and 5th Distri c ts ) ha v e g o t a l o t o f co r respo nd e nce a gainst it - d o ub ts if 5 o f pres ent gro up hav e wr itten t wo co ngr ess rle n to supp o rt the pr o ject. Need to g e t b al l r olli ng f or mo d e l c it y . I f turne d down , wi l l a p p l y to pri vate sourc e. Th ink s t h e st adium has help e d south side a l ot . Regard i n g bar e apa rtment s , t h ink s Comm ission c o u ld re commend t ha t ther e be s ome l i a ison pers o n t o v isit apa r t me n t de velo pme nt s t o . ma k e sure pe ople eep the m up - t hey a re unsanitary o n Commerc e Street . . . Primr ose . .. . Jo u1 n al re p orte r asked : "Wi th t he inte r st a te syst e m and t he s tad i u m, rt makes slum are a s p r ime busines s site s in t h e future and i s it the Comn.iss i on ' s obj ect i ve t o k ee p this residential ar ea - a n d k eep o ut busines s e s a ndwhat is t he ov erall ob jec tiv e in t h is are a ? " 1 Dr . Wi lliams re f er r ed h i m t o the ordina n ce s etting up the Comm ission . Business o f Comm i s sion is to see t ha t the re is peace and h a rmo ny in t h e c omm un ity a nd just i ce do ne wh ere p eop l e l iv e . Moody a nd Ezzar d and ot her people hav e s aid that the p eople i n t h e c i ty will ha ve s o mething t o s ay a b ou t wha t ha p p ens r e t h e model c ity and we h a ve n o p ositi o n .. th e pe op l e wh o li v e there must b e t a k e n i n to a cc o u nt •. o ur co nc e r n is what happ e ns to pe ople .. wo u ld th at s a tis fy y o u? Rep o rter : The eco n o mic fa ctor s mean t hat t his wou ld be a tr e me nd o u s b us i ne s s a rea . Dr . Wil liams : ' ' One o f the t h i ngs wr o n g wi th thi s t o wn .. we pl a ce e co no mi c oppor tunity bef o r e t he i n te r est o f pe o p l e .. I do n' t k n o w if he want s t h es e notes or not bec a us e the s e a re n ' t wh at you wan t t o put i n t he ne wspap e r •.. ! am o ff e nd e d ab o u t Amer ic a on t h i s . . America o ffend s me a t t hi s poin t .. . t hee e t hin g s matter i~ Amei ic a •. that is pr o f i t , p r ofits and pr o per ty and then we s ay t o h ell wi th peop l e . . we h 3 ve g ot t o cor re ct tha t . .. people h a ve b een l~v ing here for a l o ng t ime and .. o u r ( ea rly ) past o r here had t o c a rry o n a f i ght t o k ee p p e o p le from being evi c ted he re ... now be c ause of t h e s t adi u m we h ave c ome to se e wha t prime property th i s . .. i s .• yo ung man , I h o pe y ou ge t a little c onv e r s i o n here and see tha t pe o ple ar e mor e i mp or tan t than pr o pe rty .. a nd when we d o we wi ll see that Ameri c a is a gr e a t p l ace a nd if we do n' t p eop l e ar e goi n g t o b e d oome d ••.. Ther e was a que s t i o n regard i ng whe t her or n ot t o g o a hea d and i mpr ove p ro per t y o n Winds o r S t . Miss Bullard s ugg este d c alling City P l a nni ng Department, Mr. Hood was c r it ical of the appli c at ion f o r t h e Mod el Cit y . I t sh o ws on the policy making level the mayor , two a l derme n ( Al deredge and Cook) and one private member (busine ss c ommunity repre s enta ti v e) but no representatives from the community. There was a consensus o f the gr o up th a t the y have representatives from the commun i ty. Disc u s s i o n reveal e d t hat a cti o n is expec te d on the model city program in May . And that Mr . Gladin o f the Ci ty Planning Departaent does anticipate involving the n ei ghborh o od pe o ple , Mrs . Pa sc hall pointed out, the more organized and ready t he commu n i ty i s t h e b e t t er . She s uggested a �Page 5 of Minutes of Mechanicsville - Pitts b u~g: eeting , Ap _i l 5 , 1967. joint meeti·1g of all mod el c ~Y are a s sponsored by a ll groups and have Gladin, Buc hanan and -'iorford coi1e t o ans we ques ti ons re h ou si ng . Ma yb e a good idea to form a permanent joint group o rga niz a t i o n . A woman in t h e gr oLp st ated that she had written President Johnson and was referred to some pe ople i n lanta who s ay it v ill be one year bef ore the mode l city plan is e ff ective and shews u nhappy wi th just wai ting which is wha t t h ey had been doing fo a long time . Mr . lood remarked t ha t t he appl ication was in and the c i ty a minist rati on wa s ge tting ready and now the people had to get i nvo l ved . Rev . L. Te r rill: Made a plea to set up a joint meeting o f a ll groups i nvolved in model c ity application to talk with City Plann ing Department s ta ff. Mr . Hood adv ised that a meeting was held in Summerhil l last week and t hey bad agreed at t ha t mee ti ng to try to arrange a joint mee ting in 3 weeks a·_d everybody wou ld be advised . On a motion raade by Rev . Ter rill and se conded, a resolution t hat a meetin g o f a l l t he people in Peopl-9 stown , Summerhi11, Me chanicsville, etc ., be held in April was passed . Mr . Moody : shouldn't s a y wha t he is trying t o tell me .• the mayor c ame out with two meetings before wit h mo re people and said what d o you wan t? •. wh e n t ha t thing got to Wash i ngt o n what was in there was what t h e ma yor want ed nnd not us • • If you don't argue about it now just save y our breat h child bec ause the may o r done got it tha~ t hick and you haven 't said the wo rd . Before ad journi ng, Mis s Bullard expla · ned t:.e Co,nmi ssion has no p o - icy making powers and i ts purpose is to t ake back to the c ity administ ra tion expression~ of what the groups consider t h eir problen~. Vhen asked if t hey felt t ey had had t he i r say , the g roup replied Yes, Yes , thank you ~ One last commen t f r o . .


. n i n g r oup re b uses coming down Wes t Ave . ue :



I think that if the tr ~2i ~ c o ld as k for more money I thin~ we could ask for mo re transport a tion •• n Mi s s Bu ll a rd thank ed t h e people for coming a nd told them if t hey wanted to as k a personal question , to c ome down f ront . The Mee t ing was adjour ned at 10 : 30 approxi ma t e ly . .J �