In opposition to a private developer’s attempt at a cash grab, a
group of concerned neighbors are fighting back to save their historic neighborhood from high-density, high-priced “cookie-cutter” four-plex units.
The community will come together this morning at 11a for a press conference featuring Dr. David West Reynolds, a New York Times #1 best-selling author and urban analyst, and longtime residents sharing firsthand concerns.
The event will be visual, heartfelt, and media-friendly—with a good
support them in pushing back against this project that threatens to poison the happiness of a historic and friendly neighborhood.
The gathering will be held at 2007 Depauw Ave, New Albany IN 47150 (corner of DePauw and Myrtle Ave) with Reynolds, DePauw resident and urban analyst and Norma Condra, DePauw resident.
This issue touches on broader questions of citizen voice, public trust, and the responsibilities of developers in preserving neighborhood integrity. Residents will call on city officials and the wider public to stand with them.
They fear these will create problems with traffic safety and an overloaded drainage and sewer system, while eroding
their neighborhood’s uniqueness with incompatible crowding.
The DePauw Neighborhood Alliance understands that good development is necessary for a healthy community.
“We are glad to welcome new friends to our special neighborhood,” its leaders noted in a press release, “but how can we welcome an insult to our neighborly way of life?”
The DePauw neighborhood attracts visitors even from Louisville; pedestrians enjoy the sidewalks and the continuous green-space front lawns, in front of attractive individually- designed single-family 1930s bungalows.
The proposed four-plex development crams anonymous units into tiny lots with no yards and no sidewalks.
“Every other builder has added value to this neighborhood,” residents pointed out. “Why can’t this developer do the
same? It looks like there’s not even room for emergency vehicles to get in and out safely.”
Some 400 excited children come to DePauw Avenue every Halloween to enjoy the welcome the neighborly community makes possible.
Parents across the county and even across the
river consider DePauw Avenue the “heart of Trick-or-Treat.”
“The traditions that have been lost in so many other places survive here because of the way our neighborhood is built, with its front yards and sidewalks,” says resident and urban structure analyst Dr. David West Reynolds.
“We can trust each other, because the low density allows us to know our neighbors.”
The New Albany Police Department supports Trick-or-Treat at DePauw each year, handing out candy and a friendly welcome.
“We don’t want to lose these experiences, and become corporate like everyplace else,” say DePauw residents.
This proposed high-density development in a neighborly area recognized nationally for its historic integrity poses a wider question for our communities: Will developers be allowed to
do anything they want for private profit?
“We hope our city officials will use their power to show that they care about human-centered development,” says the Depauw Neighborhood Alliance.
“We know there are some good people in there. We hope they will work to make our community better, not worse.”
