West Side Residents Will Be Surveyed
By ELLEN CARROLL
What do you like best about your neighborhood?
How many of your neighbors do you speak to on a regular basis for five minutes or more?
Do your children feel safe in your neighborhood?
These are just a few of the questions a targeted number of residents of Asbury Parks West Side will be asked beginning Sat., April 12. Interfaith Neighbors Inc. is gathering the information using mostly volunteers over several days.
Information obtained through the survey will be used to make decisions and aid in planning potential projects under the Neighborhood Revitalization Tax Credit Program, a state program. The program is being coordinated through Interfaith.
Interfaith Neighbors West Side Neighborhood Revitalization initiative is a 10-year plan approved by the state to benefit the citys West Side community. The survey will help decide which projects should be funded in the area.
This survey will really help us plan projects, said Heather Schulze, who coordinates community outreach at Interfaith Neighbors. We dont want to assume that we know what is good for the neighborhood. We want them to tell us.
During informal talks residents in the area have already said they would like to see work done to improve the West Side Community Center on DeWitt Avenue, Schulze said.
We are looking into how we can partner with them, she said.
The survey will target approximately 725 randomly selected households, all residents of the West Side. It will take about 15 minutes to complete and includes multiple choice questions.
Those participating will also have a chance to win a number of prizes valued at approximately $100 each.
Residents dont have to wait to be contacted, Schulze said.
If they see us they can run out and say Hey can I participate? she said.
The volunteers expect to go door-to-door on four different days, which will include two evenings.
By talking to residents and collecting data about the neighborhood, Interfaith Neighbors will be able to tailor its revitalization projects to better fit the residents.
Schulze said residents may want a park, or affordable housing or more shops.
We are trying to put together programs people want, she said.
The funding for the project has been provided by the New Jersey Natural Gas Company, Jersey Central Power and Light, PNC Bank, Selective Insurance and Horizon Blue Cross/Blue Shield.
After the survey is completed Interfaith Neighbors will make the results available to all upon request.
In addition, a series of meetings will be held, open to all residents, where the results will be discussed. Individual responses will remain anonymous and will be not shared with anyone
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Published every Thursday.
April 11th, 2008 at 10:46 am
Recently, I visited Asbury Park to take a preliminary look at available & affordable housing, etc. There were many homes on the west side that appeared perfectly fine on the outside. However, some basic landscaping would do wonders to “uplift” many of the neighborhoods. I plan to return during early summer to get a better “feel” about the community, generally. Naturally, it has taken some time to get over the sticker shock of housing (I’m from the midwest). It did seem that a person of average means could not afford anything on the east side. We had a wonderful dinner at a nice restaurant there. I look forward to learning more.