Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Judi Baker on October 25, 2010 at 9:12am

Margy, this is exactly the type of input needed to write an Impact Letter to the courts prior to the sentencing of defendants who perpetrate crimes of this type in this community. As the former creator of the Court Watch Program these feelings/letters were made a part of the permanent court record and were referred to during sentencing as well as Parole hearings. But the program does/did take up a lot of volunteer time and resources but never seemed to have much priority in this community. However, Mike Green of the District Attorney's Office was a stanch supporter of the program as was the Attorney General. The program also gained the respect of the Public Defender's Office. Our presence in the court rooms was also openly acknowledged by many of the Judges. In fact, one even took the time to meet with our group.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Stephanie Reigelsperger on October 25, 2010 at 9:23am

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20101025/NEWS01/1010250...

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Margy Meath on October 25, 2010 at 5:39pm

The updated article in the D&C reports Chief Moore as saying:
“This is a very quiet street,” Moore said at the scene last night. “We just don’t have any issues on this street.”
Seems to me that we have had other issues of concern on Post Avenue (and other areas of the 19th)!
Judi, I recall all of the excellent work of Court Watch and the 'impact' of the impact letters!! I wish that we had people who could do the kind of work that you (and others) were doing re: court watch. I know that the commitment generally required people to have some day time availability in terms of monitoring court cases, etc. Is anyone still active in Court Watch?

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Jodi Maurer on October 26, 2010 at 9:21pm

Margy, I live on Virginia Ave. and started the Virginia Ave Block Club. We have a block club meeting scheduled on 11-4 at 6:30pm with Officer Runyon at the NSC. I emailed Officer Runyon today and asked if she could discuss the Post Ave incident with us at this meeting. We've decided to see if anyone on Post Ave wants to join us as a joint task force. If you know of anyone on Post that wants to join our meeting, please spread the word. I would appreciate it.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Josanne Reaves on October 27, 2010 at 9:40am

I think it would be a nice gesture if some folks from the 19th ward attended Pauls memorial service this evening. I'm planning to go. I would hope that people would not take away from this that the 19th ward is a place where neighbors are not outraged by this behavior, but frankly, I'm not seeing a lot of outrage. I have no answers and I appreciate everything everyone has done and attempted to do to try to address the crime and violence. I recognize this is a small gesture, but as a community, we should pay respects to even those neighbors that we may not have know when something like this happens. He was carrying groceries into his house and it could have been anyone of us. He deserves our support and prayer.
If anyone is interested:


Paul A. Vasconcellos II, 40, passed away suddenly on October 24, 2010 in Rochester, NY. He was born on September 24, 1970 in Wareham, MA to Paul A. Vasconcellos, Sr. and Mary Jane Vasconcellos. He also had older sisters, Sherry and Sonya and younger siblings, Jay, Trisha (Vasconcellos) Pacheco, and Jared Vasconcellos. Also survived by 2 nieces and 2 nephews.
Paul attended Bristol Community College in MA and then graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology. Paul was very artistic and kind. But most of all, he loved Jesus and was a tremendous witness and servant. He served the Lord by serving others with love and humility. He truly glorified God.
There will be a memorial service for Paul on Wednesday, October 27, 2010 at 7:00 pm at Victory Baptist Church, 32 Wildbriar Rd., Rochester. Donations can be made to Victory Baptist Church in memory of Paul.

Published in Rochester

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Stephanie Reigelsperger on October 27, 2010 at 9:50am

I agree with Josanne. I live one street away from where Paul lived and I am unsettled by this event. Many of us walk our dogs around that area and it could have been any one of us. What unsettles me the most about this incident is that even if it was a "robbery gone bad", why did there have to be a gun invloved. I am going to attend the meeting with Jodi on November 4 at the NSC on Genesee St.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Margy Meath on October 27, 2010 at 12:49pm

Yep, the lack (or so it SEEMS) of outrage about many of our crimes is disturbing. It's almost like we just expect it here as a normal part of life..... arsons, stabbings, shootings, home invasions, etc. Strangely, the responses to the story in the news are from the people who knew Paul and nothing (at least in the news) from the people who LIVE here. And, I am still disturbed by Chief Moore's comment (which I know might have been a sound byte from a longer/broader statement).
We have an EPIDEMIC of violent crime and other tragedies here - shootings, stabbings, arsons, home invasions, murder/suicide, burglaries, armed robberies, etc. Something about our neighborhood seems to attract criminal behavior on a much larger scale than other neighborhoods YET we have a lot of people who CARE here.
I don't know the answer, but do know that we will only attack this if we do it TOGETHER!!

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by LaVon Armstrong-Schrodt on October 27, 2010 at 2:43pm

What more can we do? I am so bothered by these violent behaviors. Who are these people that have come into our neighborhoods and destroyed the safety of our homes and families.

I agree Margy we must stand together as a strong group,
to bring peace and safety back to our neighborhood.
LaVon Armstrong

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Margy Meath on October 27, 2010 at 5:35pm

Standing together is definitely a big part of the solution - I don't think we are doing that in the kind of coordinated way that would be REALLY powerful - YET!
I think that some of the violence comes from WITHIN our community- some comes from afar.
I tend to view the 'solutions' from a variety of perspectives:
we definitely need the ongoing attention of our police department and we need them in a community/peace keeping role PLUS law enforcement as needed. We need them to care about our neighborhood as much as we do!
We need our multiple "community agencies" to work in a collaborative, coordinated manner. We have MORE resources than many neighborhoods yet we are sometimes tripping over one another with our various efforts and initiatives.
We need strong 'mini-neighborhood' groups - aka block clubs and we need to connect them with one another.
we need opportunities for dialogue and relationship building.
we need each of us to be individually responsible for our own behavior, our own contributions, our own efforts AND we need to combine our personal efforts with others.
I think that there are some 'just do it' things we can do:
get to know neighbors -reach out to the people who aren't connected
support the police department
move beyond our personal 'comfort' zones in developing relationships
look out for one another - i.e. pay attention, observe, react, report
do something to contribute positively to a neighbor and/or the neighborhood
insist that we receive our fair share of resources from the city, NSC, etc
support local business
support the kids in our neighborhood
invest in our homes
spend time outside in the front of our houses
keep some outdoor lights on at night
stay hopeful about our capacity to make the changes we need

other ideas!?!?

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Jodi Maurer on October 27, 2010 at 5:48pm

I wish I could attend Paul's memorial service, but I have no babysitter and my husband works til 9pm. As for other ideas to make some changes, I have none right now, but I am trying to think of some. Perhaps Officer Runyon will have some suggestions when we meet with her next week.

Permalink Reply by Donna Sarnacki on October 28, 2010 at 11:35am

Jodi - I live 4 houses down from Paul's house and am very interested in a joint task force including Post and Virginia. Unfortunately I am unable to attend the meeting on 11-4 but I might be able to get some other people from Post to attend. I feel that having a block club for both streets might be a good idea. I don't know what other people think though. Do you have a flyer that I can get around to the Post Ave neighbors??? Call me (or don't people do that any more????) I'm home all day 328-1935. Thanks

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Judi Baker on October 28, 2010 at 12:02pm

Hi Donna, there are 2 booklets "How To Organize A Block Club'. A step by step guide that I put together in 2002. However, the one I did in 1996 has all the forms including the 'meeting announcement' flyer you mentioned. I did leave them at the 19th Ward when I left as the Office Secretary. If they are not there, I have copies you can borrow. No need to reinvent the wheel.

• ▶ Reply

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• 3
• Next ›
• Page