Welcome To Neighborhood Commons

The West Side Urban Renewal Area.
The Plan that sparked the organizing of The Strycker's Bay Community
around the issues concerning this massive redevelopment of the neighborhood.

As Executive Director of Strycker's Bay Neighborhood Council, I am faced with the very difficult challenge of staying connected with ALL of the organization's stakeholders. Neighborhood Commons is my very ambitious attempt to do just that.

Since its in inception in 1959, Strycker's Bay has remained connected to and supported by  people from all walks of life. There is so much more we West Siders have in common than the neighborhood we live in. The people we come in contact with everyday help keep that in the forefront of the minds of our staff, volunteers and board members.

I plan on using Neighborhood Commons to share the daily anecdotes, and happenings that affect us all in one way or another. Yes, I know this is quite an ambitious undertaking, but so was trying to keep track of the 2,500 families relocated from the neighborhood during urban renewal fifty years ago without the benefit of a computer or database.

Sidebar: I believe we still have on hand some of the carbon copies of relocatee lists used to help track and bring back residents to the neighborhood when newly constructed housing became available. :-)

The Times They Are a-Changin and so is the way in which Strycker's Bay continues to connect with its neighbors and stakeholders. I will use this space to share insights "from the field" on topics such as affordable housing, community diversity, education, and family self-sufficiency just to name a few.

Strycker's Bay continues to remain relevant in spite of the many changes the West Side has undergone in the last 50 years because we stay connected to and understand the pulse of this community through our grassroots position here. I look forward to sharing our observations and opinions with those this blog reaches.

Until the next blog post,

Kelley Williams

Executive Director