While banking on the city’s West Side, I happened to notice this flyer hanging near the bank’s entrance. It was posted by Councilman David Rivera’s office and essentially acts as an open invitation for the West Side to visit David and his staff… after hours on Grant Street? From David:
“We started doing that a couple months ago – we wanted to open a location in the community where citizens can voice their issues. Often times, someone does not have the time to get to City Hall. We have a staff person there every Tuesday between 4pm and 7pm – someone to answer questions or help with problems. The idea came from my staff. They already volunteer in the community and felt that they wanted to be more engaged directly with people. I drop here and there to see how things are doing – someone is always there to help. We’ve had so many people contacting us saying how much they appreciate the effort. People feel comfortable with it.
“I’m proud of my staff for taking this initiative. This is the first drop-in night that I’m aware of in the city. The Grant Street building is owned by the city – organizations PUSH and MAP are already there and there’s a youth program taking place in the afternoon. We figured that we already had access to the building and wanted to see more programming taking place there. I would like to see more people go to Grant Street and realized that this was an excellent opportunity to accommodate people and strengthen a neighborhood. I give credit to the people in the neighborhood who are making a difference – this is our turn to give work with them closer to home.”
Former Grant Street Library | 271 Grant Street