(Robert Drucker sent this as a copy to the Director of Department of Neighborhoods.)

From: Robert Drucker
Date: Sat, Mar 11, 2017 at 4:53 PM
Subject: Eviscerating Neighborhoods
To: "Nyland, Kathy"

Ms. Nyland:

I was distressed to learn that the Neighborhood District Coordinators have been removed from their neighborhoods, and will be given new titles and desks downtown. What justification can there be for vacating the Neighborhood Service Centers, except to centralize power and authority, and deprive communities of our voice in government?

This week I joined the first of the District 6 “Your Voice, Your Choice” project review meetings. A small group of eager neighbors had three minutes to rate projects we knew nothing about, based on pre-determined criteria we hadn’t agreed to. Compared to the old District Councils and Community Review Team, the process was haphazard. Compared to the experienced Department of Neighborhood staff, the hired facilitator was well below par in knowledge and skill. Despite the “Inclusion Verification Matrix” we were asked to sign, the group was less diverse than the Community Review Team. 

The new Department of Neighborhoods, once an international model, presents a staged-managed appearance of democracy, rather than a free exchange of ideas and a gracious sharing of decision making among citizens.

 
Robert Drucker Architect