Low income housing in North Natomas is finally the talk of the town — at least for a few minutes. Guess it pays to be a squeaky wheel after all.
Mary Lynne Velinga (I got it!) recently wrote a superb article that explored this hot potato in the Bee. In it were some dubious “official” quotes, followed by some outrageous reader comments. More dubious quotes recently showed up on independent blogs long after the article was published. I’d like to make a few observations about all this–err dubicity..
Mary Lynne’s recent article questioning the city’s decision to pour a kazilliontrilion tons of “inclusionary” stucco and concrete into its mixed use, mixed income, MIXED UP social experiment called North Natomas seems to have fleshed out two distinct schools of thought: 1) Beleaguered N Natomas residents who have witnessed the dangerous side effects of excessive low income housing in concentrated areas firsthand; 2) Politicos and pseudo-politicos, who have a serious stake in the reputation of the city, playing armchair socio-economist in an attempt to sell residents on the idea there is no correlation between crime and poverty.
As a N Natomas resident (at least for now), I am getting really sick of number 2. Ahem. Enough with the ridiculous “there is no relationship between crime and poverty” retort every time a N Natomas resident begs the city to stop building more low income SUPERPLEXES in their neighborhoods.
First of all, no one I have encountered in N Natomas who is angry about the low income SUPERPLEXES being built on every corner, and in the front yards of award winning schools, is saying “everyone who needs financial assistance is a criminal.” Geez! WHO has said that? NO ONE!! Matter of fact, in general, N Natomas residents are arguably the most non-discriminating, tolerant lot you will find in the valley. Come out and see for yourself if you don’t believe me.
Even the slowest among us (myself included), understand criminal behavior spans class lines. In fact, as a US Army soldier who has traveled abroad, i can tell you I have personally met dirt farmers in third world countries who were more trustworthy and honest than many wealthy city officials I have known in Sacramento. Furthermore, N Natomas is FULL of residents who are either from third world countries THEMSELVES and/or have family in such countries, and every single one I have met are hardworking, honest people who are not fugitives wanted by the police for home invasion crimes.
All these talking heads blowing off N Natomas resident concerns about public safety–and the influx of low income housing–with inflammatory statements about poverty and crime MUST know the average resident has enough common sense to understand all this stuff, right? So why in the world do they continue to say such dismissive things? Simple; remember what Fargo said when asked about the soaring crime rate in Sacramento? She said, “It’s not the mayor’s job to make people feel unsafe.”
Bingo. “It’s not the mayor’s job to make people feel unsafe.”
Fargo is a CLASSIC bureaucrat. And she’s not alone. Public officials in general simply don’t want residents to know there is a problem, especially when the problem is public safety. How many times have you heard police dilute the severity of crimes with statements such as: “The victim knew the suspect,” or “They’re not getting much in these robberies…” or “This is just an isolated incident..” or.. You get the idea.
The city of Sacramento’s THEME SONG should be called “Ignorance is bliss.”
It’s good politics to sweep public safety concerns under the rug, especially during election season. What better way to sway public opinion than to either downplay the problem, or make the squawkers about the problem–the “cynics”– out to be the BAD GUYS who are “suffocating public consensus… like a blanket of winter fog”? I have seen it time and again since I started this blog. If it’s not a columnist beating up on the opposition, its a public official hollering, “are you going to be part of the problem, or part of the solution??”.. yeah.. like the vocal taxpayers trying to draw attention to the problem are somehow responsible for it. What is dirty politics for $500, Bob?
The problem with Sac is not the cynics, it’s the bullheaded egos who aren’t interested in listening to anyone else’s opinion. Trust me on this.
I can hear some of you now: “But Joe who wants to live in fear? Maybe it’s best we don’t know how bad it is. I want to be happy, not glum and depressed.” But I submit that is a flawed way of thinking. I’m not asking you to be depressed; I’m asking you to be responsible. Big difference. “What-I-don’t-know-won’t-hurt-me” thinking should NEVER be your way of thinking when it comes to public safety–YOUR safety!
Just yesterday someone who is well known in the community emailed me and shared a story. She said she had lived uneventfully in N Natomas for several years and never had a problem.. until last weekend when ROCKS, yes ROCKS, as in river rocks being heaved by delinquent kids, came flying over her fence like mortar rounds on a battlefield, nearly striking her young boy in the head. In an instant her perception of the area has changed. But why wait? Why be REACTIVE like Fargo? Why not be PROACTIVE? Why not DEMAND a high standard of living and safety and order in N Natomas?
Furthermore, that blissful type of thinking allows public servants to do their jobs in a silo, with no oversight, with no accountability, in any manner they see fit–and that INCLUDES the way they prioritize their call responses and allocate units to Sacramento neighborhoods. To bury your head in the sand when it comes to public safety issues is to play a direct part in putting yourself and your family in the line of potential fire. And that is anything but responsible.
There IS a correlation between poverty and crime. Go to Google and search “poverty and crime..” You’ll fnd stuff like this from economics.finance:
“..Crime offers a way in which impoverished people can obtain material goods that they cannot attain through legitimate means. Often threat or force can help them acquire even more goods, this induces them to commit violent acts such as robbery, which is the second most common violent crime. For many impoverished people, the prize that crime yields may outweigh the risk of being caught, especially given that their opportunity cost is lower than that of a wealthier person. Thus, poverty should increase crime rates…” Source: http://economics.fundamentalfinance.com/povertycrime.php
Forget what the police say. Forget what Ray Tretheway or his aide Dan Roth says. Form your own opinon. Read what the EXPERTS say about crime and poverty! I continue to be amazed by how tolerant North Natomas residents have been towards tax-dollar-salaried civil servants making speculative, politically-driven statements about the correlation between low income inclusionary housing and crime to the local press.
I think it’s time the public take a STAND and demand these public servants STOP making comments they are not qualified to make–especially ones that clearly DISMISS the severe concerns of taxpaying residents about the excessive amount of inclusionary housing in N Natomas.
It’s time we stop allowing politicians and public servants to speak for us. It’s time we START SPEAKING FOR OURSELVES!
Absolutely outstanding article. Thank you. No retorts here. =)
Joe if I were 20 years younger I would go picket with you! We’re with you in spirit!
Joe, one of things that really bugs me about this Section 8 housing decision is that Sacramento is willing to “go it alone” if needs be. Several people I know in some of these apartment “experiments” in North Natomas have told me that a large number of the families moving into the apartments have come from San Jose, Oakland, Long Beach and other large California communities. Word is now out in the low income community that Sacramento has put the “open house” sign up. Name another large city in California that is building this amount of low incoming housing? There isn’t one. It would be great if the only low-income people coming to Natomas were all Sacramentans. At least then they might carry with them more of a sense of pride in the city. But when you move from one city to another just because of cost, you don’t care about that city overly much.
I recommend the book “Freakonomics” and the chapters on the Chicago drug Lords as examples of what social engineering can do to crime levels in a city Joe.
I have heard the same about all the bay area, LA, etc transplants, Mike.
This is a really delicate topic obviously. We have already seen a city representative in Dan Roth imply Mary Lynne’s article on the problem promoted racism (an implication I condemn on every front!). The police, who don’t want a riot on their hands, will always downplay the concern, too.
In other words, it’s easy for THEM (and I have truly figured out it *is* US versus THEM, no matter how much they want us to think it is not) to shut down complaints about low income by either saying “You’re promoting racism,” or “Low income is not the only source of crime” (which is so patronizing I can’t even articulate my thoughts about it without getting all fired up). Like DUH. Really? Crime crosses income boundaries? DUH. no way dude!
OK I will check out Freakanomics. Thanks
I am with you one hun percent Joe Joe ! But I do think a lot of folks are getting mad now. You see 450 of them at the crime meeting? Most of those folks were mad , they just didn’t want to disrespect. I am thinking you were of the same mentality cuz I did not hear anyone speaking there who sounded even remotely like Joe Sacramento. Right? So, I think you are going about it the right here. Blogs like this may not get public props but they serve the public as a huge resource. That is why I emailed you and said to keep the blog going regardless. The people who really want to change things for the better don’t care if the person who gives them food for thought lives next door. Man you got it. Keep it. Thank you my brotha!
Hey Mike I know someone personally who moved to North Natomas from Oakland for low income apt. They are good peeps but we all know not all of em are good peeps. I agree with you that all these cities need to show the love and spread the housing out all over. But look Joe said it best right now they need to send some housing to westlake ! holla!
I think the title of this article says it all for me: Speak for yourself. So true Joe. I have seen over and over where city officials are making unauthorized statements about conditions such as those you mention and they should not be because often times those statements can tip the way people vote. Not good. I agree. Shut them up!
Wait il our boy Kevy Johnson gits into office. He’ll turn state’s evidence faster than you can welcome him to city hall. He may be all rooting for the people right now and acting like he is one of yall, but when he gets into office he’ll be tellin yall all the things he can’t do because his hands are tired and he’ll be ignorin’ his emails just like Fargo doesn. Kevy is not the answer. But I guess you knobs will have to find out for yoursleves
Anyone but Fargo. A monkey could do better than Fargo. An un-domesticated monkey with no training.
Long one Joe! Had to print it out and read it over breakfast this AM. Wow. Lots to think about. I see what you mean about all the propaganda. I agree cops should stick to being cops and stop playing social workers. They get paid to keep us safe not make unsubstantiated claims about social conditions and criminal psychology. But it just goes to show how desperate the town is for some great leadership.
Great article. Could not agree more. Syndicate!
I also agree. I find it amazing that our elected and appointed local officials are so horrible that we are not comfortable with them speaking for us! Tretheway is so out of touch he couldn’t speak for a caveman.
NNA my sources tell me you are a paid instigator for a local media outlet. True?
Joe I saw someone taking pictures from this location not long ago? Was it you? Big, tall guy in white t-shirt and shorts?
Yep, that was me.
Why didn’t you throw a tomato at me Sven!? How anti-climactic!
Brian, are you saying that telling the truth is so easy a caveman could do it? Obviously our city council have trouble with it.
Mike, yes. You hit it on the head. I think it is sad we can’t trust them. I side with Joe and I think Ray Tretheway is the wrong person for this job. But I bet even Ray Tretheway regrets taking the job. He walked into a minefield Fargo set up for him when she was council person. I am shocked how she got away with it. It goes to show she did whatever she wanted without any watchdogs at all. Must be nice.
Also if voters want to know what kind of visionary Fargo is, just come visit Natomas.
Joe you didn’t see the tomatoes? Check the roof of your car!
Part of what I lack in this discussion of our current city council is historical perspective. Though I believe our City Council has done an abysmal job of implementing the city’s Master Plan, I have to wonder what political climate brought all of them into their present positions of power back in the late 90s. It was the time I moved here and almost all the people now on the Council were elected during that time. What happened to the group that made the Master Plan and where did they all go? My guess is that something was taking place among the movers and shakers in the city that wanted more growth than the city had been seeing. If I remember correctly, that was during a season when several of the outlying areas broke away to form their own cities (Elk Grove, Rancho) so perhaps the power brokers of Sacramento decided what the city needed was new leadership and a new working of the old plan. I don’t know, but that is my suspicion. Therefore, we need to look carefully at all those who will be running for office in Sacramento in the next few years and not get caught up in an “Any change is better than what we have” scenario. Each person needs to tell what they would do exactly before we vote for them. And will someone with sense and guts please run against Trethaway!
Why do the Ghetto Bunnies have all these rights? Why should we pay for them to live around us bringing their deviant behavior to our neighborhoods? We are paying for their Section 8, their AFDC, food stamps and everything else that they get for free. In the meantime they can go buy fancy cars, gold grilles for their teeth, gold chains and other bling.
Godzilla, not all people taking advantage of this housing are “ghetto bunnies.” I think by and large most people in these superplexes are honest, decent citizens. But make no mistake about it, this type of housing attracts the worst of the worst, and therein lies the problem. Now they are coming from all over Northern California to these units. Not good. I think Fargo and Tretheway should have to live in these units
Wowza I drove by and that complex is enormous!
Well little Joe I’m still waiting for you to figure out how to solve all the woes of the Sacramento valley. Let me know then you figure out
Um, ok. We can start with housing. Let’s send the next batch of low income housing into the Maloof’s neighborhood in Westlake. We’re all family right? We all care about disadvantged folks, right? We’re all good Christians, aren’t we? Ok, so let’s start spreading that love from the Fab 40’s to Westlake. Cmon. Let’s do it. If i were mayor—noooo those rich folk would NOT let me get anywhere near city hall
The mananger of the Pardee apartment complex on Blackrock was to hold a meeting last Feb. with community members, but he bailed out at the last minute. We are in the process of contacting him again. Once a date is picked many of us need to show up. SHRA, the police, Tretheway and other’s need to be there to demand this complex is run properly and held accountable for any problems that develop. The problem always is that the criminals always commit their crimes away from the apartments, and the manager’s claim they have no control over that, the key will be to make sure they screen applicants properly. I am hoping this co. will operate this huge cluster of low income housing properly and will work hard to achieve realistic goals that are desirable for us all. This company also needs to contact the local schools, overnight potentially hundreds of kids jam the schools, and no one is prepared. And if Terricina Gold Apartments is any indication, the elementary school is in for a rough ride.
Charlie, this is what I’ve been saying as a partial defense of the NUSD. Nobody told the school district that all these Section 8 children were going to be entering the school system so quickly. Schools tend to plan financially and strategically 3-5 years in advance. How can a school district expect to plan for this influx of new kids, many of whom are underperformers and many who have English as a second language? You have to have teachers with specialized training to handle that kind of mix. It isn’t fair to the school system to dump that many special needs kids at once on them. No wonder our Natomas schools started to drop their scores just as Terracina and the other new Affordable Housing blocks came online.
Charlie, yes,we need to come out in force. That complex is almost peering over our fence into our backyard–no lie. We envision kids fleeing helicopters across Del Paso, over the fence and into our backyard. Don’t laugh. It can and does happen all the time. I might put concertina wire on the top of our brick fence–HOA be damned. We’re seriously worried about it.
Mike your point about school prep could not be more bang on. How unfair this is to the district.
Don’t think Westlake is not getting it’s fair share. They have a huge inclusionary project across the street (close enough) and the other senior facility up the road. With more land being annexed they will be surrounded in no time!