Ray Mariano: The slow death of northern Lincoln Street neighborhood
When they run for office, politicians love to list all of the wonderful things they will do to improve your neighborhood. They’ll renovate the neighborhood park, plant more trees, fix the streets and sidewalks, and renovate the neighborhood school. Whatever the neighborhood needs, it’s on their list.
Once they’re elected, the newly minted officials may actually get out of their fancy chairs long enough to do a few of the things that they promised.
Unfortunately, this is not that kind of story. This neighborhood doesn’t even have a neighborhood park. Residents have no sidewalks to walk on. And the neighborhood school, first opened in 1929, is badly in need of renovation. But that’s not the story either.
This is a story about the neglect and indifference of city officials that is helping to destroy a tiny neighborhood and the businesses around it. City officials are watching the neighborhood die, little by little, and they’re letting it happen.
It’s a working-class neighborhood off northern Lincoln Street tucked behind St. Joan of Arc Church. More than 100 families live there in small Capes, ranches and split-level homes. The people there never ask much from their government and they get even less.
Decades of neglect
Years ago, Spectrum Health Systems opened an office in the building at the entrance to Oriol Drive. Then it took over the entire building. Now it treats hundreds of individuals each day with medication for substance use disorders, some that later can be found sleeping in someone’s yard or nodding off at a nearby McDonald’s.
The Quality Inn & Suites, also on Oriol Drive, only added to the problem. At one point, police were getting as many as 80 calls a month. There was drug use and hypodermic needles everywhere. There were homeless encampments in the woods, people sleeping on the lawn, and lost souls screaming at passing cars and harassing anyone who walked by. Homes were being broken into and cars were burglarized. The neighborhood was being overwhelmed. And it wasn’t just the families who lived there who felt the impact.
To make sure that the children would be safe, the principal at Lincoln Street School started sending the assistant principal outside to check the grounds in advance. And local businesses struggled to survive because of rampant theft and frightened customers who stayed away.
No one seemed to be listening
Now in addition to scores of homeless people who continue to wander through the neighborhood daily, a local nonprofit has approval to transform the Quality Inn into a 90-unit supportive housing complex — one of the largest in the state.
Residents struggled to get city leaders to pay attention. Most of the people at City Hall ignored their concerns, and the answers to some of their questions never came.
On top of everything else, a second development has been proposed for Oriol Drive with the potential for a third in the future, and residents worry that the flood of issues that they now face will soon become a tidal wave.
Everyone could see that the city had stopped listening to the neighborhood — if they ever did in the first place.
Neighborhood is falling apart
The result of the proliferation of social programs and the indifference of city leaders has been devastating. A local businessman reported that he couldn’t get workers because they were afraid of the neighborhood. A few businesses are considering closing their doors, property owners are losing tenants, some want to sell but can’t find anyone foolish enough to buy, and others, once very profitable, are struggling to survive.
One store manager told me that he sees blatant drug dealing and people shooting up right out in the open. His store has experienced such high levels of theft that he no longer allows people to walk into his store with bags. Another manager said that the homeless who roam their parking lot are keeping people away and killing business. As we talked, a homeless person stumbled in mumbling incoherently startling customers, then went outside and joined several others in front of the business.
Some local residents are afraid to walk on the sidewalks of Lincoln Street. Others just want out.
Susi Ryan and her husband have lived in the neighborhood for 37 years. Both have received awards for their community service. Their home has been broken into three times. Two windows in the car have been shot out. Her husband is constantly cleaning needles from the curb in front of their home. She thinks Lincoln Street is turning into “methadone mile.” She doesn’t think that the city cares or has been paying attention. She’s finally had enough and is moving out of the city.
One frightened resident described the area around certain local businesses as a “drug dealer’s paradise.”
Frustrated, Karina Roman-Wallace screamed in all-capital letters on the neighborhood’s Facebook page: “We need help down here! Please listen to us.” But, as with all of their cries for help in the past, her plea fell mostly on deaf ears. District 2 City Councilor Candy Mero-Carlson has been doing her best to help, but it’s been a lonely fight.
Today, this working-class neighborhood is close to being put on life support. Doctors say that there’s not much they can do. After years of neglect and indifference, only a miracle can save them.
When told about the neighborhood’s critical condition, city councilors did what they often do at times like this. They sent their “thoughts and prayers,” and then they looked away.
Email Raymond V. Mariano at rmariano.telegram@gmail.com. He served four terms as mayor of Worcester and previously served on the City Council and School Committee. He grew up in Great Brook Valley and holds degrees from Worcester State College and Clark University. He was most recently executive director of the Worcester Housing Authority. His column appears weekly in the Sunday Telegram.His endorsements do not necessarily reflect the position of the Telegram & Gazette.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Ray Mariano on slow death of Worcester's northern Lincoln Street area
