Fall 2010 N.E.W. Program Underway

TYLER — Using the input received from residents at the recent neighborhood meeting, the City of Tyler has created a work schedule for the Fall 2010 Neighborhood Empowerment Works (NEW) program. The meeting provided residents an opportunity to meet with representatives from the City to share their ideas and concerns about their neighborhood. The NEW neighborhood’s boundaries are from West Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard between Border and Palace Avenues to West Vance Avenue between Moore and Palace Avenues to Franklin Street. “Resident input is critical to this program,” said Neighborhood Services Director Brenda Johnson. “The residents know their neighborhood better than anyone and are in the best position to identify opportunities for improvement.”

City officials say the NEW program enhances the quality of life for Tyler residents – one neighborhood at a time – by intensely concentrating City services in a specific area for three weeks. Various City departments use information gathered from the neighborhood meeting as well as an examination of the area to identify services that could make an immediate impact on the neighborhood.

Activities scheduled for the Fall 2010 NEW program include mowing yards; picking up trash, including removing large items from yards and moving it to the curb; minor painting and repairs to the exterior of homes in the neighborhood; and trimming branches and bushes. Residents and City employees will work on these activities through Dec. 3. On Jan. 28, the Neighborhood Services Department will make a report to the City Council on the outcomes of the Fall 2010 NEW program. A wrap-up meeting with the neighborhood will be held on Dec. 17 to discuss the results and how to sustain them while giving the residents the opportunity to celebrate their efforts.

This is the 10th NEW neighborhood since the City started the program in 2006. “The NEW program is an important tool that the City uses to stop neighborhood decline in its tracks,” said Mayor Pro Tem Ralph Caraway. “The program has made great progress throughout the City since its inception and the 10th program will certainly continue the success of NEW.”