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your question?"
<br />
<br />Dr. Holley: "Yes, sir, thank you."
<br />
<br />Mr. Wentz:
<br />
<br />"Thank you, Mr. Frye. The next request to speak is Reverend J. R. Wilkinson,
<br />and I have no address listed. Reverend Wilkinson, if you will give the Clerk
<br />your address, we would appreciate it."
<br />
<br />Rev.
<br />Wilkinson:
<br />
<br />"Mr. Vice Mayor, members of the City Council, Housing Authority, when I hear the
<br />Mount Vernon Baptist Church's name called, I have to speak. I want you to know
<br />that I took time to be in a meeting with the Southside Assembly, and after care-
<br />ful analysis and consideration, the people from the Housing Authority took time
<br />out, and gave us, in detail, what you see on the map. And if I recall correctly,
<br />we went on record to accept gladly your plan as presented, and that we would be
<br />most appreciative if there would be a beginning in New Town, for in everything,
<br />there must be a beginning. And I firmly believe, that with the approach that you
<br />have, and that you are doing, that it would be an asset to our city, certainly
<br />to Mt. Vernon, which we have pastored for twenty years. We should be very de-
<br />lighted to cooperate, and I am sure that the victory will be ours."
<br />
<br />Mr. Wentz:
<br />
<br />"Thank you, Reverend Wilkinson. Are there any questions for Mr. Wilkinson? Thank
<br />you very much. The next request to speak is from Preston Arrington, 532 Harrison
<br />Street. Mr. Arrington."
<br />
<br />Mr.
<br />Arrington:
<br />
<br />"Vice Mayo~, Councilors, and ladies and gentlemen. I'm before you, I'm not a
<br />speaker, so don't look for any big words. I'm the gas man. Who knows the City
<br />better than the gas man? Because the gas man goes all over the city. And I say
<br />to all of you, I don't stay in New Town; I used to, I stayed there for four years,
<br />and New Town is where all your money should go. Not in Plan L, because in Plan L,
<br />you're only taking businesses, taking churches, you're taking ball parks, you're
<br />taking hardware stores, gasoline stations. You're only taking about 23 houses in
<br />the whole project. On the other side is the'slums. From Wythe Street on back to
<br />Portsmouth Boulevard is the slum. That's the part that needs taking care of. Not
<br />all these businesses that is in Project number 2. You've got warehouses over there
<br />that are vacant, you've got old welding places that are vacant, you're taking two
<br />churches. You're taking an old service station, ~o~re taking some kind of...
<br />(inaudible)...place. You're not taking any houses. You need to go over there
<br />where the ~eople are starving, they are living in houses where the floors are
<br />falling in, that's the place you need to go. That's where all your money needs
<br />to start, right ~here. Park View, I sympathize with the man from Park View. Of
<br />course, it's going down. Of course the people are leaving New Town, going there,
<br />tearing it down. Of course, they are just used to living in places like that.
<br /> They are not rehabilitated when they've got to go where the rent is cheap. And
<br /> that's where they go, where the rent is cheap. And they live like they lived where
<br /> the rent was cheap before, and they are tearing it down~ but if you give the people
<br /> some decent houses to stay in, I don't think the people would tear your city down..
<br /> But give them somewhere where they ~an stay there and be warm. They don't have to
<br /> look at the floor and see light, or something, coming through the floor. Give them
<br /> a nice place to stay, and I think they will keep your~iSy; and I think all of your
<br /> money should go in New Town, not in Plan L, which is taking business; you're only
<br /> taking, I went over there and counted, you're taking 23 houses. It might be more
<br /> than the 23 families, but you're only taking 23 houses. But you are taking all
<br /> the business, all the business over there. All the New Town business ts gone when
<br /> that is gone. Only business you got is on the other end of Fourth Street, or down-
<br /> town Portsmouth. You have taken all the business from over there, all except the
<br /> shipyard; of course, you can't take that. I know, because I cover the whole city.
<br /> I know where the worst part of the city is, because I work there. That's my beat
<br /> just like a policeman. I go there every day.to work, and I know how it is. And I
<br /> stayed there before. I had nine brothers and sisters and we stayed ina five-room
<br /> house. B~t I got out of it. I worked my way up to get out of it. But I believe,
<br /> if you give the people somewhere to stay, I believe they will work their way up
<br /> and get out of it too. That's all I have to say.'~
<br />
<br />Mr. Wentz:
<br />
<br />"Are there any questions for Mr. Arrington? Thank you very much, Mr. Arrington.
<br />Ladies and gentlemen, and the Council, and the Commissions, we have completed all
<br />requests to speak. Are there any con~ents that would be forthcoming from either
<br />the commissioners ~r the members of the City Council? It's my understanding that
<br />at this time, the Planning Commission has a formal action which it wishes to take,
<br />and so I will turn the chair temporarily over to Mr. Beard."
<br />
<br />Mr. Barnes:
<br />
<br />"Mr. Chairman, before you do that, I'de like to ask one question. I would hope that
<br />each of us who have to make a decision on the project would'be g~ven a list of the
<br />comments made tonight by the speakers here, so that we can have this information
<br />to base our decision on."
<br />
<br />Mr. Wentz:
<br />
<br />"I will instruct the Clerk to have comments prepared for the Council~ ~ and
<br />Commissioners, in the outline form."
<br />
<br />Mr. Oast: "Is that a request for the transcript of what's been s&id?"
<br />
<br />Mr. Wentz:
<br />
<br />"No, the outline form of the comments that have been made, from the tape. Mr.
<br />Barnes, it is my understanding that a record of this meeting becomes part of the
<br />application for the funds, and certainly that portion can be made available to you.
<br />Mr. Beard."
<br />
<br />
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