{"id":86,"date":"2012-06-29T00:44:35","date_gmt":"2012-06-29T04:44:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nehsjc.org\/quarterly\/?p=86"},"modified":"2012-06-30T10:42:29","modified_gmt":"2012-06-30T14:42:29","slug":"grove-hall-bounces-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nehsjc.org\/quarterly\/grove-hall-bounces-back\/","title":{"rendered":"Grove Hall Bounces Back"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Joint efforts between the police and the community helped improve the conditions in Grove Hall. (Photo by Shaniya Brown)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Natalie Fallano<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the past, Grove Hall\u2019s reputation was characterized by high crime rates, poverty and abandonment, but recently government and community efforts have brought commercial expansion and overall growth to the area.<\/p>\n

The constant violence and elevated crime rate led to the necessity of increased police \u00a0\u00a0surveillance. Some called the 1980s and 1990s a \u201cReign of Terror.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201dThere used to be two police officers assigned permanently to Grove Hall,\u201d said former Boston Police Deputy Superintendent William Celester.<\/p>\n

\u201cCleaning up the drug crisis was the number one problem,\u201d added former Boston Mayor\u00a0Ray Flynn.<\/p>\n

Joint efforts between the police and the community helped improve the conditions within Grove Hall.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe entire community was united, including businesses, places of worship, and concerned residents\u201d who agreed on a system of \u201ccommunity policing,\u201d said Minister Don Muhammad of Mosque 11.<\/p>\n

Muhammad and the other community leaders took the youth into mosques and churches, where they would point them in the right direction.<\/p>\n

With crime rates decreasing during the 1990s, additional efforts moved into to the spotlight.<\/p>\n

Twenty-five years ago, the word emptiness could describe Grove Hall. This was not only due to fear of the streets, but the overabundance of empty buildings and vacant lots. There were 360 empty lots and 117 vacant buildings between Warren Street and Blue Hill Avenue, according to a 1987 multi-department report by the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe continue to work for affordable housing, including preserving Sonoma St and the Maple St. area. Right now, 49 percent of homeowners are tenants in complexes,\u201d stated District 3 City Councilor, Tito Jackson.<\/p>\n

Both Flynn and current Mayor Thomas Menino have invested resources and funds into the area. In 1988, Flynn invested $17.8 million into Grove Hall towards jobs, housing, and businesses.<\/p>\n

During Menino\u2019s time in office, he has invested a total of $90 million into the community. Menino worked with the Neighborhood Development Corporation of Grove Hall (NDC) and other community organizations to build the $13.5 million Mecca Mall in 2001.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Mecca Mall brought hundreds of new jobs to Grove Hall,\u201d said Muhammad.<\/p>\n

Jackson plans to use part of the city\u2019s budget for infrastructure projects.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith this budget we will continue to invest in municipal structure and infrastructure of Roxbury and Dorchester,\u201d stated Jackson.<\/p>\n

Efforts to revitalize the area culturally included the establishment of the new Grove Hall Public Library Branch in 2009 and the new OneUnited Bank in 2001. OneUnited is largest African-American owned bank in the country and the first of its kind in Boston.<\/p>\n

Another defining feature of the Grove Hall community is TOUCH 106.1, a non-profit radio station located in the heart of the neighborhood. TOUCH 106.1 was founded by former Boston police officer George Clemons.<\/p>\n

\u201cListen to our future. Listen to our youth,\u201d advised Clemens.<\/p>\n

Clemens plans to give Grove Hall and the Black community a voice when he \u201cabsolutely, positively is running for mayor in 2013.\u201d<\/p>\n

Grove Hall may still be a work in progress, but the tools have been laid out for its improvement.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe turned a drug area into a thriving economic oasis. The credit goes solely to the concerned civic leaders and religious leaders of Grove Hall,\u201d said Flynn.<\/p>\n

This can only be fulfilled if government and community support continues. A walk through Grove Hall displays the contrast between the future and the past, as well as the transition it is undergoing. Deteriorated brick buildings slouch next door to tall standing vibrantly colored residential buildings.<\/p>\n

Recently on Father\u2019s Day, Roxbury residents participated in the Fathers Against Murder Epidemic Parade. Events like this prove that community support continues in 2012.<\/p>\n

\u201cGrove Hall shows it can be done. It shows that the worst of neighborhoods can be turned around,\u201d concluded Celester.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Natalie Fallano In the past, Grove Hall\u2019s reputation was characterized by high crime rates, poverty and abandonment, but recently government and community efforts have brought commercial expansion and overall growth to the area. The constant violence and elevated crime […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-86","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-boston","category-full"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nehsjc.org\/quarterly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nehsjc.org\/quarterly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nehsjc.org\/quarterly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nehsjc.org\/quarterly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nehsjc.org\/quarterly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/nehsjc.org\/quarterly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":309,"href":"https:\/\/nehsjc.org\/quarterly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86\/revisions\/309"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nehsjc.org\/quarterly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nehsjc.org\/quarterly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nehsjc.org\/quarterly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}