Oh Boy

It would appear as if the rift between City Counicilor Ted DeSalvatore and the administration isn't getting better. Check out this paragraph from an e-mail DeSalvatore sent to Back Street Association members yesterday (the entire e-mail is at the bottom of the post):

"Due to miscommunication or the lack of cooperation by local obstacles the State
Gang Unit was not contacted so I will be taking it upon myself, for the benefit
of this community, to make that contact myself leaving nothing to be
misunderstood from this time forward."

DeSalvatore's message regards a meeting scheduled for tonight that he cancelled after he was told the State Police couldn't make it by other city officials. DeSalvatore said he will work directly with the State Police to reschedule.

Obviously, the "lack of cooperation by local obstacles" is what makes this all so interesting. DeSalvatore isn't going to let go of his effort to improve safety in his neighborhood, and he isn't going to back down from other leaders in the city.

DeSalvatore said he's trying to create a leadership committee for Back Streets, and then get out of the organization to let it run itself. He said he's gotten a lot of support from residents and businesses.

"There's people out there overwhelmed by my enthusiasm, and I'm overwhelmed by theirs," DeSalvatore said. "We're here to fix a problem, a problem that does exist."

DeSalvatore, like many others, feel the city is a soft landing spot for those with troubles -- criminals, those on the fringe who need social-service help -- and he wants to change that. He wants to eliminate the dark corners of the city where gangs and prostitutes hang out. He wants to get rid of the tenements where they live. If his long-term dedication matches his short-term energy on this, it's an issue that isn't going away.

It doesn't seem to be an absurd request on DeSalvatore's part to get the State Police gang unit talking to residents. Why it didn't happen -- either through miscommunication or "local obstacles" -- is important, but more important is DeSalvatore's commitment to getting the staties in one way or another.

Hopefully, DeSalvatore doesn't find too many more "local obstacles" as he moves forward. There's a lot of politics in play on this issue right now, and there will be for months, but at the end of the day DeSalvatore is on point with policy. He should get more help from the city than obstacles.

Here's the entire e-mail:

Dear Concerned Citizens,

It is my great regret to have canceled this Thursday’s meeting to be
held at the Armored Self Storage. It was our hope to have representatives from
our State Police Gang Unit to give a presentation that was made available to
City Council 4 years ago and also to local landlords recently through the
cooperation of the NWCLA (Northern Worcester County Landlord Association).

Due to miscommunication or the lack of cooperation by local obstacles
the State Gang Unit was not contacted so I will be taking it upon myself, for
the benefit of this community, to make that contact myself leaving nothing to be
misunderstood from this time forward.

Back Streets Association will continue to organize and notify the
public of coming events. Please feel free to contact me if you wish to help this
process move more expeditiously.

Those that wish to attend a leadership meeting are urged to contact me
as soon as possible through the numbers below or this email address.

Thank you,
Ted