Fed up with crime, derelict buildings, empty storefronts and vacant lots full of trash and weeds, a good 50 people turned out for the first public meeting of the Christiansted Community Alliance at St. Mary’s Hall in Christiansted Monday evening.
The newly formed citizens’ coalition drew everyone from homeowners, business owners, renters, to government officials and concerned citizens.
Organizer Mary Dema, owner of Quinn House Galleries furniture and home furnishings store, said she recently felt sad and heartbroken walking through town.
“It was stressing and depressing me what the town looked like,” Dema said. “I thought, what can I do?”
But she and others thought more can be done as a group with a strong base. “If we see something in town that needs done we need to just do it,” Dema told the crowd. “Don’t wait for the government.”
Roger Dewy, executive director of the St. Croix Foundation and an organizer of the group, said people need to come forward as a unified voice. “We need to come together to help bring Christiansted back,” Dewy said.
He said the bottom line is they need to clean up from one end of town to the other end. He added he is working with the Bureau of Corrections and Waste Management to help with just that. Other organizers of the coalition are Julie San Martin, Gerville Larsen, Olaf Bronco Hendricks, Nathan Bishop and Isabell Brady.
Dodson James, St. Croix administrator., said his office would act as liaison with agencies such as the V.I. Fire Services, V.I. Waste Management Authority, Environmental Health and WAPA.
Organizers thought a neighborhood crime watch would be a good start as well.
Officer Gail Liburd from the V.I. Police Department spoke about the Neighborhood and Business Watch program. The programs are a partnership between neighbors and the VIPD to improve safety and prevent crime.
“It’s about taking back what belongs to you that the criminal elements have taken,” Liburd said. She said she needs volunteers and at least one person to take charge working with co-captains in city blocks to canvas town and distribute flyers about a meeting.
Resident Lawrence Neilsen said there were two problems; the government and the criminal element. He said sewage has been running through the streets for months.
“We don’t get help from Public Works or WAPA, all we get are excuses,” he said.
Organizers said most of the time it’s not the agency to blame, it is the individual. All were invited to talk about how to move the historic town forward.
